Evening star., 1932-12-07
Four Per Cent Advocated.
Nine Cents a Bottle Price
Assured.
$3.50, ,945, 600 REVENUE
TO TREASURY ESTIMATED
Stimulus to Business in General
Tone of Testimony Before
House Committee.
BY the Associated Press.

by the ASSOCldteu HfeSS.
Witnesses for brewers depicted beer as
bringer of good tidings for business
and the Federal Treasury in the OPEN
ing of testimony on the Collier beer bill
before the House Ways and Means Com
mittee today.
Advocating brew Of 4 per cent al
cohol by volume, Levi Cooke of Wash
ington and r. A. Huber of st. Louis
on behalf Of the United States Brewers
Observation-Disclosures a $5-a-barrel
tax would enrich the Treasury by $780,
e45,ooo year.
Addressing the committee, but turning
now and again to the crowded audience,
Huber said the beer he supported could
be sold for cents bottle, and that
its legalization would cause $3.50, ,00o, 900
to be spent to rehabilitate breweries and
100000 men would be given work.
100000 Barrels Held Need.
With the present brewing capacity in
the country at $4,000, 900 barrels an
nually, he said, 10000, ,o00-barrel ca
pacity would be needed before long.
Following Cookies testimony that the
2.75 per cent beer by weight provided
in the bill placed before the committee
by Chairman Collier was insufficient in
alcoholic content, Huber said 80 per
cent beer was a better product. The
latter would be per cent by volume.
Huber said millions would have to be
expended Immediately for materials
such as barley, rice, sugar, sirup and
other ingredients for production in the
plants. In addition to the 100000 men
he estimated would be given employ
ment In the wholesale and retail dis
tribution of the product, Huber said
miners and railroad employees, would be
given increased employment.
Tax Regarded Reasonable.
The SIS a barrel tax proposed In the
Collier bill was reasonable Huber
said, If States and cities did not place
an additional tax on it so that it would
become so costly 1t could not be pur-
chased by laborers.
Asked by Representative Crowther,
Republican, CT New York, if by legal
izing beer bootlegging would be elimi-
mated, Huber said:
vi believe it won't except to the extent
Of consumption Of other sorts of liquors
are reduced by those drinking beer.
II don't think anything but a miracle
would step bootlegging until all sorts of
liquors are legalized."
Before the meeting opened, the COM
mittee had been given the cold shoulder
by the administration, so far as beer
legislation goes. Its invitation to the
Treasury to present witnesses brought
none, and 1t was said authoritatively
the administration would not go on
record.
Jacob Rupert Present.
Men and women alike crowded the
largest committee room of the House
Office Building to follow the proceed
ings. Among the spectators was Jacob
Rupert, owner of the New York
Yankees. Rupert, former House
member, was among the leading brew
ers of the country prior to passage of
the prohibition law.
Chairman Collier of Mississippi
started proceedings with the statement
that the proposed alcoholic content of
2.75 per cent for beer and the tax of
IS barrel of 81 gallons were mot
arbitrary"
The committee will decide" he re-
minded
The tax on beer, still on the statute
books, is Sc a barrel
Representative Treadway, Republican,
Of Massachusetts,, asked if the Collier
bill would be brought before the Judi
ciary Committee, or whether the Ways
and Means Committee would handle
both the tax phase and the section
modifying the Volstead act.
Collier said If there was another tax
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