Evening star., 1941-03-07
Report on Beer
Bill Forecast
In Few Days
False Statements Are
Charged at Hearing on
Montgomery Plan
BY BEN HI. PEARSE,
Star Staff Correspondent.

verSial measure to extend the county
liquor diSpensary sales to beer, took
the spotlight in legislative happen
ings yesterday.
Despite several other hearings or
State wide measures, and introduc-
ton and passage of more than a
score of bills, some of them ready
for Gov. O'Conor'S signature, the
hearing before the House Ways and
Means Comittee drew the largest
gallery to watch Delegate E. Brooke
Lee, former House Speaker, and the
county delegation in their first bat.
tie OF the session.
Introduced as a local measure to
exempt Montgomery County from
the provisions of the 1889 act setting
fees for State wholesale beer licenses
permitting dealers to operate in any
county it was referred to the House
Ways and Means Committee on the
ground State revenue was involved.
Charges Fly.
Charges of false statements" and
"ineff1ciency" flew during the hear
ing before Delegate John S. White
of Prince Georges County, commit
tee chairman, adjourned the hearing
and announced the bill would be re-
ported out within the next few days.
The House floor was comfortably
filled when Delegate James w. Gill
chairman of the county delegation
opened the argument by explaining
that the county had exercised a
monopoly over the beer business be-
fore the 1899 act was passed and
anticipated an income of $4,000
from that source in 1939-40 until a
court decision held a dealer with a
State license could do business in
any part of the State without deal
ing through the liquor dispensary
system.
Distributing copies of several
county weekly newspapers which
carried a series of advertisements by
the wholesale beer dealers of Mont
gomery County stating that SAL
aries at the diSpenSary in Silver
Spring, where Mr.. Lee lives, we're
@OO'i ~ anu bSlllCiSuc, OOAZO, anu
Rockville, S7,246, Mr.. Gill explained
that the figures listed for the Silver
Spring diSpensary included not only
the dispensary salaries, 1880, but
expense of the wholesale depart
ment handling business with coun-
try clubs and restaurants, admin
istrative and board members sal
aries and warehouse expense. and
$1,000 for an audit of the books by
q Baltimore accounting firm.
Mr.. Lee and Delegates Stanton C.
Peelle and Ruth Shoemaker spoke
in favor of the bill, pointing out that
the diSpenSary had made a profit of
more than 100000 in the seven
years of repeal. Delegate Charles
c. Jones took no part in the dis
cuSsion.
Question of Moneys.
Mr.. Lee told the committee the
only dollar question" involved was
who would get the s35, 1000 to $50 900
a year from the beer distributing
business, the wholesalers or the
county.
I'VE want this money for roads
and Streets" the Democratic leader
said. Our opponents want it to go
to the wholesale distributors.
Mr.. Lee said there had been some
objections that the dispensary
system was "un-American."
'Dispensary systems are not un-
American" he asserted There are
several established county dis
pensaries in Maryland operating in
an American way. They are a good
means of regulating the liquor busi-
ness and they are profitable"
He said the Montgomery County
Congress, composed of 1,040 Demo-
Gratis, had voted to in favor of
eXempting the county from the
wholesalers license bill.
O'ConOr Veto Forecast.
James H. Pugh, attorney for Eu-
gene J. C. Raney, and j. Harry
WEIGH, counsel for Joseph Harris,
two of the largest beer distributors
In the county, led the attack
against the bill. Mr.. Pugh, who was
campaign manager for Gov. O'Conor
in 1888 campaign in Montgomery
County, said the Governor would be
obliged to veto the bill if it were
passed by the committee and the
Legislature,
Mr.. WEIGH explained he was
against the bill before he repre-
sented Mr. Harris and claimed it
was unnecessary interference with
private business. The county was
in the best financial condition in 10
years, he said, and did not need the
$4,000 from beer revenue.
Others Speak Against Bill.
Others speaking against the bill
were Adlai S. Magee, Alfred Paul
and Robert Beall of Bethesda. Clar-
ence H Small of Laytonsville, a
Washington contractor and county
manager for Senator Radcliffe s
campaign two years ago; William
Wilder Evans, Rockville attorney
and managing editor of a county
weekly newspaper; Larmour Oyster
of Chevy Chase; A Gordon Stup,
who said he was speaking for the
employees who would be thrown out
of jobs, and Miss Marjory Hendricks,
owner of Normandy Farms Restau-
rant, near Rockville.
Mr.. Evans and Alexander K. Han
cock, Montgomery County account
ant, became entangled in an argu-
ment over how much profit the
county dispensary system realized
in 1939-40. Mr.. Hancock's report
stated profit was $56,671, of which
$l,555 was turned over to the county
in cash for debt service and the re-
mainder put into inventory stock,
and in addition $9,862 was collected
by the clerk of the Circuit Court
in license fees and turned over to
the county treasury for debt service
although 1t did not show on the
Liquor Boards books.
We'll, I don't know anything
about accounting" Mr.. Evans said,
"but the Liquor Board did SAT ,656
worth of business and only turned
over $10555 to the county in cash
money, which is all I know any
thing about. You can't pay off