Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-07
Brewers Wage
War on Resorts
and Low Saloons
Association Inaugurates Movement to
Clean Up Unlawful Business, Al
though Fighting Prohibition.


WASHINGTON, June 5.-One OF the most
notable features OF the program of the
United States Brewers convention to be
held here June Z to 9 will be the address
by Percy Andrae. an Ohio brewer, who
will tell in detail how the brewers of
his state are fighting the disorderly re-
sorts. Mr. Andraes address will tell the
history of what is now becoming known
as the cleanup" movement, which is de-
veloping into a national movement. The
popular idea of the brewer is that he is
willing to allow disreputable resorts to
flourish, but the Ohio idea is now the
creed OF the United States Brewers assoc
citation and many state brewers associa-
tions are now making 1t their chief aim 20
wipe out the disorderly resorts and make
the saloons respectable.
Mr. Andrae Is an English university man
who was sent to this country several years
ago to manage a syndicate Of Brltish-owned
breweries and he led a movement OF the
Ohio brewers to put the retail beer business
on a respectable basis, and to lift the
American saloon to the same level as the
inns of England, Germany and France.
This movement, strange to say, was COM
batted equally by the prohibitionists and
the dlve-keepers, and in his address before
the national convention, Mr.. Andrae will
tell how the Ohio brewers by eXpending
$4,000 in a corps Of detectives. whose sole
duty was to run down cases where saloons
violated the liquor laws, forced the sa-
looms to obey the law.
Advocates "CIeanup.v
! One case in Ohio which explains Mr.. An
drae's position on the joint problem. and
the reasons for his advocacy of the clean
up" is the remark he made to a clergy
man who refused to help the cleanup
movement in his city, because 1t would
mean his being aligned with a political
organization.
II defined my position in the matter as
q brewer" said Mr.. Andrae in telling of
his experience with this clergyman. stat
ing frankly that 1 had no philanthropic
motives whatever in worrying about the
| existence of dives in a city which 1 had
never seen and which was never likely to
| see, but that l was actuated solely by sell
fish considerations, in the matter-the first
consideration being that the disrerutable
liquor-selling dive is a detriment to my
business and the second that IT is person.
ally distasteful to me to be concerned in
any business which, either directly or in
directly can be connected with that which
| Is disreputable and offensive"
The work of the Ohio brewers in cleaning
up the liquor traffic has been conducted in
fifty cities of that state, and hundreds of
prosecutions have been conducted, result
ing in every case in either closing up the
undesirable place, or in eliminating the Of
fensive features. According to Mr.. An
drae 30 per cent of the men in the sa-
loon business object to features which de-
grade the business, and if the law is en-
forced agsinst the disreputable resorts these
men will gladly cooperate as had been
done in Ohio, to raise the plane of the sa-
loon as demanded by the vigilance COM
mittee of the Ohio Brewers association.
n Opposes Prohibition.
y Mr.. Andrae is an opponent of prohibition
on economic grounds The enactment OF
prohibitory laws, he says, results in the
flocking of the disreputable element to the
dry" districts, where they sell a worse
grade of liquor than is sold in the wet
sections. and his solution is the enforce
ment Of strict regulatory laws like thos,
! which the Ohio brewers are forcing the
saloons to obey
Mr.. Andrae. in giving figures on the eff
feet of '''dry" laws in Ohio. says that il
Ohios dry counties the rate OF taxation ha.
increased, as predicted by the VETS" tina
the arrests for drunkenness have dimin
ished, as promised by the "drys," but tina
the arrests for felones and misdemeanori
show remarkable increase a surprise botl
both to the VETS and the "drys" Hi
conclusion is that the final condition makes
havoc with the argument that drink is thu
cause of 80 per cent of crimes committed
: The problem becomes more intricate whei
/ it is found that the dry districts con
J sumo larger quantities of worse liquor
under dry" regulations than when wet
e Mr.. Andrae's address to the national con
4 vention will be a review of the success o
n the cleanup movement in Ohio, and al
. earnest plea that the brewers of othe
states take the same course and reliev
, the brewer of the charge of being respon
n sible for the disorderly saloons Of America