The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1917-03-22

Bone Dry" Law Will Cost
Minneapolis Some Millions
Minneapolis, March 16-Minneapolis
business aggregating more than ST..
100000 year in the form of liquor
shipments to neighboring dry states
will be thing of the past July 1.
When Pres. Woodrow Wilson signed
the postal appropriation bill with it's
bone dry amendment, the business was
doomed. Congress delayed the demise,
however, till July.
Brewery and wholesale liquor bust
ness in Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth,
New Ulm and other centers with dry
states, amounts annually to $2,O0O,OOO,
it was estimated. All this will soon
be dead.
Against this loss hurry up bust.
mess that may run into hundreds of
thousands of dollars is expected This
business will be in the shape of great
ly increased orders from residents of
dry states preparing for the drouth.
The law stops shipments of liquor in
any form into Alabama, Arizona,
Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana,
Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maine,
Mississippi, North Carolina, North Da-
kota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Caro-
lima, Tennessee, Virginia, washington
and West Virginia.
1t will still be possible to ship into
Indiana until April g. 1918, and into
! TpI
and Michigan will be so sharply con-
tested for by Chicago and Milwaukee,
it is expected, that Minneapolis can do
no business there.
The territory from which much
Minneapolis hurry up" liquor bust
ness may be expected comprises
Nebraska, which will be dry after May
1. South Dakota, which goes dry July
!, and Montana, where state prohibit
ton becomes effective Oct. 81
North Dakota is the biggest dry
state customer that Minneapolis has,
the volume of business done with peo-
pie resident within its confines being
by far the most important. The shut.
ting out of that state by the postal
amendment, which prohibits any ship.
ments of liquor into states that are
dry, is the hardest single blow the
Minneapolis brewers and wholesalers
ever have suffered.
When word that the president had
signed the measure was received in
the twin cities there were various con-
ferences of liquor men. Fred w. Zoll-
man, attorney for the Minnesota
Brewers association, was in confer
ence with members of the organiza-
ton.
The news was taken three ways,
joyfully, philosophically, and with a
sense of relief, by three Minneapolis
men representing various interests.
w. G.. Calderwood, secretary of the
prohibition state committee, said:
1T is the biggest thing that ever
happened for prohibition. It will not
allow the shipment Of liquor into any
dry state. It permits the transporta
ton of liquor through dry states to
wet states, but the only wet states in
the west that Minneapolis liquor men
can ship to are Wyoming, Utah, Ne.
vada and California
Titus Mareck, secretary of the Min
neapolis Brewing Co., said.
IF it is what the people want it is
proper that they should have it. OF
course it will affect the brewing in
dustry seriously. In my judgment it
is a great mistake not to differentiate
between light wines and beer as
against whisky and spirits. Wine and
beer are in fact great help to that
end which prohibitionists are trying
by drastic legislation to reach"
Author M. Smith, wholesaler, said:
"As the one man in Minneapolis
whose income is most seriously affect
ed, l, nevertheless, welcome the new
act. 1t means absolute prohibition
in western states that never have had
il before. In my judgment it marks
high tide in the progress of prohibition
in the United States and feel conf
dent that many states that are now
dry will vote wet again within five
years. I think the reaction, when it
comes, will be general
with this inevitable reaction will
come the reorganization or regenera-
ton of the liquor business. Experience,
believe, will have shown that the
way to handle the problem is by strict
regulation of the distributive source
and the elimination of the objection
able man from the business, rather
than by telling the people they dare
not drink
Nevertheless, Mr.. Smith pointed out
the bill, the most drastic ever enacted
governing liquor distribution, does
not prohibit to the extent of actual
exclusion.
Any North Dakota man or Iowa man
or man from other states who is in
Minneapolis, may take back with him
in his baggage, small quantity of
liquor. Unless such action shall bring
him into conflict with state laws, there
is no reason why he should not take
gallon of liquor with him, so far as the
new postal bill amendment is concern
led. The danger of taking more than
a gallon would be the liability of being
suspected of being blindpigger.
John Wagner, office manager for the
Minneapolis branch of the Anheuser-
Busch Co., St. Louis, estimated that
the business of the company's Mime