New-York tribune., 1911-11-29

brewing industry of New York, In the
event of prohibition in this state, woulu
| have tremendous effect IL would throw
many thousands out Of steady and lucra-
tive employment 1t would be terrible
blow TO our free school system, which Is
very largely maintained by the excise rev.
enues, and would affect-seriousiy aheo'
other public institutions aided or main
tained by the state
The amount OF property and capital rem
dered useless would be so great as to tempt
! exaggeration. And rich as New iprh To-
it is extremely doubtful il she could impose
| taxes to which the public would easily SUI
NIT I'm order to make up the deficit causeu
by the abolition Of the liquor trade
As to Trade Reforms.
rho man VIM run the wholesale end OF
bo trade have shown a by no means uncer-
toir willingness to align themselves on the
side Of good order. They want 10 see .''o
/ ha bits Of drunkenness decrease soielS ''i
/ the reason, If for no other, that IL Is "C'
good business for them. Their contention -
that too much drinking is bad ADVERTISE
/ nlent for their trade.
They want. moreover TO nave the saiooii
keepers more particular in the mahase-
ment of their places, so that disorderiS
element will not be permitted 10 lreque"'
them. Keeping dssolute women ana i''i"o'
children out Of the saloons ana man
inc them dt places to enter will help the
Lusiness and will serve to combat the au-
vance of the prohibition movement.
II il pointed out that. for instance the
soloons where German folks go great zeal
are orderly enough They are gathering
nlaces for families, and there Is nothing
that is considered distasteful in having folks
eli around i'm them. with women and chill
dren in groups If that is the case WIN
these. clearly it is not the fault OF the
Iiouor trade or Of the saloon in general
/ but of the saloon in particular, that the
whole business has got black eye Inc
prohibitionist. it Is urged takes no account
Of particular cases. but says in gehe'aI'
sweeping statement: "All saloons are pad
therefore all saloons must go
The ljauor interests do not deny that some
places certainly could he better managed
They know that there are places where the
conditions are not all that they should pe'
But they cannot interfere in places Whlch
they do not own. Their only resource would
be to refuse to sell to these disorderly
places but then again, they know it is prac-
ticalIy impossible to prevent a saloon keeper
/ from getting liquors if he wants 10 buy
/ them.
That is the whole trouble, some OF the
men in the liquor interests say. If the po-
| Ice and other guardians of public morals
and safety were only as eager as they 10
/ have the saloon business managed on decent
| lines there would be much less complaint.
1 The trouble is that those who are attempt
irg reforms do not have the same reasons
/ for wanting to keep the saloons decent as
do the wholesalers With them it Is. II
nothing else, a matter Of business.
! 1t is contended that if the proper persons
| went to these saloon keepers who are do'nS
q distastefu business and closed them up
! eGectuaIly all trouble would cease. But the
! point is that these men have some means
% keeping going no matter how badly they
may conduct themselves. These conditions
exist in all cities. the less as well as the
great. and Il cannot all be blamed on the
wholesaler by a great deal The Rev. John
Peters. chairman OF the Committee OF
Fourteen. says: "G have yet to learn OF
brewers who have deliberately falsiied
weights, like the sugar reiiners. l nave
not heard of conditions in the manufacture
OF beer which. for degradation and brutal
ity, begin to compare with those existing in
the manufacture of bread in the city of New
York. which have caused the bakers strike
in that city, or I'm the manufacture of steel
and iron in Pittsburgh. | have not found that
the brewers in New York, owners Of or re-
sponsible for the properties TO which have
referred. are any more calous than or as
calous as some very respectable property
owning citizens.
In greater New York the brewers have
established a working arrangement with the
Committee of Fourteen and the bonding
companies which has resulted in cleaning
up a large number Of disceputable places.
The law itself makes the undertaking very
difficult. and IL is further complicated by
the overcrowded condition OF the courts and
the attitude of some of the minor judges
Similar work has been done in Buffalo,
Rochester and other upstate cities
During the year past the representa-
tives Of the brewers in this joint committee