The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-18
By WILLIS THORNTON
MIA ScrVice Wrlfer

| Copyright, 1882, NEA Service, Inc.)
 The sweeping wet victory in the election means a definite loosening of the prohibition barrier even without waiting for any changes in the laws. All the sopping-wet ci- ties, which have always more or less Ignored the prohibition law so far as their local police were con- cerned, reacted immediately. In such cities, many citizens got their beer right along with out much trouble before the elec- tion. 4Afterward there was even given big push by the mandate Mayor Anton Cermak of Chi cago (which has always been dripping wet) was quoted as say- | ing Chicago brewers need not wait for the repeal of the search and seizure act. The police will not enforce it as far as beer IS concerned" Cermak later, how ever, addressed city council, say- ing, "The first necessary action is to repeal the search and seizures act the state will then be ready to abide by what congress does."
 l The conflict between these statements attributed to Cermak is typical of the confusion in which all overwhelmingly wet communities found themselves.
 And the practical result was an immediate let-down of all dry barriers.
 Cities vied with each other to get through their councils repeal | nN nnAe ,fvan AT0 forcement of the dry laws, and | even former saloon license laws.
 which will be ready whenever congress acts.
 HAY OFF BEER"
 Typical was that introduced by former saloonkeeper Alderman
 Bath House John'' Coughlin of | Chicago. T don't see why we should wait for change in 'na-
 tional prohibition laws, as they don't mean anything here anyway any more," Coughlin said. Rumors that national prohibi1 ton enforcement agencies hade quietly passed the word to Hay off beer'' were quickly denied. But it was obvious to everybody that the reduced federal prohibi- tion forces now available cannot begin to cope with the beer situa- ton in the great cities without at least the appearance of co-opera- tion from local police.
 Though no immediate change in the status of hard liquors" has even been proposed, bootleg, gers were encouraged to bolder measures by the mere thought of the election, and plans were inn mediately put in effect to flood the country with liquor by Christ mas as it has not been flooded for 13 years.
 Ignoring of the national prohi- bition laws by wet cities, especial | Iy as regards beer, is nothing new. The urban American never really has been without beer. | The last estimate made of beer consumption under prohibition IS for the fiscal year 1930-6SS,- 032,000 gallons. The estimate for the same year by the Asso-
 citation Against the Prohibition Amendment was 790,000,00O gal Ions costing $395.Q00.o00 at 5o | cents gallon. Some figure these as high as $I20 a gallon. at which rate we would be spending almost as much for beer now as we did in 1914 for all liquors, S1,635,04S,034.
 THE HOME BREWERS
 Nobody knows how much of this was produced by bootleggers. and how much in cellars for home consumption, but nearly every-l one's personal experience with the connections of his -ncighbors will shw that good deal of 1t Is homemade. 1'he reasons for this are two:
 First, there is almost no chance of the government ever stopping home brewing. illegal or not. It is simply impossible to station q federal agent in every home. and short of that there is no practical way to prevent a man from mak- ing any brewing experiments in his own home that he chooses, 50 long as he doesn't peddle 1t. Second, beer of Q sort is so easy to make that anybody can do 1t with fair success. And there IS plenty Of tradition behind that ac- ton. A traveller in Virginia in |1649 reported that the colony had 'six public brew.houses; but most brew their own beer, strong and good"
 The stories of the leaks in the prohibition dyke have been often repeated: How few physicians can afford to- neglect writing all their allowed prescriptions for legal bonded whisky; how the federal farm board loaned millions to California grape-growers who made and sold a delicious soft drink grape concentrate Qt turned into wine under the right conditions); how illicit distilleriqs dotteds both country wood- lots and city basements; how lit orally millions of gallons of ex- cellent sacramental wine went down profane gullets; how diver sion of industrial alcohol reached 9,O0O,000 proof gallons in 1880; hNv diversion of real beer from near-beer breweries and estab- lishment of secret brcweries be- came mine of tainted gold and the beer racketeer rose to become a mighty and sinister figure.
 These are familiar to every body. But less known is. the new est twist to the beer situation. Wort is Legal
 It arises from the processes in- herent to beer-making. Beer is open to local traffic.