Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1893-12-25
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. HOUSE.
A Chicago Institution That is Making
Trouble for Many n Housewife.

Trouble for Many n Housewife.
From the Chicago MALL
There's clearinghouse over at the corn
er of Market and Michigan streets concern
ing which the public knows practically
nothing, yet 1t is to the interest of many a
householder to be informed of this place,
one of these days.
And its all about old csst-of bottles
beer bottles-greasy, full of dead hles and
spiders and nasty crawling insects. Every
body having empty beer bottles in their
cellars or psntries should be interested to
the extent of knowing that they are now,
or shortly will be, under the eye of the
paid DETECTIVES of an association that was
Termed 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 bottlsrs aud manufacturers
of malted liquors conceived the plan of or
gauizing an association for the purposes of
mutual protection and for the better en-
forcement of the Trade Mark law of the
state. As a result, the Beer Bottlers' Pro-
tective association of Cook county came in
| to existence. In plain, naked language,
the brewers were dropping large rolls of
money in being compelled to be everlsst-
ingly forwarding checks to glass factories
for new supplies of bottles, and they be-
came heartily sick Watching profits clip
/ ping away from them because their custo-
| mers appropriated them to their own use
| or else disposed of them to Canal street
Isrselites, who go through the alleys of the
| town singing "Ole raigs-ole iron"
There are plenty of women in town who
annually fill these patent shoppers will
vinegar, the product of the ripe and greer
tomato, etc, and yet the thought never
enters their independent heads that they
are really stealing these bottles from tn,
brewers. These women are quite liabl,
any day to be thrown into fdgets by big
red -fsred, husky special officer, LOADED
with =, ,esrch warrant and breath with
more than a slight suspicion of age suC
strength, who wslfzss into the cellar oi
climbs up among her pantry shelves sud
dumps sll her beer bottles out upon th,
floor. A refusal on her part to permit h.
to remove them would result disastrousll
to her, because beer bottles, especially
those of the patent stopper variety, with
| the brewing concerns name blown upoI
them are never sold and are liable to seiz
ure at any time.
A threat to carry the frugal wife to tn
horrid police court has more than ono
been the cause of the instant surrender o
bottles.
It is said that the association has thu
far recovered over 10000 bottles for 1t
members, and that the good work is CON
stantly improving. Brewers say that ney
| ! bottles are cheap now. and that the svsrsg
cost is about 81 gross. The rubber bu-
, tons with the little wire eyes which ar
called "pstent shoppers" by the trade, ar
also sold at low figure now aud may
had from the manufacturer at 81. so gros,
Yet, with bottles and shoppers sellin
chesply, 1t pays the brewers and big bo
tiers to maintain the association for the r,
| covery of their vsgrant property.
Every day one may see the wagons {
various brewaries and bottling houses pu
ling mp in front of the clearing houte |
Market and Michigan streets. Men are en-
ployed there whose business II 10 to sep
rate all bottles recovered and pack them
the bins of the respective breweries
which they belong. When an associate
detective locates quantity Of bottles
the possession of saloon keepers, hous
keepers or the shady dealing second har
man, he summons n wagon from the cles
ing house and pretty soon there Is anoth
lot to be assorted out and distributes
Bottles finding their way into the posse
sion of brewers to which they do not
long are returned by them to the cleArir
house. The good work keeps up In tn
fashion from day to day, and the only pc
pie who find fault with the plan are d
glass factory folks, small bottlers In q
association, the sohering junk men al
the women who make 1t duty to snat,
up every beer bottle In sight. 1t is tr
q kr,o - haa- g.
other purpose than to scheme for posst
sion of the bottles. When the beer N
calls for the empties they hide until
=, goes away. They regard the beer m
h pretty much as they do theinstsllment O
to lsctor, and vhe has not locked the dc