VOLSTEAD DRAFTS BILL TO PROHIBIT USE OF BEER AS MEDICINE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On April 23, 1921, House Judiciary Committee chairman A.J. Volstead* announced completion of a proposed bill which would prohibit the use of beer as medicine.
The New York Tribune states...
"Mr. Volstead does not think there will be any trouble putting through...a bill cutting off beer and wine entirely."
Representative Volstead believes "the great majority...want the country dry."
Statistics also show a sharp drop in consumption of whiskey in the United States. Consumption of whiskey for medicinal purposes dropped from 40 million gallons annually to 6 million.
*Andrew John Volstead (1859-1947) was born in Kenyon, MN & educated at St Olaf College. AJV served as a member of the US House of Representatives 1903-1923. He is most famous for the act enabling enforcement of prohibition.
SOURCE
"Volstead Bill To Bar Medical Beer Drafted," The New York Tribune, April 24, 1921, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
