The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1911-06-08
Wholesale Liquor
Dealers Convene.
Address of President West
heimer at Annual Con-
ventiOn of Association

natl President of the National Whole
sale Liquor Dealers Association, at thu
annual convention of the Association
held in Chicago this week:
We meet in annual convention II
celebrate the sixteenth anniversary OF
this association.
The influence of the National Whole
sale Liquor Dealers Association wa:
never greater than it is to-day.
Internal Revenue.
The relation between this asso.
citation and the Department of Inter.
nal Revenue continue to be cordial
The policy of the department to en-
force compliance with the law and
regulations, which has been so heart
lily concurred in by the members Of
this association, will result in great
good.
Anti-Saloon League i'm Politics.
The national superintendent of the
Anti-Saioon League has stated that
the League intends to concentrate its
efforts on the election of United
States Senators and representatives
who will be pledged to pass federal
laws to remove liquor from the pro-
lection of all interstate commerce
laws.
No more important matter can
come before this convention than that
of preparing ourselves to prevent the
Anti-SaIoon League from carrying OUT
it's boast to control national legisla-
ton; and 1 recomme that, before
we adjourn, some plan be adopted.
nationwide in it's scope, which shall
enable us to give this question the at
tention it imperatively demands.
Prohibition the Cause of Illicit Dis
filling.
There is no doubt that the trade
suffers in the minds Of the public,
because of the tremendous increase of
of great comfort to know that no
member of this association has been
charged with 'moon-shining.'
Illicit distillation prospers almost
exclusively in those states that en-
deavor to enforce statutory prohibit
ton. 1t seems probable that with
the opening of prohibition states to
proper license laws, the government
will be able practically to stamp out
all moonshiners and others engaged
in unlawful distilling.
The Illicit distiller. and his twin
brother, the illicit dealer, are the OFF,
spring of prohibition.
We deplore their existence, but we
repudiate all responsibility for bring
ing them into the world
Wood" Alcohol, Dangerous TO Life.
We have been unsuccessful in our
attempts to induce the Pure Food or
Internal Revenue REPAYMENT to force
distilIers of wood alcohol to change
the name of their product to one
emitting the world alcohol"
Continued efforts should be made
to accomplish that end, as many
lives are lost. and much ignorant and
unfair criticism of the trade results
from the use of the word alcohol In
connection with distillate of wood.
Wood alcohol is no sense what the
public knows as alcohol.
1t is an active poison, and because
of its misleading title is often igno-
rantly used with fatal consequences,
instead of grain alcohol.
County Option.
The attempts of the Anti-Saloon
League to enforce prohibition, tfr ough
county option, on cities opposed to it,
are responsible for the unfortunate
conditions which prevail in cities thus
prevented from governing themselves
AS a further consequence, there. now
exists an era of "boot-legging" and
blind tigers" unprecedented in the
history of this country.
In several states, many large cities
that voted wet" are forced to remain
dry on account of the dry" vote
in. the country districts.
These liberal cities in dry" coun-
ties are deprived of the revenue they
formerly received from the licensed
trade. They find themselves BURDEN
ed with increased taxes made neces-
sary by the increased expenses of
their police courts.
These conditions are insepara bl
from prohibition, and always follow
the blind tiger and boot-legging sale
of liquors.
Adams county. Ohio, lately made
notorious because of the remarkably
10. I,
admittedly sold their votes, is almost
exclusively composed Of rural voters,
there being no cities in the county
Yet Adams county was one of the
first counties that voted dry" under
the county option law in Ohio.
Statistics.
The total national revenue of this
government from all sources for the
fiscal year ending June 80, 1910. was
The total internal revenue and Gus
toms receipts from alcoholic bever-
ages was 226 million dollars.
Think of it! In twelve months, 226
million dollars revenue was paid to
this government by an industry fos-
left unprotected by it from the at
tacks of the widest fanaticism
Does not government which col
lects over "a per cent. of it's total
revenue from one industry owe that
industry protection from conf1scation.
or at least compensation, when. UNI
der state laws, confiscation results?
The annual report of the Commits
sioner of Internal Revenue for the
year ending June 30. 1910, shows a
net increase over the preceding year
of over thirteen million dollars in
taxes levied on distilled liquors, and
a net increase of over three million
dollars on beer
This tremendous increase in the
of fern nted and dfstii-
led liquors, in spite of the activity
and victories claimed by the Anti-Sa-
loon League, is notable because it
shows conclusively that prohibition.
instead of reducing the quantity of
liquors consumed. simply changes the
channels of distribution and certain
ly reduces the quality while it in
creases the quantity consumed
The Coming Year.
The association is to be conerat,,-
lated on the amount of substantial
q = invement which has marked the
past year, both in our national and
,,--,e ~anipaigns. But in this period
of the abatement of the wave of IA
naticism that threatened us, we must
exercise unusual precautions to hold
the position we have won. and pre-
pare the way for permanent CONNER
cial stability and permanent relief
from unjust agitation
We must not try to stem the CIR
rent of nationwide investigation and
discussion. On the contrary we should
In every reasonable and honorahJa
way. aid in these efforts, and in do
Ing so we should aspire to guide nuh