The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-14
SAYS BREWERS ARE.
 TRYING TO CORRECT EVILS OF SALOONS
United State Brewers ASSO. in Annual Convention at
 Springfield.

l United States BreW6rS ASSOc1aG1On, l whose members are said to produce 1 over seventy-five per cent of the malt liquors in the United States, began
 its fifty-fifth annual convention here today.
 | President Edward A. Schmidt in his 1 address declared that the Brewers,
 as well as outside reformers, were
 striving to correct the evils of the
 saloon, and 1ntfmated that some radi-
 cal reforms might be expected. He said, in part:
 ''For many years the educational work. of our Associa tton was hamper 1 ed by the lack of a constructive poli- cy, which, however, was impossible until practically all our own people l had reached the point of conviction in regard to the necessity of saloon reform and of rigid law observance. We have at last come to fairly general agreement as to what consti- tutes a good licensing system, and have established in our own minds, 1 certain definite principles which should govern the conduct of the re- tail trade. Of course, the local ap- p1ication of these principles involves many perp1exing and complex prob lems, which will take time to work out, and will undoubtedly involve some serious sacrifices.
 ftIn this connection I want to be-
 speak your active interest and CO., operation in the work of the Cooper
 ative Committee of the Licensed
 Trade engaged in the manufacture
 and Sale of Alcoholic Liquors, which
 is endeaVoring to build up the local
 retail organizations, so that every re-
 putabIe man in the saloon trade may
 be enrolled as member of his local
 organization. One of the main ob-
 jects of this movement is to bring the reputable men in the retail business together, so that their opinions may
 be made potent in correcting any of the abuses that have crept into the
 business.
 ''The Cooperative Committee, rep resenting the national organizations of the Brewers, the Wholesalers and the Retailers, have agreed that li- censes, should be issued in response to a normal demand for them, and that the artificial stimulation of bus mess by any branch of the trade is undesirable The committee also ad- vocates the absolute suppression of any connection of any licensed prem ises with any disorder1y house or gambling establishment, and urges the trade to refuse to sell to speak easies.' or other ilhcit vendors.
 Perhaps the most important and far-reaching suggestion made by the Cooperative committee, is, that the trade should encourage the establish ment of public family resorts in which all kinds of refreshments shall
  of alcoholic beverages shall be no more emphasized than any other bev- erages, conforming to the type of con- tinental beer hall and restaurant, fa-
 niliar to the American traveller In the French restaurant or the German beer garden, one sees whole families sitting together at table, slipping their beer, their diluted wine or their coffee, enjoying good music, eating their simple fare and talking together in peace and harmony.
 ''In England a. body of noted men have organized what is known as the Public House Trust, which is dealing with the temperance and licensing I problems upon common sense busi- ness lines. Their standpoint is that the Licensed House is a practical ne- cessity, and that it ought always to all the people can resort without re- proach. This organization has Se- cured the control of some 300 Li- censedt Houses,l where during the past ten years it has been computed that I more than 11,0O0,00O persons have been served, and not a single prosecu- 1 ton for drunkenness or any other evil i has resultedA
 sI appeal to you,'' said the presi- | dent in closing, ttto make it your per sona1 business to see that such reforms | are undertaken and carried out, and to accept willingly your own share in | the loss that these reforms may, and l will necessarily involve-temporary | though they may be-both because in ] the long run they will insure to your benefit, and most of all because they are putting the industry on all fours with the welfare of the community"
 The views of the brewers associa- ton on the extra war tax were set forth in the report of the trustees before today's session of the conven- ton.
 The report points out that while the brewers have been heavy losers on account of war conditions and be- cause of the constant menace to- its business, it also bears the heaviest burden of war taxation while other industries, that grow fat on war con- tracts, escape entirely
 Beer has been compelled to bear i a. war taxation out of. all proportion f to it's relation to industry" says the report 'HThe increased beer tax of 50 cents per barrel (naking the pres ent tax $1.5O per barreD will expire by limitation next December When this extra tax was imposed the brew CTS submitted to it with the feeling that there was an emergent need for 1t. The burden is, however, a griev- ous one, particularly in these hard times, and there should be no renewal of the extra tax until the government has exhausted other means of obtain ing the additional revenue. It would seem most fitting that the heaviest burden of taxation should be borne by those who are making millions out of the war-the arms and munitions cturers, the steel industry and the automobile manufacturers-r ather than by those whose business has suf- fered through the war
 'sIn comparison with other coun- tries, the United States taxes beer very heavily, and there is no country In which such enormous license fees are imposed for the sale of alcoholic liquors at retail as those that now ob- tain generally throughout the non prohibition states. The soda foun- tains which dispense harmful com +o @I,a eroxr- |