Evening star., 1933-12-12
.CHOATE ADVOCATES
TAX OF $2 TO So
Alcohol Control Chief Sees
Low Levy as Death Blow
to BootIegger.
Continued From First Page.)

the whole volume tax and distribute
! 1t among the States"
THAT is practically impossible" Rep
reSentatiVe Bacharach, Republican, of
New Jersey, interjected.
Il think not" Choate replied
Choate recommended that the tax
be kept low for the first year and that
Congress delay fixing a higher tax Tor
next year in order not to give the boot
leggerS assurance OF levy which would
permit profitable operation.
Lowry said the Interdepartmental
Committee had started out with the OBJ
jective Of finding a tax rate which
would not permit bootleggers to COM
pete with legal whisky.
The best evidence the committee
could obtain, he testified, was that
legal liquor could be placed in the
hands OF retailers for $1.20 a gallon,
but that illegal spirits cost $4.20 a gal
Ion in the retailers hands because of
protection, bribery, gunman and every
thing down the line
Lowry explained the S420 figure was
based on large-Scale operations, but
that it probably would be impossible
for legal liquor to compete with the
small bootlegger with couple of bot
ties in his Satchel.''
Would Not Balance.
He explained that for the/1atter, the
only cost of distribution was his shoe
leather
Representative Crother, Republican,
of New York suggested that $l70, ,000,-
900, estimated to result from a So tax,
would not make up Tor the revenues
| automatically lost when prohibition was
| repealed.
Lowry said in addition to an excise
tax of 100000, the Treasury esti-
mated 20,000000 gallons of importa-
tlonS would pay tariff Of 10000, 600
and wine revenues would amount to
$4,000 0O0
Chairman Harrison of the Senate
Finance Committee recalled testimony
yesterday estimating consumption at
14O,000,000 gallons q year.
| He said If 100000,000 of this was
domestically produced tax of 1920
on the balance would bring in $780,
100000 more, or q total of $500, ,00O, 900
Lowry agreed there were many com
plications" in carrying out his commit
tees recommendations for dividing
| revenues with States which refrained
| from levying gallonage tax.
Representative Evans, Republican. of
California suggested the plan was i'm
practical" but Lowry dissented.
Meanwhile. the distillers were pre-
pared to object formally and vigorously
to a major administration policy re-
| quiring the use of more grain and less
molasses for distilled alcoholic beverages
Some diStillerS also threatened con-
certed objection to their new code
which provides that 10 per cent of the
base for distilled liquor may be other
than grain. Some even went so far as
| to refuse to sign.
These dissenters. who use molasses in
stead of grain, charged that political
| consideration" involving promises to
grain farmers was behind the promul-
gated code.
Claims Minority Protests.
Grain distillers contemplated a reply
while Frederick Lee, Farm Administra-
| tion counsel said distillers seeking modi-
| flcation Of the code represented less
| than 25 per cent of the total alcohol
output.
President Roosevelt was described last
night by Chairman Harrison of the
Senate Finance Committee as feeling
that ut Is more important to put stop
to bootlegging" than to boost the Fed
eral revenue from q liquor levy.
This description OF the Presidents
attitude was given by Harrison as he
emerged from a conference between Mr.
Roosevelt and the members of the two
congressional tax-drafting committees
Eight members of the two commit
tees. including Harrison, Chairman
Doughton of the Ways and Means Com.
mittee. and Republican member from
| each of the two. sat in on the confer
| epre with the Exerutive
$50 anxious is the President and
Congress that the tax be not so high
as to give the bootlegger security" said
Harrison as he left the meeting. ''that
we want to put it down to minimum.
Harrison said some one has sug.
gested 1920" as a desirable liquor taz
| and he indicated that this or somt
other figure below the $3.50 proposed
by the Interdepartmental Committee
would be favored.