OCR Text |
Show PERMISSION GIVEN TO SHIP BEEHETTE Salt Lake Brewing Concern Gains Injunction Against Rio Grande. FRIENDLY SUIT HEARD Brewers Claim Alcoholic Percentage Is Low and Not Intoxicating. On application of the Salt Lake Brewing company Judge C. W. Morse f the district court issued an injunction injunc-tion yesterday afternoon compelling the Denver & Bio Gtrande railroad to accept for shipment into dry territory a brew known as beerette, a substitute for beer. The railroad, wince August 30, had re-fused re-fused to handle this product for ship inent from Salt Lake to towns in territory terri-tory where the nalo of intoxicating liquor in prohibited by law, basing its refusal on the state taw pat,aed by tho last legislature, forbidding railroads to carry intoxieftnts from wet territory into dry territory. Kknert testimony to the effect that beerette contained less than one-half of 1 per cent alcohol was prenented I o the court, and on this showing Judge Murse issued the order directing the railroad to receive and carry tho beerette as long an rts alcoholic percentage does not exceed that amount. Oscar Lehmarin, superintendent of the 6a.lt lit Ue Brewing company, and Dr. Howard P. Kirtlev testified for the brewing company. One Allegation Denied. In its suit for an injunction the brewing brew-ing company set out that it has built up a lucrative business in beerette in those districts of t he state where tho sale of intoxicants is prohibited, namely, name-ly, in Utah county, Sanpete county, Piute county and Sevier county. Jt affirms af-firms that this business had been interrupted inter-rupted and would be ruined by the refusal re-fusal of the railroad to ship the .beerette .beer-ette unless an injunction was issued. It was outlined that on August 30 the railroad issued orders to alf its agents in Utah to refuse shipment of the product prod-uct into dry territory. The railroad immediately filed an answer an-swer admitting all allegations of the browing company save that in which it wan aliened that the beerette contains con-tains less than one-half of 1 per cent of aloohOl. This it denied and asked that t be suit be dismissed. Early Hearing Arranged. By specia I stipulation the court arranged ar-ranged to hear the evidence iu the case at once. Oscar Lehmann was called and testified as to the process by which the beerette is made. He said it contained no more than the half per cent of alcohol. Ho was borne out by Dr. Kirtlev, who testified that he had made a special analysis of the beerette and had found it to contain less than the stipulated one-half per cent. Dr. Kirtlev also gave It as his opinion that the amount of alcohol contained in the liquid was not intoxicating. The evidence brought out the fact that one glass of beerette contained less than one-half drachm of alcohol, and that a glass of lager beer contained practically practi-cally ten times as much alcohol. W, D. Riter, attorney for the Tail-Toad, Tail-Toad, said last night that the suit was a friendly one started at the instigation of the road, which did not wish to be put in the position of violating the law. Interpretation Desired. Attorney General A. R. Barnes said that he had been asked by the brewing company previous to the suit to render an opinion on tho meaning of the words "intoxicating liquor" as used in the state law. He had refused to render such an opinion, he said, on the ground that its interpretation should be made bv the court. Mr. Barnes said that any further test of tho law would now have to be made h the county attorneys in those sections sec-tions of the state into which the .beerette .beer-ette is shipped. C ounty attorneys could bring criminal action alleging that the state law had been violated by the shipper ship-per he said. No arrangement, however, had been made for the bringing of such cases, said the attorney. Law Is Quoted. The state law under which the railroad rail-road suspended its shipments and which iB interpreted by Judge Morse's decision, de-cision, reads as follows: Section 1. No license under tho taws of thia state to sell Intoxicating liquors shall authorize any person, firm or corporation, dealer or agent, to sell or SQltcit, take or receive orders or-ders for, or for the delivery of. or to deliver, any intoxicating liquors in any county, city or town within this state, where the sale of Intoxicating liquors is prohibited by law, and It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, corporation, dealer or agent, to sell or solicit, take or receive orders, for. or for the delivery of, or to do-liver do-liver any Intoxicating liquors in any county, city or town within this state where the sale of intoxicating liquors Is prohibited by law; provided, that the terms of this section shall not apply ap-ply to any sale of intoxicating liquors to a licensed pharmacist or druggist, or to any deliveries of intoxicating liquors to a licensed pharmacist or druggist at the place of business of such Licensed pharmacist or druggist. drug-gist. Druggists Are Excepted. Sec. 2. It shall be unlawful for any prison, firm, corporation, dealer or agent in this state to deliver Intoxicating In-toxicating liquors to any common carrier car-rier within this state for shipment to any point within this state where the sale of intoxicating liquors is prohibited pro-hibited by law : provided, that the terms of this section shall not apply to any such deliveries consigned to a licensed pharmacist or druggist at the place of business of such licensed pharmacist or druggist. Sec. 3. It shall be unlawful for any common carrier, or any agent or any employee thereof, to knowingly receive re-ceive intoxicating liquors at any point In this state where the sale of intoxicating intoxi-cating liquors is prohibited by law. or with such knowledge, to transport trans-port Intoxicating liquors from such point of consignment to any point in this state where the sale of Intoxicating Intoxicat-ing liquors ts prohibited by law. or to deliver Intoxicating liquors which have been consigned to any point in this1 state where the sale of intoxicating intoxi-cating liquors Is prohibited by law: provided, that the terms of this section sec-tion shall not apply o shipments consigned con-signed or transported to a license'! pharniaelst or druggist at the place of business of such licensed pharmacist pharma-cist or druggist. |