Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-23
CITY'S 1900 BARS
MAY CLOSE JUNE |
Liquor Men Not Expected
to Renew Licenses for
One Month
MANY MEN AFFECTED
<sBone-Dry' Law Hits Thou
sands of Workers and Mil
lions in Property

PHILADELPHIA retail liquor dealers
there are some 1900 of them--are looh-
ing forward to lean and hungry times
Unless the army Is dcmobiltaed before
July 1, 1919, the bone dry' provision
in the agricultural law, just signed by
the President, will put them out Of bust
ness. But even before then the saloon
Keepers expect a general drought, in beer
anyhow.
The food and fuel administration has
prohibited the use of food grains t"r
brewing after December l. Because the
alcoholic content of beer is at present
only something like Pa per cent, the
product will not keep for longer perioU
than q few months. Therefore the brew
ers and retailers are anticipating a beer
famine by. February or March OF next
year.
The licenses owned by Philadelphia $
retailers expire next June. Even If they
have beer to sell. it seems unlikely that
they will remain in business after their
licenses expire. In but few saloons is
business good enough TO justify the
proprietor paying his license money
for the privilege of keeping open single
month
a nc DOnt-utN law VIII nave t
further reaching effect than merely maxi
Ing folks go thirsty. II will involve
extensive business changes It will de-
crease the City's revenues by a Consid-
cradle sum: it probably will force
some thousands of persons in this city
10 seek other occupations.
400 Bottlers in city
Besides the retail liquor dealers, there
are approximately 400 bottlers and
Wholesalers in this city Their heaviest
Investment is n horses and wagons or
motor trucks and In bottiug maChiner!
The machinery Is said to be useless for
any other purpose
The brewers here have by all odds
the heaviest individual Investments.
some of them beng estimated at four
or fye millions. There are about thirty
breweries in Philadelphia. large and
small, estimated to be worth in all about
sixty millions of dollars.
just what they will do when the law
goes into effect has not been settled
by the brewers themselves. Some may
attempt the manufacture of "near-beer,"
but this Is not expected to take the
place of the real article in popularity.
Other uses have been suggested for the
breweries which are most of them big
plants. covering extensive ground space.
and fitted with elaborate and costly
machinery.
II has been intilnated that the Ma
tional Association Of Brewers will at
tick the constitutionality Of the law.
The local brewers have taken no action
so far to participate in such movement
One OF the biggest of them said today
that he planned ito keep right on brew
ing beer" He added: There's never
storm that the sun does not shine
after awhile. I'm not worrying or los
ing any sleep about the matter. Its a
big proposition to cut out the sale of
beer. 1t will be necessary to educate
: the public to it first"
n United States to Lose Billion
philadelphia revenue will suffer 10
the extent of about 81. .O00, 900 next YEAR
because there will be no license money
coming In. This is only ii drop in the
bucket, however. compared 10 the reve-
nue. loss which the Federal Government
will sustain--something like a billion
Hotel proprietors already are predict
Ing that prices for rooms meals and
other accommodations will soar when
the bars close. The managers of the
large hotels, however, are silent on that
question.
Incidentally. the closing of the brew
cries in the near future may be reflected
in other industries. the dried fruit in
dustry. for example. Dried fruits are
now unusually scarce. Huge Govern
ment purchases are held responsible.
Some breweries abroad have been con-
verted into drying plants A similar
use of breweries here would relieve the
dried fruit shortage, especially since
the Government has given no ndica-
ton that it will release or divert its
huge stocks of the fruits.