Norwich bulletin., 1921-03-10
Import Ruling on
 Na /h Prohibition All nolic Liquors May Be
 C For Medical and Other Non-Beverage Purposes, Ac- 1 cording to Ruling.

Washington, March Seer and wines are given the same status as whiskey un- der an opinion by the attorney general made public today by the bureau of inter- nal revenue
 The ruling; one of the most important since the advent of national prohibition, makes it possible for all alcoholic liquors to be used for, medical and other non- beverage purposes and for all to be man. ufactured and sold for these purposes subject only to the limitations of the Vol stead act on non n-beverags intoxicants;
 The opinion was written by Former Att torney General Palmer the day before he retired from office, and was in reply to queries from internal revenue and prohi- bition agents bearing on construction of half a dozen moot points in the law.
 Whetlier it will upset any regulations of the revenue and enforcement bureaus had not been detsrmined tonight. Com missioner Williams of the revenue bureau saying he had not had an opportunity to study the opinion. He made it public without comment and said that officials concerned with enforcement would pre- pare at once to uraft regulations carry ing out the attorney generals construc- tion of the dry law.
 There were many. rumors af1oat that the opinion had wrecked plans of dry advocates to obtain further restriction ot liquor sales. Officials refused to comment on the reports, however. but Wayne B Wheeler, general counse' for the anti saloon league, declared opinion was | not in accord with the purpose of the 1 federal law. Congress clearly did not intend to le galize what the state laws prohibit" MT | Wheeler said. Unless the opinion is over l Had cIo tba is difficult, of course, to overruie it be cause the government and the brewer, i are on the same side of the case anC l there is no one to contest it, unless thu new attorney general overrules the opin | ion"
 | The opinion appeared ambiguous il some respects, officials said. and as a re suit they. were unable to determin, whether the government had power. il the light of the ruling, to limit the mum Der of prescriptions which a physician may write except that the law specific no more than pint per person in a ten i day period. MT. Palmer declared h believed it the purpose of congress t' leave the physician "unfettered by gov ernmental control'' yet he thought tha regulations might properly restrict th amount to be sold on any one prescrip tion
 Mir. Palmer called attention to provis ions of law which apparently had left tn physician to act on his judgment H suggested then that when a physician abused the privilege he could be deal with crimina4y but added that in no cas should the Judgment of the physician b supplanted by that of enforcement off lcials, a situation he believed would re suit from regulations attempting to con trol the use of prescriptions.
 Replying to question whether tn government could restrict the number 0 permits to manufacture, or prescribe i any state or community. MT. Palmer ex lplained that the Volstead act had lirnite
 only the classes to which permits coul
 be issued and had permitted no discrim nation. between persons within thos
 classes. He said the withholding of per
 nits could not be done legally eve
 though officials were convinced that fewe
 permits would suffice in any given stat
 or city
 MT. Palmer advised officials that ha
 ample authority to write such reguls
 tions as they believed necessary to mak
 certain the enforcement of the law. Tn advocates stressed this stat ement de
 claring that by it means wo i'd be foun
 which would circumvent and handica
 the sale of beer and wines and would nc
 throw open the door to manufacture
 quantities of high alcoholic beer again g
 anti-prohibitionist insisted