The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-14
MAKE 1T UP IN THE FOAM.
BEER DRINKERS WILL PAY THAT
EXTRA DOLLAR TAX.

There Is Said to BE Not enough Mar
gin of Profit for Brewers to Pay 1t
out of Their Observation-Disclosures
VIII Periodically Help Out the
government by Increasing the AL
Iowance of Froth on Glass of the
beverage.
Deputy Stamp Clerk H. E. Wilson yes
,erday received rubber stamps from Col
,aotor of Internal Revenue Rucker to be
used In altering beer and tobacco and ci-
car stamps under the new law. Over the
face of the beer stamps win be placed in
red letters: rate So per Dbl, series of
1898" and over the other stamps referred
10 the words series of 1898" The stamps,
of course, viii not be altered until the new
revenue bill becomes a law.
As has been stated In the Morning News,
the new law raises the tax on beer from
81 to So a barrel. brewers in other cities
are already taking steps to increase the
price of their output 81 barrel to cover
this additional tax. 1t is supposed that sim
liar steps viii be taken by the directors of
\ the TWO Savannah brewers. Nowhere does
+ any inclination appear on the part of
brewers to bear this extra tax burden
4 themselves.
The profit on beer to the brewer is not
large enough for him TO carry an extra
A stamp tax of 81 a barrel" said a local
brewer, in discussing the matter. such
an increase to expenses would make it
practically impossible for a brewery to
more than meet expenses. There would be
no profits for the stockholders at all. While
nothing has yet been done it is safe to say
that the Savannah brewers, in common
with Others. will raise the price of their
product"
Beer Is now sold here at 81 barrel, half
barrels and smaller kegs in proportion. A
retailer was asked If those who dispose of
the beer by the glass could stand an ad-
vance in price to IS.
"Oh, yes' said he, "Where we give a
collar of foam now, we will give a cuff
then. There's tricks to all trades, and 1
guess we can manage to extract our usual
legitimate profit out of the beer even at
the advance. The men who do the schoon-
er and the GROWER trade, though, will
have to either reduce the size of their
+ the ones who make small profits out of
beer, and to whom that extra dollar will
mean something"
The retailer was asked how many
4 glasses of beer was to be got out of a full
h barrel.
Much depends on the bartender" said
he "A man who understands his business
will probably fill 400 glasses or mugs of
the regular size, while another bartender,
who is not so keenly alive to the financial
value of the foam, may not draw more
than $50. Take a half barrel for which
we pay $3.50 at present, and we ought TO
get out of it at least IT'S glasses, which
means 1915. There Is a fair margin of
profit there. The extra stamp tax on
half barrel would be 30 cents, which means
the revenue to the retailer from ten
glasses Of beer. A very little more foam
4 on each of those 175 glasses of beer would
more than make up the ten glasses TO
cover the increase in cost. I don't believe
much in the thicker glass proposition. An
inch and half of foam instead of an inch
would do the work better. AS patriotic
citizens we are perfectly willing to do our
share toward carrying the burdens OF this
war. 1 don't think the beer trade VIII
complain any about the extra tax i'm
pOsa3 -