Washington sentinel., 1900-05-05
Attention, BrewersI

We publish below bill intro
duced by Congressman Brosius, a
Republican from Pennsylvania,
and so far as we know a prohibi-
zionist.
This bill has been called Pure
Food and also a Pure Beer bill.
The United States Brewers Asso-
citation for the last three years has
been urging its passage, and has
appropriated several hundred dol
lars each year for the lobby which
has the bill in charge, Mr.. Gallus
Thomann. the Secretary Of the
United States Brewers Associa
tion, has attended every meeting
oil this lobby, and reported, at each
annual convention OF the Brewers
Association, the progress of the
movement. 1t is but natural that
the friends of the brewers in Con-
gress Especially when this bill is
on the House calendar and can be
called up at any moment) should
be anxious to know whether or not
the measure will injure or benefit
the brewing industry. Several
members OF Congress have asked
US as to the working Of the bill in
relation to the brewers. Though
we have read it carefully, and have
even consulted the United States
Internal Revenue Department, we
have been unable to End anything
in it favorable to beer, or anything
referring to beer, except possibly
in Section s, which says, "The
term food as used herein, shall
include all articles used for food,
drink, confectionery or condiment
by men or domestic animals"
This is the only allusion to beer
that we can discover. For this
reason, and also to answer the
numerous queries from members
OF Congress regarding the meas
ure, we have written to Mr.. Tho
mann asking him to inform us how
the bill touches the interests OF the
brewers of the United States. So
far we have received no reply.
1t was understood by some that
the support of the Brosius bill by
the United States Brewers Asso-
citation started at the time when
some Republican lobbyists in the
New York State Legislature in
troduced a So called Pure Beer bill
in order to blackmail the brewers,
The brewers OF that State have de-
feated this bill on two occasions.
Since no attempt to deieat these
lobbyists at the polls have been
made by the brewers, there is no
doubt about it that the lobby will
repeat its annual effort to reintro-
duce bills Of this kind, as long as
they can make money out of it by
squeezing the brewers. The claim
that this is a movement for making
purer beer is lame excuse for the
bill.
The last measure introduced in
New York was in more ways than
one an ill-advised and vicious
measure. 1t favored tine New York
State hop and barley farmers, as
against those Of other States,
though the latter may furnish
cheaper and better barley and
hops. 1t asperscd the honesty OF
the entire brewing trade OF the
State by placing absurd restric
tions upon it. Some wiseacre told
the New York brewers that if they
could pass a Pure Beer bill Of
a national character. they would
no longer be pestered by the New
York Republican lobbyists. For
that reason the Brosius bill was
supported and advocated by the
Secretary OF the Brewers Asso-
citation, and money furnished foi
the.lobbyist who has this bill in
charge.
Unfortunately, however, these
legal advisers seem to have over
looked that it would be unconsti.
tutional for Congress to pass any
such measure. The Brosius bill
even should it pass, would only
affect the breweries in the Distric
of Columbia, and the Territories
We can't comprehend why tn
brewers of New York should b
spending money to defeat sue
bills in their own State, and on tn