The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1911-07-20
WAGONS COVER ENTIRE CITY
No Attention is Paid to Saloon Dis
tricts or Property Owners Rights
by These Travelling Retail Dealers
Who do Big Business.

Retail liquor dealers in the city have
brought an Indictment against the
brewery agents of the city and they
are clamoring with the police and city
officials demanding the arrest of brew
cry agents who they allege are violat-
ing the excise laws by pedding beer
about the city. These agents, and it is
alleged that there are more than a
dozen Of them on the job from early
morning till late at night, and the
travelling beer wagon recognize no sa-
loon districts or property rights. The
man in charge sells beer all over the
city, not by the case, but by the bottle.
Thus far the brewery agents have
not had the timerity to place beer
key with spigot in it on the wagon
and deal in draught beer, but notwith-
standing this fact it is claimed that a
lot of the men in charge of these roam
ing beer wagons are doing a larger
business than many of the saloons of
the city. Load after load of beer is
disposed of every day by these men and
they dispose of it without paying Ii
censes or any other expenses that are
common to the retail dealer. The
streets of the city offer an excellent
site to do business in beer and there
is not single place in Kenosha where
gangs of men are at work that the
beer wagon does not make regular
calls during the. day. These calls used
to be only for the sale of beer by the
case, but now the brewery, eager to
get in on all possible business regard
less of the rights of the licensed re-
tail dealer, backs up the wagon and
sells beer by the bottle just as long
as there is a workman who has the
nickel to pay for it. Not only this,
but the competition is a bad one as
the brewery agent on the wagon sells
a quarter and this has a tendency to
cut the business of the other saloon
man. The bottles are LEFT at the street
corner where the beer has been con-
sumed and later on the agent picks
them up and takes them back to head
quarters to be filed.
AS yet these men have not started
traffic in ginger ale high balls and mar
tint cocktails but undoubtedly the
travelling bar with a iveried barkeeper
will soon be fixture in Kenosha if
the law is not invoked to put an end
to the wholesalers butting into the re-
tail trade. One of the saloon men of
the city on Tuesday protested vigorous
ly against the continuation of this Gus
tom. els there anything fair in this, .
he said. ~ am forced to pay $500 a
year to sell beer in this building and
the brewery agent backs his wagon UP
to the vacant lot right next door to
me and not only takes my business
but sells the beer to my customers at
a price / can not possibly meet. At
the end of the week the brewery agent
comes around and raises the devil with
me because | am not selling more beer
and at the end of the month he fore
closes the mortgage on my place and
takes the fixtures. There are fourteen
wagons running in the town today and
all are selling beer by the single bot
tie. Fully half of these people have
not paid even wholesale license to
the city and they are selling beer all
over the city without license. NV
dealing is restricted to this room and
even this neighborhood trade is being
taken by the brewery agent. Before
ground is broken for new buildino
where workmen are to be employed the
site of the building is placed ON the
brewery agent route and until the
building is completed the brewery
agent makes regular stops and takes
the nickels of the workmen four or
five times a day"
1t is expected that Mayor Scholey
will demand the enforcement of the
peddler's license against these travelino
saloons and Of course as the men are
to be licensed to deal in strong shirt.
Gus and malt liquors the smallest Ii.
cense that could be charged would be
$500 for each travelling saloon. At
that the Baker law would have to he
reckoned with and with fourteen WAC.
ons doing business it would be impossi.
BILE to give these men licenses and keen
within the limit set for the law. There
is no doubt in the minds of ATTORNEYS
but that these men are guilty of 4
violation of the law when they sell
beer without taking a retail liouo,
dealers license and there is good rea.
son to believe that case to test the
law viii be started at once.