Washington sentinel., 1900-12-01

Brewers Appeal tion repre-
to President %a,ieu SSn',Ie 'aI
Brewers Association, appeared
before the President last Tuesday.
They came to Washington to urge
the abolition OF the additional tax
on beer imposed by the war reve-
nue. act. The delegation consisted
of Rudolph Brand, president of
the United States Brewers Asso-
citation; N. w. Kendall, New
Haven, vice president; Gallus
Thomann, secretary; Frederick H.
Gottlieb, of Baltimore, J. w.
Brown. OF Brooklyn, and Robert
Portner, oil this city. The delega-
ton was accompanied to the White
House by Senator Mason, and had
a long talk with the President.
The delegation made a strong
statement to the President in ask
ing his aid in securing reduction
Of the beer tax. They represented
that the tax is really double war
measure and that it works a great
deal Of hardship to the brewers.
They claim that it has forced
large proportion OF the smaller
establishments into bankruptcy
and out OF business or compelled
them to escape ruin by combining
with other breweries. Thev said
that since April OF this year no less
than fifteen combinations OF from
three to twelve once prosperous
brewing establishments have been
formed under the pressure Of the
tax. Even the combinations, it
was claimed, offer no appreclable
relief, The delegation points out
that barrel of beer costs in the
neighborhood OF IS, while the tax
on it is 81. about 40 per cent Of the
cost. 1t is contended that the extra
tax on beer imposed during the
Civil war was not at all heavy
compared with the existing one,
and that items not taxed in the
present law then paid most Of the
money that aided in carrying on
the war.
The President listened atten-
lively to the presentation Of fig
ures and promised that he would
call the attention of members oil
committees to the facts laid before
him and leave the matter to them
for decision.
The SENTINEL takes satisfaction
in the knowledge that in its issues
of the nth and a4th Of November
it urged upon the Ways and Means
Committee the adYisability OF
making reduction in the beer tax
on the identical points covered by
the brewers committee last Tues
day. Foreseeing also from the
trend OF events for some time past
that the views OF the Ways and
Means Committee were IN direc
tion hostile to reduction and that
in all probability the question
would haye its 6nal decision in
Congress after the committee had
made its report, the SENTINEL has
en- 4eavored to aid Congressmen in
reaching a full understanding OF
the reasons advanced for such re-
duction by placing before them
copies Of the paper containing our
arguments. The Brewers COM
mittee will therefore find Con-
gressmen prepared in a measure
for their final efforts.
OF all interests appealing for re-
lief to the sense OF right ol Con-
gress brewers certainly have the
strongest grounds. They were the
FIRST to feel the effects of the war
levy and they have ielt it the
heaviest. COMING upon them at
a time when their business was
none too prosperous at the best,
the result was seen in the past year
in a decrease in consumption
amounting to 1000, 600 barrels.
The significance OF this decrease
as showing the evil OF oYer-taxa-
tion is the more apparent when il