Evening star., 1935-04-18
HIDDEN BAR BAN
MAY Be INVOKED
ONLY ON SUSPICION
Judiciary Group Moves to
Amend Dirksen Bill to
Allow Selling.
Alb. C. BOARD MAY HOLD
DISCRETIONARY POWERS
"Honest Dealer Would Be Pro-
tected," Says Palmisano in
Discussing Move.
BY JAMES E. CHINN.

BY JAMES E. CHINN.
Ever mounting opposition to the
Dirksen bill to abolish Washington's
so-called hidden bars caused the
Judiciary Subcommittee of the House
District Committee today to take steps
to have it amended so as to force into
the open only the bars in establish
ments suspected of questionable prac-
tices.
Chairman Palmisano made this dis
closure during hearings on a bill
sponsored by the Alcohol Beverage
Control Board to tighten the existing
liquor act.
The Dirksen bill is now on the House
calendar, but Palmisano said an effort
will be made on the floor to have an
amendment included giving the A. B.
c. Board discretionary power to de-
termine the places where liquor should
be sold in the open.
I'VE do not intend to disturb the
honest dealer" said Palmisano. I'VE
will let him keep his hidden bar. What
we propose to do is to force the queS-
tionable dealers-those who miSrepre-
sent brands of liquor and sell drippings
from beer taps-to bring their bars
, into the open"
DigresS From Bill.
Although the hearing was called
primarily to consider the A. B. c.
Boards bill, several witnesses digressed
to discuss the so-called hidden bar
measure. One of these was Edward
j. Roche, representing the Central
Labor Union, who declared that closed
bars as conducted in the District are
q menace to health.
I'VE want the sale of liquor con-
T Quoted decently." Roche declared.
. THE old-time bar was not as bad as
. 1t has been pictured. Bartenders
. would not serve liquor after legal
hours nor would they serve it on
: Sunday
One of the principal provisions in
3 the A. B. c. Board bill is designed to
sprevent night clubs, restaurants and
other establishments having on-sale
J licenses from selling a number of
drinks to a customer before the dead
line on the legal sale, for consumption
later. The measure would prevent
consumption on the premises after 2
am. on week days and midnight Sat-
urday. Although proprietors of some
Of these establishments are reported
= to have declared such a restriction
would injure their business, none ap-
peared to protest against this provi-
sion.
Would Put Teeth" in Bill.
Charles E. Sands, business repre-
sentative of the hotel. restaurant en-
ployes and bartenders' alliance, urged
that teeth" be put into a provision
in the bill to prevent persons convict
ed of misdeameanors or felony from
working in an establishment handling
liquor. He declared some notorious
Washington bootleggers of the pro-
hibition era were now in the legal
liquor business. having procured a
license through their wives or a
dummy"
Palmisano was not sympathetic
with his proposal
IF you are going to punish every
one who technically violated the old
Volstead law" he declared, you might
as we'll bar 80 per cent of the people.
I can't agree with you on that PROPOSE
ton"
Manuel j. Davis. representing the
Exclusive Liquor Dealers Association
of the District, Endorsed the A. B. c.
bill, particularly the section giving the
control board power to suspend as
well as to revoke the licenses for vio-
lations of the liquor regulations.
Objection to proposed amendment
that would prevent distillers and
brewers from giving dealers anything
In excess of 81 in value was regis
tered by Alexander H. Bell, repre-
senting the Christian Heurich Brew
ing Co.; Harry S. Wender represent
ing a group of window display dec
orators, and Raymond Gittleman, rep
resenting the National Gunther Brew
cries of Baltimore.
SIS Gift Limit Suggested.
Gittleman suggested that the lin
itation on the value of gifts be raised
to $25 so the brewers could donate to
the dealers legitimate advertising
signs. Bell insisted 1t would be "ridic-
ulous" to restrict the cost of an ad-
vertising sign to 81. while Wender said
the limitation would force a number
OF window display artisans out of work.
Marion De Bries, representing the
Wine Institute. appealed for reduc-
tion in the present tax on wines.
He declared the existing IS cents
per gallon tax on light wines is in
excess of the cost of production.
California has a tax of 2 cents per
gallon on light wines, he said, and
as q result that State is deriving
more revenue from the sale of that
beverage than any other in the
country.
De Bries also explained that some
deterrent force" is holding down wine
consumption in this country. Before
prohibition, he said. consumption
amounted to 51,C00,000 gallons each
year, but last year the consumption
mn nm -.IS-z