Rabbis to Require Federal Prescription Permits in Issuing Sacramental Wine

Rabbis will be required to obtain federal prescription permits in dispensing sacramental wine, according to new regulations which will become effective within the next few weeks. Instead of personally dispensing wines to members of their congregations, as is the case at present, the rabbis will in the future be supplied with books of prescription blanks, similar to those issued to physicians, in quantities required for their congregations, and the prescriptions will be rigidly checked up by officials of the permit bureau of the prohibition department.

Prohibition Administrator McCampbell said last week that under the new system the rabbis will first have to submit a list of the members of their congregations and the number of permits which they will receive will depend upon the size of the lists. The permits will then be distributed by the rabbis as they see fit. The list of the members of congregations will be typewritten in alphabetical order, will be taken to the bonded wine dispensing places and the quantities of wine to be dispensed will be checked off against the names. In this way the government hopes to stop the present bootlegging of sacramental wines by unlicensed dealers.

Mr. McCampbell expressed the opinion that the new method will not be protested by the rabbis, since it will relieve them of responsibility and from the task of personally supervising sales of wines. Under the present arrangement rabbis are allowed to withdraw from bonded warehouses the quantities required for the use of their congregations for the religious holidays.