The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1922-06-16
Author of "Vostead Law Gives Ideas on Beer and Wine
in "Ihe Continent"
HISTORY OF ENFORCEMENT LEGISLATION
And NEED OF PRESENT LAWS DISCUSSED
The Present 0e of One Per Cent Limit Has Been Proven Necessary
By Long Experience
BEER AND WINE WOULD RESTORE The OLD time SALOON AGAIN

An article written for The Cont
clearly, comprehensively and authorit
ment that it is reproduced for the ber
1T is part of the history of this coun-
try that for many years bitter and
persistent struggle has been carried
on against the liquor traffic The Pro-
hibition Amendment was the culmina-
ton OF that struggle. Before its adop-
ton many states had adopted amend
ments to their constitutions prohibit
ing the traffic. These amendments are
substantially in the same language as
the federal Prohibition amendment.
The legislatures in these states, more
than thirty in number, passed statutes
to carry these amendments into ef-
feet. Not one of these statutes per-
mitted the sale of beer or wine that
contained more than per cent OF
alcohol by volume; and with the pos
sible exception OF one or two, i'll
which the language OF the statutes
might possibly be construed to per-
nit the sale OF liquor containing
per cent, they all forbade the sale OF
any beer or wine that contained more
than ono-half Of per cent of alcohol.
Wien Are Beer and Wine Intoxi-
eating?
In taxing liquor Under the license
system it had for a great many years
been the general, it might almost be
said the universal, ru1c that beer and
wine that contained as much as one
half OF ! per cent of alcohol was
treated and taxed as Intoxicating. The
-}ederat government had for many
years followed the same rule. 1t taxed
aud dealt with as Intoxicating liquor
all beer and wine that contained more
than that amount OF alcohol. So gen
eral and universal had this practice
been that no one could have had the
slightest doubt as to what was meant
by the Prohibition Amendment when
it was adopted. 1t meant to Congress,
as it meant to the public everywhere,
that all liquor that had been treated,
taxed and known as Intoxicating
liquor should forever be banished.
Those who seek to destroy Prohib-
ton recognize that the public cannot
be persuaded knowingly to restore the
saloon or the sale of whisky. They are
camouAaging their demands by ask
ing for what they call light beer and
wine. No one in Congress, so far as
| know, has had the courage to openly
defend the saloon or the sale of.
whisky since the amendment was
adopted What is it that these people
demand? Is it in fact light beer and
wine? Why, no. They are demand
ing beer that contains per cent of
alcohol and wine that contains IA per
cent. Four per cent beer is a stronger
beer than that which was usually sold
in the licensed saloons and IA per cent
wine covers nearly every wine that
was ordinarily drunk.
THAT this is what is demanded can
be abundantly established by refer
ence to the thousands of letters and
petitions on file with the Judiciary
committee of the house, where re-
quests OF that kind are sent. The or
dinary beer sold by the saloons usu-
ally contained only from 3 to 3 IL
per cent of alcohol. So what is asked
for is the old beer, which is light only
in the sense that stronger beer was
occasionally sold.
1t Has Been Necessary to Define
Intoxicating
DIR. De Lancy Carter, president of
the American Medical Society for the
Study of Alcohol and Other Narcot-
les, stated to the Congress: You
might compare beer and light wine
with spirituous liquors as the local
train with rapid express, both of
which reach the ultimate point of the:
journey at last, although at different
rates of speed
Prohibition has been tried out in
great many villages, cities, counties
-