The San Francisco call., 1898-07-13

agains the new stamp law. A meeting was held last week and Revenue Broker Youngberg was requested to draw up petition to be forwarded at once to Wash ington. The paper, which bears the sigma ture of almost every dealer in the city, is as follows:
 Revenue, Washington, D. C.-Dear Sir: We the undersigned. hereby petition that a ruling be made by the Department of Internal Reve nue which will relieve us from the require ment of placing one and two cent stamps on pint and quart bottles of wine used by us as stated herein
 The law reads follows:
 sale. upon each bottle containing one pint or less. one cent. upon each bottle containing more than one pint. two cents It shall be deemed compliance with this net. as to such articles on hand in the hands of whole sale or retail dealers as aforesaid to the packet. box, bottle pot phial or other in- closure with its contents is sold at retail
 We are held to be retail liquor dealers, under the rules Of the department, ana pay an annual tax of twenty-five dollars. The majority or sgners hereto in fact boarding house and restaurant Keepers. whose business 1t Is to fur- nish meals to those who apply.
 Among other articles are compelled to pro- vide with such meal is the item of coffee. wine or beer, as may be desired by the customer. No extra charge Is made where the diner calls for wine or beer Tn place or coHee; me de- partment, however, charges and collects S25 @ year from us Tor the privilege of furntshing ing wine or beer although We cannot charge Tor the same and are therefore mulcted in that amount annually.
 The wine we furnish rule has been purchased by the barrel at the low price of from 10 cents to l5 cents per gallon. but Is pure California wine made from the ordinary grapes and Is classed as win ordnare" The bottles are of the size that takes live to one gallon. If the tax of two cents is imposed each bottle, it would cost 10 cents extra per gallon, or from 15 to 100 per cent increase of cost to us, without any compensation whatever and with no margin of profit from which to stand the increase of tax.
 Our custom has been to place a quart bottle he he which hp glass and dilute the wine with water; The glass Is rehlled with wine and diluted with water from time to time during the meal as may suit the customer. Whatever Is left in the bottle remains clean and uncontaminated, and the bottle be reflled from other par tally filled bottles, and from the barrel, if the contents are fresh. Wine is of such chemical full. and the air excluded or else the contents turn sour and become unfit for use.
 Furthermore. unless the wine Is covered, dust. flies and othe foreign matter become incorporated with the wine spelling the same ing stamps on bottles, We now claim does not apply to the undersigned restaurateurs for the
 The law states that ''wnes when bottled for sale" shall be subject 10 the stamp tax. The wines in question in this argument the meaning and intent of the law, and there fore are not liable to the stamp tax. What Is the meaning of the term bottled for sale The intention of Congress must be limited and defined by commercial usage and by the prac-
 Under commercial usage "wines bottled for sale those which are bottled in large or small wine cellars or by manufacturers in which the wine so bottled has been blended. clari fled and aged. which is the only class of wine that be bottled. The bottle when filled with this commercial wine Is tightly corked by corks driven in by machine pressure, the erly sealed and capped. It is then wrapped in tissue paper. inClosed in straw wrapper and then finally cased in wooden boxes which are nailed. wired and properly fastened. When this is done 1t becomes, under the commercial terms and usages. wines bottled Tor sale. fC ba Cl1 If doubt was intended to be stamped with the stamps specified in the law:
 of very small manufacturers or small bottlers from the fact that every bottle of wine bottled pared as above stated; except in some instances the bottles are placed on shelves for sale. and cases" The argument also holds good when considered in the light of the proviso. which with this act as 10 such articles on hand in the hands of the wholesale or retail dealer +b time & the pToPgT 6dtte nn oe 9the4 a closure with its contents Is sold at retail"
 Under strict interpretation of this proviso, liable to the stamp tax until such bottle and contents are sold at retail If the bottle and contents are not sold and disposed of then there can be no liability to stamp tax. The bottle a bottle is not liable to the stamp tax The wine as a wine (as in bulk) is not liable to the stamp tax; nor Is the wine when placed in a bottle (pints or quarts) and not wine may be bottled by any person. and used by himself. his family or his visitors, without being liable to stamp tax. The essential act, therefore, Is a sale of the bottle and con tents at retain before such liability accrues.
 We therefore who simply place a bottle filled with wine upon the table for the boardel or diner to take a drink, without labels, with. out wrapping and only lightly corked by hand have not bottled that wine for sale" nol have sold the bottle or its contents at re . tail" and cannot under the law, unless 1t bt be held liable to the tax and compelled to stamI such bottles.
 before q customer he may only use part o the contents of such bottle. In fact. 1t would be an exceptional case where even half of thu bottle used. Heretofore the bottle could be Immediately reflled from other similar bot ties and no loss would be suffered by If tn bottles were liable to tax and compelled tt bear a stamp. we would be debarred from tn right of reflling such stamped bottle, and tn entire quantity would thus be lost to
 This would break up our business and com pei to refuse to serve wine with meals This would probably bankrupt nearly all tn restaurants of this class and cause an incon ceivabe amount of suffering to ourselves, ou families and our hired help. reducing all t abject poverty. Nor would the Governmen receive any benefit from such an enforcement of an arbitrary rule. No wine being used n tax could be collected: but even greater los to the Government would follow from the fac that If we are forced out of business the Gov ernment would also suffer the loss of s25 pc annum which We are now compelled to pay fo the privilege of giving our California win away with the meals.
 The wine industry of the State would receiv a overcome. large quantity of ordinary wines consume in the restaurants and boarding houses, an by them only. Remove this source of consump tion and the demand for this class of wine would entirely disappear. The vineyards a well the wine merchants derive their revenu from this class of wine, 1t forms the grea bulk of production. In fact, some markets de mand other kind. The poor people of al large cities. New York, Chicago and others use no other kind as their means will not per
 init the purchase of any choice grade or hig priced wine.
 The rule that holds good in San Francisc where cheaper restaurants cater to the want of citizens of only moderate means and wh
 furnish ordinary but perfectly pure whole
 some wine at meals to the aboring class customers. The loss to the Government in tn
 non-renewal of the 25 special tax woul amount to an enormous sum annually.
 It may be claimed that 2 cents on eac
 bottle is small that it could not affect tt trade as herein claimed II is true that cent
 is not large in itself, but the ia
 amounts to a large in the aggregat
 lon and about fifty gallons to a barrel Tn
 would be tax of cents each 250 bottle
 or g. to each barrel. This class of wine is no
 selling at New Orleans at 13 cents per galloI
 or SC 30 per barrel. The tax, therefore wou
 be almost double the present price to the DO,
 restaurant keeper. Many of these men furnis
 meals at from l5 cents to 25 cents each vii
 included It Is therefore plain to be seen tn;
 the margin of profit must he very small ar
 the extra expense will be almost If not qui
 prohibitory
 extra tax but also In the loss occasioned
 of win Government off