The Connecticut labor press., 1919-12-27
STILL HOPE THAT
 BEER WILL BE
 MADE AND SOLD
New Jerseys Promised Legaliza- tion of Brewing Encourages
 Belief of Better Days Here.
BREWERIES CLOSING
Brewery Workers Delegates Re port on Situation to New
 Haven Trades Council.

Haven Trades Council Gustav Buehler delegate from the Brewery Workers union, reported that under present con ditiOns their organization was practically at a standstill and threatened with dis aSter if the present stringent prohibition conditions continue i'll force. The breWeries are not finding muCl demand for the sO-Cal1ed near beer anC several throughout the state have shu down. The Yale Brewery IS to shu down sOOn throwing the men there ou of employment and the outlook IS no encouraging, although the organization itself will do everything possible to per potua1c its existence and new members are expected from the organization Ot the soft drink workers. The speaker urged unlimited support of these new entrants into the field from all mem bere of organized llbCr-
 However, t takes a lot to discourage such a bunch of hard fighters and g0o( stiCkere as comprise the Brewery W Ork- ,rs' u11irn and Delegate Buehler later expressed tO q representative Ot The Connecticut Labor Press the hope helC bv many of the members that something would develop which WOul( allow the brewing of beer.
 Hope ir this direction is gained partly from the statement issued by Governor elect Edwards of New Jersey who has declared thar he was confident the pro- posed bill 1e9alizing the manufacture oi the sale of light wines and beers ill NcW-l erSty would be passed by the state legislature soon after he assumed office, January l. He said he would sign it ts soon as it reached him.
 1t IS reasoned that if such a measure can be passed in New Jersey it can be i'll Connecticut which refused to ratify the l8tf amendment.
 Governor Edwards also declares that simultaneously with the introduction of the light wine and beer bill in the legis- lau1re he would direct the state attor- ney general to bring-suit to contest the constitutiona1ity of the federal bone-dry amendment and the Volstead act. The governor eject said both were III vlOla- uOr of state rights.
 New Jersey, i'll enaCting such a law will be we'll within its rights" said the governor -clect It will, of course merely provide for the manufacture and sale of light wines and beers in this state so that it will deal solely with intrastate traffic in these beverages"
 'W hat will be the alcoholic content permitted i'll the light wines?" the gov ernor-eleCt was asked.
 We hold that light wines and beers are not intoxicating. so that there will be no need of specifying" said Mr. Edwards
 The governor-e1ect said the measure was not yet in it's final form, and he would not discuss it's proposed provi- sions i'll detail until 1t had been drafted.
 It can be announced authoritative1y, however, that the measure will continue the present department of excise and license the sale of light wines and beers, as at present, and will permit the sale of Whiskey brandy and other intoxicat- ing beverages for medicinal, sacrament tai and scientific purposes. It also will contain penalty clauses for infractions of the proposed law.
 Governor-eleCt Edwards, democrat was elected on all out-and-out wet" platform by majority of nearly 7,0O0 Overturning a normal republican major ity of 69,000
 When it was called to his attention that the legislature was republican and that the conception in many quarters outside of New Jersey was that both the senate and assembly were dry," Mr. Edwards said
 The majority of the legislature is for the proposed legislation. The as sernblyfnen from Atlantic, Passaic, Hud- son and Essex counties-So called wet counties-number 31, which in itself is a majority. And the sentiment in the senate parallels the feeling on the ques- ton in the assembly,"
 The proposed light wines and beer bill is being whinped into shape by a committee headed by Mir. Edwards and including the following legislators : Thomas Brown of Middlesex, minority leader of the senate, and Assemblyman Hugh C. Barrett of Essex. The fourth member of the committee is John Mil ton, c0rporaiion counsel of Jersey City.
 MT. Edwards is a banker and made his fight for election against seeming certain defeat on the wet" issue prom ising that if elected he would work for the passage of a light wine and beer bill and would use every legal means to preserve, as he put it, the personal rights of the people of New Jersey.
 His opponent Newton A. K. Bugbee who was a } to 1 favorite in the early part of the campaign, dodged the ''wet' and "dry' question: holding that it was not all issue in the campaign. Bugbee had not only the machine behind him. but the Anti-Sa1oon League, which con- tributed largely to the campaign fund.
 A bill legalizing manufacture and sale of ales and beers will be introduced soon after the New York state legisla- ture cOnVenes on January 7.
 Informal discussions have been held on the proposed legislation. Tie bill said to have the support of legislative leaders, will be patterned on the three per cent. beer bill introduced at the last session of the legislature by Senator J. Henry Walters, majority leader.
 The new bill will be pressed for early passage, and those behind it predicted yesterday that it would be law before January 16.
 The proposed law would permit the manufacture of beer and its sale in hotels, restaurants and clubs in first and second class cities villages and towns. Like the Walters bill, the measure will restrict the sale of beer to restaurants with dining rooms containing at least 600 square feet of floor space and hay inp dining accommodations for at least