Evening star., 1933-09-24
LEGAL LIQUOR TAX Il.
CAUSING concern
Legislators Fear High Levies
Would Decrease Antici-
AZ pated Revenues.
(Continued From First Page.)

ratio or a 1925 ratio, with the Federal
| Government taking the larger end.
The Federal tax under existing law
the old law before prohibtion-is s1.10
a gallon on whisky. The hope of the
legislators has been that this tax could
be increased in order to help the Treas
nry out Of hole. 1t was thought it
might be raised to 50 or So gallon
However, if the States are to adopt
taxes on liquor production the situa-
ton may not permit such a gain in
Federal taxation and revenue.
Many other problems relating to the
return OF the legal liquor traffic are
knocking at the door, among them the
question Of blended liquor" One of
the evils of the old liquor traffic was
! the barrel house" and the sale Of i'm
pure or deleterious adulterationD labeled
rectified whisky. Officers of the Gov
ernment are endeayoring to find a way,
through an amendment of the Treasury
regulations relating to liquor, which
would conflne the blending Of whisky
to the distiller
Distillers Are Interested.
II this can be done, the dy-by-nigflt
rectifier and manufacturer of impure
and harmful blends may find it impos-
sible to operate. The distillers are as
strongly interested themselves in this
matter as are the Government officials.
1'ney are particularly anxious to avoid
the roar which will go up if the country
is flooded with impure and injurious
legal liquor after prohibition has
passed.
Under one plan advanced, all whisky
would be manufactured, aged, rectified,
blended and bottled at the distillery or
warehouse. 1t would go from the pro-
ducers' hands only in bottles. The
Federal Government, it is argued, would
be better able to control shipments Of
liquor in interstate commerce with such
plan in operation and to protect dry
States from the inflow of liquor from
wet States. The manufacturers, it is
said. would sell only to responsible
wholesalers and not to retailers. Fur
thermore, if States set up dispensaries
for liquor, where it would be sold only
in bottles for consumption elsewhere
than on the premises, this system would
be an aid.
Canadians Are Active. g,
Canadian whisky manufacturers and
distributors are flooding the desks OF
officials in Washington with requests
for the Importation of large quantities
of Canadian liquor, prior to repeal and
thereafter, on the ground that the
American distillers are holding their olo
whisky stocks for excessive prices.
Ono Canadian distributor has sought
aid in this campaign from American
distributors His letter said in part:
The purpose of this letter is to ad.
vance the suggestion that the retail
drug trade, individually and collectively.
should write DR.. James M. Doran, COM
missioner of industrial alcohol, Wasn-
ington, D. c., acquainting him with
the situation in which it now finds IT.
self, and describing the scarcity OF sup.
plies and the eXorbitant prices now pre-
vailing. Such action might very wen
hasten the Governments decision 70
ralloW inportations.
I'VE hope that this suggestion will be
appropriately acted upon, not only, by
yourselves, but also by individual drug
store proprietors with whom you come
in contact.
Z. S. Distillers Up in Arms.
American distillers are up in arms
over this kind Of propaganda. They
call attention to the fact that distllllng
of whisky in Canada expanded enor-
mously during the period CT the eight
eenth amendment, and that this Hquor
was intended to be sold in the United
States in violation of the constitutional
prohibition. Agreements entered INTO
between the two governments clampeo
down On the smuggling OF liquor INTO
this country to considerable extent.
The Canadian distillers, it is said, built
I'D under these conditions reserve OF
26 900 900 gallons of whiskey with which
they nov propose to food the American
market. This will be in competition
with the American distiller, who has
pledged himself to use only American
grains, American labor and American
materials for construction, under the
N. r. A.
American stocks Of old whisky are
variously reported, ranging from 4,00O,-
900 gallons to 100000. In addition,
many millions of gallons OF newer
whisky are ON hand. The American
producers contend the old whisky can
be used with newer liquor, can be
blended and rectifed and thereby in
crease the amount of whisky on hand
in this country many times over.
On the other hand. opponents OF
blended whisky contend it is deleterlous,
and that only whisky aged at least
four years IN the wood should be sold
to the American people. It looks as
though the liquor problem will by no
means be dead with the repeal OF the
eighteenth amendment.