The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1934-12-05

ly the distillers and liquor deal
ers, however, insist that taxes are
far too high, and say that if they
were reduced drastically, there
would remain no incentive for
the illicit distiller to remain in
business.
The federal government col
lects So for every gallon Of
whisky distilled in this country
and ST for every gallon imported.
State taxes add 81 or so more,
thus making good legal liquor far
more expensive to the consumer
than it was before the World
war.
BLENDED WHISKY
Blended whisky of good quail
ity costs nearly So pint in
practically all wet states, although
occasionally at special bargain
sales a whisky Of dubious origin
is retailed for 81 a quart.
Bonded liquor is scarce and
will grow scarcer for the next
few months, although many large
distillers, anticipating repeal,
have large stocks of whiskey
which will receive that hallmark
of quality during the next two
years.
The nations 524 brewers per-
hans are the manifest of all those
who hoped to benefit from re-
peal. Consumption Of beer and
ole is approaching the all-time
high record of 1000, 100000 gal
Ions consumed in 1914. Citizens
drank about ,022,0OO,0OO gal
Ions during the first 10 months
of this year.
DISTILLERS UNHAPPY
The distillers are far less
pleased over the S4,000,0O0 gal
Ions of hard liquor drunk by
Americans during the first 10
months of 1884. They look back
sadly to 1913 when the country
downed 2SO,000.0O0 gallons.
Quality of whisky and wine
gradually is becoming better, as
distillers standardiZc their formu.
lac and their ingredients become
older. Experts say that many g
first grade blend now is Just as
excellent a drink as it was be-
fore prohibition.
The explicit back labels on al
bottles, however, give some Gus
toners the filters. as they reat
that the fluid they are about t
drink consists of 20 per Ger
whisky, so per cen grain alcoho
and assorted dashes of beading
oil, prune juice and sherry.
FRANK LABELS
These utterly frank labels arc
the work of one of the new deal:
alphabetical agencies: the FACA
Federal Alcohol Control AID
ministration, headed by JOSEPH
Choate.
The lanky-sandy-haired Choate
is one of the capitals busiest
men. trying to establish rules fan
to all concerned, and then trying
to force all concerned to obey
them.
He has drawn up regulations
concerning honest labelling, out,
having trick bottles which look
bigger than they are. and setting
up limits of tolerance so that dis
tillers can't call rye whisky Bour,
bon, and vice-versa-as some OF
them are supposed once to have
done.
Choate believes with Morgen-
THAI that as the regulations be-
come further codified and the
bootleggers further obliterated,
the United States will have a
liquor control system as near per-
feet as it is possible to establish.
STANDARDIZE LAWS
They hope particularly that the
states themselves will seek even
tually to standardize their liquor
laws, tho multiplicity Of which
now is one of the chief stumbling
blocks to orderly marketing.
The organized drys, however,
in the words of F. Scott Mcbride.
veteran Anti-Saloon league lead
er, believe that repeal is "a trag-
ic failure"
They claim that return of
liquor has brought with it a
"wave of recklessness" on the ma
tons highways; caused riots and
bloodshed in connection with la
Dor strikes, and been responsible
for "many train wrecks and
fires"
The prohibitionists have criti-
cized Mrs. Franklin d. Roosevelt
! for her decision to serve wine
the White House. Althnnph sk