The times., 1898-07-14
THE CONSUMER PAYS.
How the Beer Dealer Evades the
Tax and increases His Profits.

CF'rom the New York Tribune)
Nobody thought for a moment that the
brewer would submit 10 the payment OF
one-tenth of cent year Of the war tax.
Neither did anybody think for moment
that the retail dealer would quietly ac-
cept place between the upper and the
neither milIstones. But easy-going per
sons may have supposed that when the
consumer of the beer had paid the tax
he would be allowed 10 go out OF the
shop, taking with him any little money
that he might have after the subtrac-
ton of the price of the Ueer and the tax
But II Is now clear that this is not the
plan Of the beer dealers at all When
you have your knee on mans chest and
are robbing him. why do the work negli-
gently? They have no notion of rObbine
the poor man of his cherished beer. That
would rob them of their business The
plan IS 20 hold out just enough promise
of beer to get him into the shop. and
then rob him OF his money. And il is
Just the poor man who drinks beer who
IS getting robbed, not the well To do or
the rich.
And this is the way of it: A notice is
posted in some OF the Dre= snops 10 the
effect that hereafter the price of ales and
beers will be 10 cents a pint. The change
IS ordered. according 10 the placard by
the Wine, Liquor and Beer Dealers As
sociation of the precinct The old price
was 10 cents pint a tax of % per cent
has thus brought about an increase of 80
per cent in the price of beer sold in this
way. And this change affects only the
poorest people who drink beer.
For this new price is for those who
come TO buy their beer in tin pals and
jugs and carry it home with them In no
other way and 10 no other class Of per-
sons is it the custom 10 sell beer by the
pint This process is known in refined So
ciety as rushing the grOwler' and
among persons who are less choice in
their use of words as chasing the duck
And il looks as if the intention might be
to make these poor people who rush the
grOwIer'' pay the whole tax on the beer
so that to richer consumers il can be
sold at the old rate. But this suspicion
may be an injustice to the dealer. IT is
not unlikely that he means 10 make the
poor man pay the whole of the tax about
( twice and then make the rich man pay it
also, as often as he can get it out Of
him.
Now. here are few rough calculations:
If a whole barrel of beer is sold by pints
the mere increase in the price Will pay for
the whole barrel. tax and ALL twice over.
and the dealer viii receive the whole OF
the old price as clear profit. When
twenty pints have been sold out of a
barrel at the advanced price the whole
of the increase of tax has been paid. be
sides the old profit on the twenty pints-
The rest of the barrel could. therefore
be sold at the Old price and at the old
profit, whatever that was The loss Of
the twenty pints from the barrel is
scarcely appreciable. and it has paid the
whole of the increase of tax. When forty
pints have been sold out of barrel at the
new price the whole barrel has been paid
for, tax and all. What remains. say,
four-fifths of the barrel, may be thrown
away and the dealer will come out even.
Whatever he sells it for is clear gain.
I Now. does it not look like the beer busf-
ness was still likely 10 be rather profita-
/ Bile, with the consumer paying the tax?