New-York tribune., 1919-01-09
New York Brewers
Join in Fight ON
Dry Amendment
Declare Fhat, if Passed, 13
States Can Prevent Its
Repeal, Causing Loss Of
Billions to Investors

The New York Brewers Association
met here yesterday in executive ses-
sion and laid plans to fight the rati-
hcatlon of the constitutional prohibi-
ton amendment and to protest the
continual ban on brewing beer. They
termed their cause Square deal
hight and said that billions of invest
ed dollars were in danger of being sac
rificed 'to the buster. noise and OBJ
session of the prohibition fanatic"
Meanwhile, William H. Anderson.
head of the Anti saloon League Of
New York, made public a statement
vigorously attacking the contentious
OF the National Distillers' Convention.
which met IN Chicago day before yes
terday and expressed its belief in the
amendments unconstitutionalitv bv
piedglng sums said to approximate
$l,0o0,000,000 for the purpose of CON
testing that point in the courts.
Ofhcers of the New York Brewers
Association stated that thew were act
ing e., Independently of the distillers.
we believe, first of all" said Pres;-
dent R. J. Schaefer, that the eovern-
ment has Disseminated against the
brewing industry. Wartime bans have
peen lifted on all other manufacturing
put the small brewers, the men who
rad limited storage capacity when
brewing was stopped December 80. arc
going out of business every day. los
ing their Investments and throwing
hundreds OF men out of employment.
Brewers Retain Employees
81 want to say Tor the industry which
/ represent that, Notwithstanding the
fact brewing ceased six weeks ago. not
New Y ork brewer out of the more
than 100 at this meeting has dis
charged a single employe or docked
Single days pay. Naturally the little
fellows whom the government is
crowdng to the wall cannot keep this
up, and the nations employment prob
lem IS going 10 be immeasurably in
creased unless we can convince the
tood administration to wire Mr.. Hoover
and President Wilson that the So
called war ban on brewing should be
lifted
"lf were a brewer in Cuba ] could
BUY American malt and manufacture
beer from 1t. The only brewers in the
world who cannot use American malt
are those of the Central Powers and
the United States Incidentally. car
loads of cereals. which the brewers had
on hand when the stop-order went into
erect, are subject to deterioration be-
cause there's no market for them"
llilam II. Hirst, attorney for the
2ssoelatlon, told the meeting that the
pederal amendment, if ratified, would
mean that lew men could keep the
United States dry" against the wishes
of 100,000O00.
10 States Can Keep L. S. Drv
Ihlrteen states could defeat the re-
peal of the amendment" said Mr.
Hlrst. There are thirteen prohibition
states with total population of s.
W. ,o24, represented in the upper
houses of their legislatures by $50
men Half of this number could keep
Ihe whole population of the United
states subsevlent to their wishes"
Superintendent Anderson. of the
anti Saloon League, dealing with points
brought up at the Chicago convention
OF distillers, said in part;
THE validity of objections to the
proposed prohibition amendment to the
constitution is we'll illustrated in the
liquor contention that the amendment
was not properly submitted because the
tWo-thirds vote in favor of it was that
proportion Of quorum and not of the
entire number of the members elected
to both Houses of Congress, which CON
tehtion, the strongest objection the
liquor interests had. was completely
knocked out by the United States Su
preme Court yesterday in decision
that was on all fours with the issue
involved IN the prohibition amendment.
] he objection to the concurrent iuris-
dlctlon clause and to the seven-year
will not amount to any more.
The prohibition forces arc not at
all disturbed by the threats of the