The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-04-12
NEA Service Writer


 WashingtOn--B Between quafs or the lcgallzed 3.2 per cent beer, everyone concerned is holding his breath.
 Tho vets are frankly worried lest beer and the handling of 1t get such il bad reputation as to hamper their campaign for rati- 6cation in the states of complete prohibition repeal.
 The drys Jean forward avldly, ready to bounce upon every in- stance of abuse ns propaganda for their last ditch fight to keep the eighteenth amendment in the Con- sitution.
 The consumers, of course, are primarily interested in the cnJoy- ability of the product. Behind them also wondering how the cOnsum- CTS arc going 10 like II, are the brewers, the hotel men and rcsthu- rant keepers and all others who will have Il hand in production. transportation and distribution. Federal, state and local govern ments want to know exactly how much they will collect in taxes and economists will be able to guessing how effective beer can Dc in relieving depression.
 But the effect of beer on the repeal campaign. if any, presents what may be the most important aspect. Tho vets long ago left light wines and beer as q rnllyink point and gave up interest in beer ns compared with repeal.
 Those l3 States.
 Now they fear that between politicians seeking to get their clutches on the beer situation and extremists acting badly with the restored beverage /therc may be just enough of Il reaction to en" able the drys to hold the g states they need to prevent repcaPs con. summation.
 If q few high school boys and girls get funny and get loaded up on beer before classes tho repeal cause mny be done definite harm. The dryn will magnify such inci- dents and cite them far and wide. And there is also the possibility that other evil results of the present widespread prohibition violations with reference to hard liquor will be blamed on tho rclh- lively innocent brew.
 The hotel men of the capital. hearing about ail the ''neW beer" parties that were 10 get going H. round here about midnight. be- came alarmed md unanimously pctitioncd that sale of beer be barred until z Il. m.. They cx- plnincd that many beer cclcbrnnts were likely to celebrate with Rin or whisky and that any disorder would be attributed to the new law.
 Hit At Saloons Return. Tho vets also realize that in same places sale of beer iS likely 10 be used as cloak for dispen~ sation of hard liquor. which might give beer another black eye. Politicians appear to have been trying to chisei in on the new beer business in nearly all states. There has been n notable fight in New York, where Governor Leh- man hns led the forces favoring nonpoliticial control. But the gem ernl fear that beer might get out of hand and restore many of the old abuses has led to stringent regulations in many states. espe. ciaIly againts the old fashioned saloon.
 The drys have always argued not only that 3.2 per cent beer is intoxicating. but also that beer is just as vicious n beverage---if not more so--thnn hard liquor. Even if the 3.2 per cent beer were not highly intoxicating, they said. it would set up "lifelong alcoholic habits 'amoung the citizenry. take away money needed for bread and baby's shoes, excite automobile drivers to recklessncss and stimu- late most Of tho other evil results of the old liquor traffic. Now they will try to prove that these things are happening.
 The consumer is finding out how the beer tastes and how he recasts 10 its alcoholic content. As for taste, the official warning is that for a whiic--except at the very ouset most of the avail able beer will be green. How se-