New-York tribune., 1919-08-08
Suit Brought Here to Keep
u. S. Agents From Enforc-
ing Prohibition Is Nearly
the Same as Suit for Beer
Brewers Ask Referendum
Say People of State Have
Power to Leggalize ,lic Sale
Through Their Ballots

Sylvester Scatena, William H. Law
son and A. Julius Perelli- Minetti, as
owners Of large California vineyards
and wine plants, brought an injunction
suit in the Federal District Court yes
terday against United States Attorney
Francis Caffey and Collector of Internal
Revenue William Edwards designed to
prevent those officials from enforcing
the provisions of the wartime prohibit
ton act.
The plaintiffs, who are .co-partners
and in business as Scatena, Lawson &
Perelli, at 1856 Greene Street, state in
the complaint that at the close of busi-
ness on June 80 rast they had in stock
upward of 100000 gallons of market
duced from grapes grown in their vine
yards, and was worth about $550000
They assert that the wartime prohibi-
ton act is unconstitutional.
Want Employees Protected
In addition, the plaintiffs seek to
have Caffey and Edwards enjoined from
threatening the firm with disorganiza-
ton and the dispersion of it's staff of
trained employees by coercing them into
quitting the plaintiffs employ to avoid
prosecution and possible punishment
1t is further explained in the complaint
that during the last year the firm has
sold its product to upward of one hun
dred large wholesale customers, and
ufactured Wine amounted to 81, 100000,
and that $250,000 was paid on this to
the government for taxes.
The entire action is almost identical
to those brought in behalf of the brew
ers. In an affidavit attached to the
complaint, A, julius Perelli- -Minetti
says there are about 65,O0O,00O worth
of vineyards in the United States and
100000 acres of land are devoted ex-
ufacture of wine. He declared that if
the act is declared constitutional the
physical property of the wine growers
anG manufacturers, valued at $125, ,O0O.-
OOO, Will be rendered worthless, and
about 10000 persons receiving salaries
at the rate Of s48,OOO,o00 year, will
be thrown out of employment.
Brewers Ask Referendum
William H. Hirst, counsel for the
New ork State Brewers Association,
in statement issued yesterday. asks
that the people of the state be given
a chance to decide upon what kind of
prohibition they want. If the voters
by referendum should decide they are
- i"'Oi v! HiouiIieu prom DlIlOn, Dy
which Mr.. Hirst means leagl authority
for the manufacture and sale of wines
aA' beers. they may be manufactured
and sold, he says.
II meet the floor tax" on whiskey
~ their possession, wholesale liquor
dealers throughout the country are ap-
pealing to the Commissioner of In
,~i'i'%- Revenue to ask Congress to
'-Hanl r:n authority to extend the time
fer payment of this tax to correspond
with the time they are being denied
l.;snt 10 sci! the whiskey by the
wartime prohibition act This an
nouncement was made yesterday by the
Association Opposed to National Pro-
hibition from advices received throug;
the Western headquarters of the asso-
citation.
There are more than 3O,O0O,Oo0 gal
Ions of whiskey in possession of whole
and subject to a Federal tax of $500
gallon, the value Of which is tenn
porarily vitiated by wartime prohibi-
ton" the statement says. Zone of the
firms which wrote to Commissioner
Roper, Eite Brothers, of Chicago, re-
fers to the very anomalous situation of
the government, itself selling contis-
Gated whiskey while prohibiting deal
ers to sell the commodity, which they
must do in order to meet the govern
ment's tax"
The tax on whiskey is $640 a gallon
by the terms of the new internal rev
enue law, effective since last February.
The old tax was $500 so that, in order
TO cGualize, the government added $3.50
on every gallon of floor stocks,'
meaning whisKey which had been with
drawn from the bonded warehouses,
thus making the total tax $6.4O, which
ic ho low ho
time OF the withdrawal from the ware
house With the 3O,0O00OO gallons of
"hoor stock" whiskey, the government
WI! collect q total Of sos. 600 .O00.