The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-03-02
25-CEEl BEER IN HONOLULU
LIKELY TO BE THE RESULT or
JUDGE ESTES DECISION.
Local Law Permitting Cheaper Licenses
for Home Brewery Declared uncon-
stitutionai Large Brcwcries or This
Country Interested In the Decision.


HoSoLuLu. Hawaii, Feb. i5.-Judge
Estee's decision, declaring unconstitu-
tional the local beer law, Will allow the
monopoly Of former days to DO enforced
again. and the price Of beer will again
reach the twenty-fve-cent-a-glas standard.
Under an old act. passed when Hawaii
was still a kingdom, a local brewery got
a concession over the foreign beer men.
the importation Of malt products being
FREQ Of duty, and a lower license fee for
the sale Of the ho~me-brewed beer being
collected. Not until a year ago did any
one see at to take advantage OF this con-
c~ession, several former attempts to es-
tablish a brewery having been failures.
For years beer has been retailed here
at rs cents a glass and some Of the saloon
men became very wealthy, the matted
product costing them but a trihe moro
than IL did on the coast. With the estab-
lishment Of the local brewery the foreign
breweries cut the cost Of their beer to I2H
cents a glass, while the home-brewed beer
was retailed at 10 cents The latter bad
the advantage in that licenses to sell II
cost only $3.50 a year, as against 81 900 paid
by the men handling the foreign brewed
stuff.
The agents Of the breweries In tia States
then decided to make a test Of the matter
In the courts, and the application to United
States udge Estee for an injunction TO
restrain the issuance Of the cheap Licenses
was based on the ground that the law was
unconstitutional and an unwarranted In
terference with their rights under the
Interstate Commerce law, In that II dis
AriV,sa. 81 l.. Co., ..--.. -. -
poration as against those Of other States.
On the trial the amazing fact was brought
out that the saloon keepers were making
a profit of nearly $50 a barrel, even at the
cut rate, and naturally they resented the
Introduction Of more saloons.
The big brewers OF the States were all
Interested In the fight in the courts and
anxious to see the local law knocked out.
Judge Estee sustained the contention OF
the foreign brewers. holding the local law
10 be unconstitutional and void.
There Is stHl some question as TO the
effect Of the decision of Judge Estee upon
the saloons already holding the licenses
which he has declared unconstitutional,
and this may bring about another clash
between the territorial courts and the
AttOrnoy-Generalis Department. II Is the
policy of the latter, pending an appeal.
which has already been noted, TO do moth
ing as to the saloon men holding the $3.50
licenses, the courts order restraining only
the issuance Of any more licenses of the
same sort.
Judge Gear takes a different view Of the
matter, and has ordered the Territorial
Grand jury, which is now in session, 10
investigate into the saloons now operating
under licenses declared To be void. Even
u indictments are returned by the Grand
Jury, IL il hardly probable hat the cases
Will he prosecuted by the Attorney General
The legislature at its next session will
probably so amend the act as to allow all
saloons selling only beer, either home or
foreign brew, to operate under the cheaper
license. Is the policy Of the Government
has been to decrease drunkenness by the
sale only of the weaker drinks.