Evening star., 1933-12-17
THOUSANDS RETURN.
TO Jobs AS TRADE.
GAINS IN NEW YORK
Ratification of Amendment
AcceIerateS Improvement
Felt Since April.
BY THOMAS CoMPERE.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, December 16.-The eco.
nomic gain anticipated by anti-prohi.
bitionists here before the passage Of
the beer laws and the repeal of the
eighteenth amendment has been more
than attained, both in the rise in taxes
and the number of persons re-employed
Z thousands of persons have been re-
/ employed here and millions of dollars
have gone back into circulation through
the actual sale Of liquor and beer, as
/ we'll as through the renovating of more
] than 10000 restaurants, speakeasies and
retail liquor stores
Perhaps the greatest single stimulus
! TO unemployment here during the last
two years was the legalization of the
sale of 80 beer. That was of unusual
! significance, because it made it evident
that repeal was certain. Thousands of
establishments in this area had to be
! overhauled, real estate values went up,
iegitlmate trucking. concerns got new
) business and the legitimate breweries
put on thousands of persons. The
building trades benefited tremendously
Painters, decorators, plumbers and
4 carpenters by the thousand were given
work. This trend. has continued since
last April and its momentum was ac-
celerated by the ratification of the
twenty-first amendment.
Re-employment Tremendous. =
There are no figures available on the
number OF persons re-employed as a
result OF the changes in the beer and
liquor laws, but it is obvious that it is
tremendous. Thousands of speakeasies
have ripped out their places, put in new
equipment, etc. The mere stransporta-
tion of liquor here since repeal has
meant jobs for many persons. Hun
dreds of statesmen have been put to
work. 1t runs the entire gamut of
employment, from bartender to exec
utive. Incidentally, there are not
enough real bartenders to take care Of
the demand. There are plenty o. peo-
pie willing to work back of a bar, but
1t Is obvious that many of them do
not know the difference between a
sidecar and Manhattan.
The hotels here are doing more buSi-
ness than they have since the World
War. People are spending money again
and seem to be jolly about putting it in
circulation. Millions of dollars that
had gone Stagnant here during recent
years has gone back to work because
of repeal. The State this year will
receive approximately $50, 100000 be-
cause Of these changes in the laws.
Licensing Slow.
The economic upsurge from repeal
has been retarded somewhat, however,
because Of the rules made by the State
Alcoholic Beverage Control Board and
the Slowness with which it has handled
the licensing problem. The board made
three rules which are almost universally
unpopular. They are those against bar
drinking, the one stipulating that
place must have been in business
year before applying for. license and
the monopoly granted the retail pack
age goods stores CThey must be 1.5oo
feet aPart-)
The rule against drinking at the bar
has been violated as openly as was the
prohibition law when Grover A, Whalen,
then police commissioner, estimated
several years ago that there were $4,000
speakeaSies in the city. The one-year
rule is keeping many honest persons
out Of the business.