The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-08
Estimate Of Dry Sentiment in U. S.
by British Owners of St. Louis Breweries
Some Tall Explaining Why Dividends Were Not Larger Tell
Story of Restrictions Brewing Which Compelled the
Closing of Some of Their Plants However Prospects
Brighter Than Ever; Howl for Compensation

At the adjourned annual meeting /
of the St Louis BreWeries, Ltd, held
In London May 30, there was a mixture
of gloom. Joy, hope and satisfaction at
the roseate reports from their proper
ties in st. Louis.
This corporation was registered on
the London Stock Exchange in Deem
her, 1889, with 4 nominal share capital
OF 1.s00, 900 pounds, but with deben-
lures amounting to 3S6.500 pounds.
f'The concern. started out in 1890 with
ia IL per cent dividend, but this divi-
dend began straiEhtway to dwindle
down until 1t ceased altogether in 1917.
THE company started out with eighteen
breweries, but closed some of them.
At the annual meeting. chairman OF
/ the company, Mr.. +. T. l.. Thomson,
I in his annual address reviewed the
whole brewery situation in America,
from the malt standpoint. He said:
First Of all, / must express the re-
gret of The board at the long delay in
presenting the report and balance
sheet. In the first place. the presenta-
ftion of these documents was delayed
through the difficulty of getting our
accounts over from America and get
( ting them passed through the censor
ship Secondly, when the accounts
came over, they were not in the form
| that We could quite accept, and we
should not have been able TO have paid
the dividend which we have paid UNI
less they We're put in proper order.
We requested Mr., Ewes to go over in
our interests, and to explain to the
board on the other side that the re-
serves which we had put aside out OF
profits in the past for purposes no
llonger in use could be devoted TO pay
ing this dividend. That was the rea-
son why tho meeting WAS delayed.
Relates Troubles.
"Now. gentlemen, ] should like to
say that the position is a somewhat
peculiar one. The company, as YOU
know. operates In the state of Missouri,
which is a wet state. and, but for the
restrictions put upon our brewing OPP
erations, we should have heen IN
very good position for paying divi-
dends, and | will tell you what those
restrictions were. We were first of all,
prevented from using material to the
extent of 10 per cent as compared with
the previous year for the purposes of
brewing. and the gravity of the beer
was reduced to "a per cent of alco-
| hol from the first OF January, 1918.
Then again, tho production of the beer
was limited TO 70 per cent OF the prev
1ious years output, while fuel was re-
stricted to rs per cent. Later on, on
the first of July. 1918. we were allowed
to use only so per cent of the average.
Of fuel used in the years 1915, 1916
and 1917.
Brcwcrics Closed.
by the presidents order OF the
eighteenth of September, 1918. all
brewing ceased on the first of Decem
Der. 1918, which affected this company
in the following way. Our barrelage
and sales, as YOU will see by the re-
port fell rapidly. while our establish
ment charges were heavy because of
the reduced trade. The tax went up
from the prc-war rate of 81 barrel
to SO a barrel, an dthere was only one
way to meet. that increase, namely, by
putting up the price Of our beer per
barrel That means. of course, that
the consumer has to pay these charges,
and he always does. The result of all
this was that we had to close down
three more breweries. Originally we
had eighteen breweries operating in
st. Louis. and today we have only f1ve.
''The necessary closing of saloons,
the calling in of loans and the collec-
ton OF debts has placed us in the po-
sition OF having very large amount
of cash, and our liquid assets today
are larger than the company has ever
had before
Only the Constitution OF the United
states in the Way.
CAS- matter of fact, the president
has only to declare that the peace is
signed and that rehabilitation has
taken place. and the act will allow us
then to brew. We are then faced only
with the following difficulty--namely
that on the first of January next year.
if the United States prohibition law
becomes an actual law, then, of course.
it will be impossible to carry on our
trade There are several reasons in my
mind, and very good reasons. why we
might justly hope and think rhat that
viii never take place.
The first is that the law itself only
forbids the brewing OF intoxicating
drink. and some OF the states have al
ready decided that a beer NJ "A per
cent alcoholic gravity is not-an intoxi-
eating drink. and II it i left to each