Evening star., 1932-11-27
Attend Beer Legislation
In Course of Repeal of Prohibition

They are, In New England, Massachu-
sets; in the North Central Atlantic
region, New York and New Jersey; on
the border, Maryland; in the solid
South, louisiana; in the Great Lakes
region, Michigan and Wisconsin; in the
Prairie region. North Dakota: in the
Mountain region, Montana, Colorado,
Nevada and Arizona: on the Pacific
slope, Washington, Oregon and Cali
fornia.
In about one-third Of these States,
however, the local counties or the like
are privileged under local option" -
go dry and forbid beer if they please.
Nevertheless. the wet minority Of the
Senate COMMITTEES on Manufactures cal
culated last Spring that the consump-
ton of legaliZed beer would at least
equal consumption in 1916, when 1t
was some 66,000000 barrels. That is
30, 1885, 900, ,000 glasses of beer.
We then approach the fourth diff
Guilty. That is the fixing of the tax on
beer. The O'Connor bill in the last
session fixed it at 3 cents pint bottle.
Some Senators have proposed to nix 1t
at 2 cents a pint bottle. This would be
approximately cent glass. The ar
pensive beer would presumably encour-
age cheap bottle beer The theory of
the advocates of a low beer tax Is that
! cheap legitimate beer would make
bootleggers unnecessary.
If the tax should be fixed at cent
| a glass or 2 cents a pint, the revenue
derived, according to the wet minority
of the Senate Manufactures Commit
tee, would be 1927 10000
A more modest estimate Of the posSibil-
tiles of beer consumption and revenue
! is made by Mr. Rufus Lusk, legislative
representative in Washington of the
militant wet organization, the Cru
saders. Mr.. Lusk calculates that with
tax Of cent glass the revenue re-
sulting would be $226, ,542 900.
It is increasingly realized that an
extreme tax would play into the hands
Of the Speakeasies, furnishing cheap
illegal beer, and would thus tend to
bring the new wet legislation into dis
repute.
As an appendage to these elements in
the problem there are the speculative
pronouncements Of statesmen and in
dustrialists regarding the economic
gains to be secured by legalized beer in
combating the depression. Wet Sem
ators have maintained that the revived
beer industry would give employment to
100000 persons Dry leaders have main-
tanned that almost an equal number of
persons would simultaneously get dis
| placed out of the industries which now
| produce soft drinks and ice cream and
candies. Some economists theorize to
the effect that consumers have plenty
of money right now, which they are
boarding, and that If they were at
| tracted by beer they could afford to
support both the beer industry and the
soft drinks and ice cream and candy
industries simultaneously. Weathered
and wary observers are inclined to think
that the science of economics on this
point, as on all others, is safer for spec
ulation than for investment
The one industry which sees itself at
least theoretically barred from partici-
patton in the prosperity promised by
beer is the fixture industry. With beer
dispensed only in bottles, there will be
no gains by the manufacturers of brass
rails, mahogany counters, cooling coils
pumps and faucets.
Copyright. 1922