Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-09
BEER-BOTTLE CLEARING HOUSE.
A Chicago Institution That is Making
Trouble for Many "a Housewife.
From the Chicago Mail.


Trouble for Many "a Housewife
From the Chicago Mall
There's clearing house over at the cor
ner of Market and Michigan streets con-
corning which the public knows practically
nothing, yet II is to the interest of many a
householder to be informed of this place
as he or she will be over ears In hot water
one OF these days
And It's all about old cast-off bottles-beer
pcttles-greasy, full of dead flies and spid-
ers' ana nasty. crawling insects. Every
pcoy having empty beer bottles in their
cellars or pantries should be interested to
the extent of knowing that they are now.
or shortly will be, under the eye of the maid
detectives of an association which was
formed expressly for the purpose of bring
ing these bottles to the surface and restor-
ing them to their respective oWners-the
brewers who originally bought and paid for
them.
Recently the bottlers and manufacturers
vi matted liquors conceived the plan of or
sahlzing an association for the purposes
or mutual protection and for the better en-
forcement of the trade mark law of the
state. AS a result, the Beer Bottlers' Pro-
tectlNe Association of Cook county came
INTO existence. In plain naked language
the brewers were dropping large rolls of
money III being compelled to be everlast-
Iisly forwarding checks to glass factories
Ior new supplies of bottles, and they be-
came heartily sick watching profits Shining
away from them because their customers
aPPropriateo them to their own use or else
disposed OF them to Canal street Israelites
VINO go through the alleys of the town sing
ing "Ole raigs-ole ironr'
There are plenty of women in town who
annually NIL these patent shoppers with
vinegar, the product of the ripe and green
tomato &c., and yet the thought meyer
enters their Independent heads that they
are really stealing these bottles from the
brewers. These women are quite liable any
day to be thrown into fidgets bv a big rel
faced, husky special officer loaded with a
search warrant. and a breath with more
than slight suspicion of age and strength,
VINO WaltZeS into the cellar or climbs m
among her pantry shelves and dumns ali
her beer bottles out upon the floor A re-
Iusal on her part to permit him to remove
them would result disastrously to her he
cause peer bottles, especially those of the
patent stopper variety with the brevinp
concerns name blown upon them are never
soid and are liable to seizure at any time.
threat to carry the frugal wife 10 the
horrid police court has more than once he,
the cause of the instant surrender of bot
ties ~ WV
1t Is said that the association has thus
FAR recovered over 100000 bottles for its
members, and that the good work is con-
stantly improving. Brewers say that new
potties are cheap now, and that the aver
age cost Is about 81 a gross. The rubber
buttons with the little wire eyes which are
called patent shoppers by the trade are
also sold at a low figure now and NAV be had
from the manufacturer at $3.50 a gross
het, win bottles and shoppers selling cheap
~, IL pays the brewers and big bottlers To
maintain the association for the recovery
OF their Vagrant property.
EVERY day one may see the wagons of
various Dreweries and botting houses pull
ing up in front of the clearing house at
Market and Michigan streets Men ara a,,
pioyed there whose business IL is to sonar
ate all bottles recovered and pack them in
the bins of the respective breWeries IN which
they belong. When an association detec
1--WE locates quantity of bottles in the
possession of saloon keepers housekeanerS
or the shady dealing secondhand man he
summons wagon from the clearing house
and pretty soon there is another load 70 10
assorted out and distributed Bottles ana
ing their way into the possession of brayvars
TO winch they do not belong are returned
py them to the clearing house The good
work Keeps up in that fashion from dav 10
Jay, ana the only people who find fault
with tae plan are the glass factory folks
s s oottlers IN the association. the schem-
ing JUNK men and the women who make il
a duty to snatch up every beer BOTTLE in
sight. 1t is true that they order a case or
Two OF peer for no other purpose than TO
scheme for possession of the BOTTLES Wban
the beer man calls for the empties they hide
until he goes away. They regard the beer
man pretty much they do the INSTALL
ment collector. and who has not locked the
door and crawled into the pantry or the
closet to escape the latter fiend?
The organization of the association has
been severe blow to the small-fry bottlers
VINO now have to pay for their bottles or
steal them Where formerly brewers paid
JUNK men ~ cents a dozen for their own
bottles, they now pay but 10 cents. and they
only do that to let them know that they are
stlil on earth and to encourage a little hon
esty among them. Bottles without names
marks blown no,
for at the rate of 20 or IS cents
All of the big Chicago and out-of-town
brewers doing business here are represented
IN the association. An admission fee of 81
is charged the brewer and afterward annual
dues at the rate of So for each delivery
wagon In use by him.