New-York tribune., 1903-04-06
LESS THAN WAR TAX.
.Scfoonkcc pers WiU Haze no Trouble
Meeting Increase.
HowLr>G SIMPLY TO AID TAMMANY

II was learned yesterday from q person who
* prominent in the Wine. Liquor and Beer
Dealers. Association that many saloonkeepers
are clustering. not because they fear they VIII
oe forced to close their places OF business hnt
81 .he hope os creating popular impression
shst there is 10 longer any such thing az home
rule IN this city and never Will be unless Tam
many Hall IS restored 10 power This man toio
Tribune reporter yesterday afternoon that
this plan OF activity would soon be formally
adopted by many liquor associations
-'of course said the speaker, the saloon
keeper does not want pay one cent more Tor
q liquor license than he can help. have been
in the liquor business for many years I'm not
near starving death. and can easily afford
70 pay the increase Of $500 year for a license
why. that's only an increase of a little more
than 81 a day. When you lump the dollars
together the total looks big. That is the way
the LIQUOR dealers want the public to see the
figures regarding the increase. Suppose you
and / owned all tine saloon leases and went 10
most saloons of this city and told the proprie-
tors that il they did not pay US 81 a day they
would have 10 close. How many do you think
would close? Just about one OF two.
AS a rule saloonkeepers have wonderful
way OF conveniently forgetting facts about their
business which they don't want TO remember.
TOW. They do not to look back to see the
attitudes they have assumed. When the war
tax under the act of June 13. 1895 went into
effect. the internal revenue tax on beer. aes and
porters So instead of ST barrel the barrel
being counted thirty-one gallons. A discount
Of az per cent allowed on all stamp sales
10 brewers. Many liquor associations said that
this war tax on beer would ruin large numbers
Of saloonkeepers the city. Some prominent
liquor men in making this announcement got red
der under the collar than the color of their beer.
do not know of one saloonkeeper who had to
quit the business because Of that war tax. To my
mind simple arithmetic will show that the war
tax on beer conclusively proved what profit
able business the saloon business was and is in
.his city. for the population of the city has con-
sidera bly, increased since 1898. l figure that the
saloon with the smallest business sells at least
a bout two hundred and fifty quarts Of
beer a day. two barrels of beer in
the Spanish-American war the war tax on
the sale Of that quantity of beer
So or 90 cents more than the increase day
from the higher liquor license. 1 have no
figures hand show the local receipts from
this tax. ! sold fifteen barrels of
beer daily when that tax operative. and
there were scores of saloonkeepers who sold the
number of barrels did Well. paid
that S15 a day increase in my bills promptly
and with pleasure for my profits on the thirty
barrels handsome. The war tax on beer
cost me just about $1,000 year Considering
these facts. should tax Of S4to for a license
stagger ne?'
The speaker said that the majority Of saloon
keepers got their licenses through the brewers
The brewers paid the tax score OF premises
in lump sum. The saloonkeeper then paid
the brewer the sum that the license cost in
weekly monthly instelrents. The brewers
had not told any Of their customers in the
saloon business that they intended 10 change
their business methods and that they would
longer take out licenses for any one
II also learned yesterday that the cost
Of beer a barrel TO SaloonkeeperS was much less
than ii a year ago When a tax of
81 a barrel was imposed beer So barrel.
II is now about 50 a barrel.
Two important meetings OF liquor dealers as
sociations are to be held tomorrow. The Liquor
Dealers Association of the Sixth District will
in its rooms in Park Row. and the Wine,
Liquor and Beer Dealers Association will meet
uptown. II is said that resolutions Will be
offered at the latter meeting to take steps to
get livery men of this city not to buy hay
grown upstate TO have the hotel men buy their
Ia BILE supplies from New-Jersey any State,
grown outside of New York. and to have saloon
serve cheese made in this State. IT is
also said that resolution is to be introduced
compelling saloOnkeepers who spend vacation
in the rural districts of New-Y York. except on
Long Island. pay fine OF SD to the
citation for each offence.
a saloonkeefer said that the size Of the beer
glass would be smaller. L have just ordered
five gross of glasses he added. While
they viii look just about the same, they will be
smaller