The evening world., 1894-05-09
|ElR on THREE-CEAT BEER.
lam, Dealers Engaged in Stamp
ing Out Its Sale
,,.,t Tekulslty Says Many Illicit
,,,.,,leries Are in Operation.

,.,,er class Of saloon-keepers OF
ihe .,,r are engaged in an organized
:, nvement to stamp out tne saie Vi 'nIee-
-, beer and lve-cent whiskey' lhis
s'arsment leads to the startling remark
~ PRESIDENT Tekulsky, of the new YORK
Ny Iiouor Dealers Association, that
orormous quantity of "moonshine'
ublskey is sold in this city.
,rho United States revenue officers
.,Ld he thunderstruck II they knew
" many Illicit distilleries there are
~ and about New York City" said he.
.rp,s whiskey is made one day and sold
A,bs next. It's not fit to put into the
.v.tem. of course, but its cheapness is
1hig recommendatio and the sale of 1t
IN along the east side Is something
enormous. ,,uo , ro,a -, ,r,,,,
di,tIlling plant being unearthed IN Gel
lar or garret but there are many more
II at elude the eyes of the revenue men.
Eve are making every effort to elevate
,he saloon business. The very worst
menace to. public morals. peace and
for three cents and whiskey for five
ccnts OF course, there Is no way to
nut a stop to this traffic excepting by
moral suasion.
keeper. We show him wherein he can
make Just as much money by selling
half the quantity Of beer per week,
nrovided he gets five cents per glass and
eight cents per pint, instead of three
cents per glass ana SIX or seven cents
'"If this logical argument does not con-
vince him of the error Of his ways, we
then bring all possible influences to bear
n nnaGihIq
persuade him not to sell to any retailers
who cut under the regular prices. In
most cases the brewer falls In with our
Views heartily and shuts OFF the sale
are FIVE or six brewers who make a
cheaper grade Of beer, and who refuse
TO assist us in this good movement.
"In some rare cases. where a man Is
selling to minors Unfortunately and,
in fact, ignoring all the conditions under
which his license was secured, we go
before the Excise Board and try to
have his license revoked or prevent a
renewal.
Of course 1t is slow work. but by
these three methods we hope to do
much to elevate the retail liquor busi-
!s ness not only in this city. but all over
When asked how the three-cent men
,euld make a profit Mr.. Tekulsky re-
Piled:
'on, tney uOn Hldke any "
speak of on their beer. but 1t calls
round them a crowd that also wants
heap whlskey, and that's where the
stuff comes into play"
james Murray, retailer, at Grand
nd Essex streets, has charge of the
forts to close these dives in his pre-
met, the Eleventh
THE worst feature of this three-cent
rade," said he. "is the moral depravity
Ostered by 1t. I have been in the busi-
ess more than twenty years. and l
ave never knowingly sold to minor.
have an Unborn prejudice against 1t.
every day | see children of five and
ix years going in and out of these
hree-cent places with pals and pitch
rs rushing the growler' for scottish
,arents. who have sufficient pride left
o wish to hide their disgrace. though
n doing so they degrade their own or
heir neighbor's children.
I'VE are having great success, though
it is slow work. When l began in this
section. six months ago, there were
thirty-one places where beer was sold
for three cents. Now there are but two
such places, and very soon there won't
be any at all"
Mr. Murray said that in his opinion
the liquor dealers themselves were bet
ter fitted to cope with this evil than
the clergy. though he was very glad to
see the latter laboring in the same
direction.