Montana labor news., 1944-04-27
Open LETTER ON
The MONTANA
LIQUOR SITUATION
MONTANA LICENSED LIQUOR
DEALERS ASSOCIATION
Great Falls, Mont.

Montana Labor News,

6AEdl IdAAos N4oAAb'
April %. 1914.
Montana Labor News,
Butte, Mont.
I am pleased to give you the correct
information with respect to special pur-
chases of liquor by this association.
When the members of this association
foresaw the shortage Of liquor locally
and nationally. they obtained written
permission of the Liquor Board in an
open hearing before our annual conven-
ton in Great Falls last year, to search
for liquors not obtainable and not being
sought by the Liquor Control Board, and
to import this liquor into the state
through the board, paying to it the
statutory excise tax and established
MAKEUP of the board, with the provision
that we would finance our own purchases
so that distribution thereof would be
made to those of our members who would
advance the required monies. Under
such authorization granted on May %,
1913. this association revived negotia-
tons on 10000 cases of Rocking Chair
whiskey Cby reason of being thrown into
court we only acquired $4,000 cases.
which had been rejected by the Mon
tana Liquor Control Board on what we
understand was objections raised by
somebody other than the board admins
traitor. The Montana Supreme Court held
the transaction to be valid, the whiskey
is being delivered according to contract
and the state profit from our efforts viii
be on this transaction alone S157. 10000
subsequently the American Distilling
Company through a corporate maneuveI
declared its $4,000 barrels Of whiskey
as a dividend in lieu of a cash dividend
Legally the Montana Liquor Control
Board could not enter the bucket-shop in
the purchase of stock to acquire this
dividend, whereupon this association
exercised the right of private enterprise
and acquired enough stock to take title
to %, goo cases Of this liquor, and in addi-
ton the Montana Hotel Association, as
well as many individual licensees, OBJ
tanned a supplemental amount to bring
to approximately 10000 cases of whiskey
which is now in Peoria, Ill, awaiting
the nod from the Montana Liquor Con-
troll Board for importation into this state
for a clean-cut revenue of 1920, 100000
to the state (the state has no money
invested and upon arrival in Helena
merely takes a mark-up Of $10.52 per
case).
In the first instance of special pur-
chase as herein related the question
which was interposed was CAN THE
LIQUOR BOARD MAKE SUCH SPE-
CIAL MPORTATIONs? From the very
inception Of the state monopoly it has
been the practice Of the board to bring
in special orders, although not in such
magnitude for the reason that no such
condition has previously existed. The
Supreme Court of this state in a ma
iority opinion said YES, but now the
Liquor Board says we CAN but We
WON'T. Thereby hangs the present
story and this association, with no other
motive than to keep its high-license pay
ing members in business, Montana people
in legal liquor and the board receiving
its profit, must either transport this
liquor into the state or dispose Of it else
where to protect its investment which
will ultimately reach with all taxes
computed) well over n million dollars.
In February this association, as the
result of a trip to the vineyard districts
of California by its secretary, asked per
mission to bring into Montana an aggre-
gate 1870, 600 cases Of cheaper wines not
presently purchaseable in the liquor
stores. Our offer was rejected N the
grounds that it would be contrary to
public policy.
All of the wines and liquors bar
gained for have been strictly in conform
it with all laws and regulations, not one
instance of black-market methods or
dealing under the table. In the course
of the boards operations during the last
decade many things have happened to
cause producers and marketers Of alco-
holic beverages to exclude Montana from
their ALLEGATION Of available stocks, and
it has been to those people we have gone
in an effort to augment the insufficient
supply Of liquor we are now receiving
With relation to movements of private
stocks Of liquor stored before the short
age. I am reluctant to comment about
except to say that several alert liquor
dealers having considerable provision
did store some extra stocks of liquor
against the present emergency, but so
far as I know there has been nothing
unlawful in that respect, and there is
considerable exaggeration as to the
amounts and the movements.
JOEL B. ST. CLAIR, Sec'y.