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The Commoner
ST
- 12
VOL. 17, NO. 12
v i
I
Three Per Cent Beer
By Arthur Soars Hennlng, in
Chicago Tribune.
Washington, D. 0., Nov. 26. (Spe
cial.) President Wilson decreed to
day Uiat .beer browed henceforth in
the United States shall be less intox
icating. He approved a recommendation by
Food Administrator Hoover reducing
the alcoholic content of beer to 3 per
cent and also reducing the amount of
grain Used in browing to approxim
ately 70 per cent of the volume now
consumed.
Brow Same Volume
With the alcoholic content reduced
from tho present average of 4 per
cent .to 3 per cent it will be possible
to brew the volume of beer now con
sumed from 70 per cent of the
. amount of grain how omployed.
Therefore, there will bo no diminution
in the supply of beer, but it will be
loss intoxicating.
While tho action of tho President
and Mr. Hoover Is primarily a meas
ure for tho conservation of cereals
needed to oxpand tho food supply, tho
administration takes occasion to de
clare itsoK against the prohibition of
beer at this time and otherwise to
announce its stand on the liquor
question.
Attitude of Administration
r This is the way the question ap
pears to tho administration:
Although tho distilling has been
suspended for tho period of the war,
perhaps never to be resumed, there is
a two or .three years' supply of whis
ky,, brandy, and gin In the country.
Although the President bas author
ity to commandeer tho stock of dfs
tilled liquors to turn into alcohol,
the supply of industrial alcohol from
other sources is ample.
' Prohibition of brewing, therefore,
would divert tipplers from the con
sumption of the less harmful beer to
tho more harmful whisky, brandy,
and gin.
Therefore, says the admln'stration,
advocates of temperance having tho
best interests of the country at heart
should be in favor of continuing the
. brewing, of beer.
Stntoment by Hoover
The action of the administrat'on
was announced n the following state
ment by Mr. Hoover:
"The President has approved the
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recommendation of tho food admin
istration that the alcoholic content of
beer shall bo reduced in the first In
stance to 8 per cent maximum and
that the volume of grain to be used
in browing shall be reduced to an
amount approximately 70 p.r cent of
the amount of grain formerly used,
enabling the brewing of the same vol
ume of beer.
"Further, provisions are being
made to increase the maximum out
put of cattle feed from brewing es
tablishments. Liquor Supply on Hand
"Tho food bill provides for tho pro-
hibitton of tho use of foodstuffs in
tho product of distilled spirits for
beverage purposes and the use of
foodstuffs for' the production of di
stilled drinks was stopped on Sept.
8. There is, however, in the country
from two to three years' supply of
whiskey, brandy and gin and other
distilled liquors. The food bill pro
vides that these liquors can bo com
mandeered by tho government if re
quired for purposes of manufacture
of alcohol for munitions.
"On the other hand, the require
ments for industrial alcohol, in addi
tion to tho .normal output from saw
dust and other waste products is at
present negligible.
"Those who wish brewing entirely
suppressed should therefore bear in
mind that if such a course were pur
sued the country would bo placed on
a whiskey basis entirely and the
amount of alcohol consumed would
most probably increase.
"The desirability of saving all the
grain used in browing from the point
Of view of food conservation- is there
fore limited by the social question
involved in the exclusive use of wlds
key." The amoun of food grair that will
be saved by curtailing the volume of
grain used in brewing has been va
riously estimated by the food experts.
Prof. Irving Fisher says that the
grain employed in brewing would
make 8,000,000 loaves of bread a
day. 'Calculated upon this basis the
saving effected by Mr. Hoover's 30
per cent reduction of the volume-of
grain ingredient of beer would
amount to 2,400,000 loaves of bread
a day.
Revenue Report Figures
According to the internal revenue
commissioner the alcoholic contenVof
beer as at present brewed is 4.05 per
cent for malt and corn beer, 4.16
per cent for malt and r'.ce beer, and
4.32 per cent for all malt beer.
The internal revenue commission
er's last report for the fiscal year
ending June '80, 1916, gives the fol
lowing amounts of grain used in
brewing:
Bushels
Malt 52,439,973
Corn, ceralines, and grits. 13,573,521
Rice 2,354,000
Rye, oats, wheat, barley; . 72,355
Total 68,439,849
The Hoover order thus will cause
a diversion to food uses of approx
imately 20,500,000 bushels of grain
now employed in brewing.
Drys Not Satisfied
The temperance forces ,are not sat
isfied with the administration's view
of the liquor question. Tho Anti
Saloon league withdrew its fight for
the prohibition of brewing when the
food bill was in congress in order to
facilitate passage of thL emergency
measure. Tho league receded at the
express request of President Wilson.
Tho officers of the league stated,
however, that their withdrawal of
their contentions was purely a mat
ter of expediency and patriotic desire
to further the food conservation
legislation as a war measure. They
expressly reserved tho right to 'Con
tinue their fight for the prohibition
of brewing through other measures.
This fight is to be renewed,-by the
Anti-Saloon league, the "W. C. T. U.,
and other temperance organizations
at the approaching session of con
gress. Tho Sheppard bill to submit
to the states a constitutional amend
ment prohibiting the manufacture
and sale of liquor in tho United
States has been passed by the senate
and is pending in the house.
Round Up in House
Every ounce Of influence. possessed
by the drys is now being exerted to
round up a two-third? majority of
the house in favor of the Sheppard
bill. Efforts will be made to bring
up the measure in the horse before
the Christmas holidays. Chairman
Webb- of the house judiciary com
mittee is a dry and has promised the
temperance forces that his committee
will facilitate action by reporting the
measure to the house without delay.
The drys have .seized upon jthe ad
ministration attitude as disclosed in
the Hoover statement tonight, as an
additional argument for national pro
hibition. They contend that national
efficiency will be enhanced for the
war effort by totdl abstinence and
argue that if the administration
fears the prohibition of brewing as
a food conservation measure would
create a nation of whiskey drinkers,
the only ane alternative Is to pro
hibit the consumption of alcoholic
liquors altogether.
FOSTER'S DOLLAlt INDEX .
The following is Foster's Dollar
Index giving each month the -change
in the purchasing power (expressed
in cents) of- the United States dol
lar, compiled from the world's com
modity pr'ces.
The arbitrary basis taken is the
average of prices during the years
1900 to 1906 as being a period when
our dollar had 100 cents in purchas
ing power.
Average . .18Q6 to 1898 $1.25
Av. (base) 1900 to 1906 1.00
Av 1914 0.82 2-10
Av 1915 0.66 4-10
Av 1916 0.514-10
Av. during Feb 1917 0.60 3-10
Av. during March.. 1917 0.48 5-10
Av. during April ..1917 0.47 8-10
Av. during May ..,1917 0.47 6-10
Av. during June ...1917 0.46
Av. during July . . .1917 0.46 4-10
At. during Aug. . . .1917 0.45 9-10
Av. during Stpt. ...1917 0.4(T
Economists probably attribute high
prices to Inflation, or supply and de
mand of money; the layman, to the
supply and demand of commodities.
W. C. Foster, 214 A, Mutual Life
Building, Buffalo, N. Y.
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Ammunition for Final Drive on
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