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Show raip esse Uninterrupted Production of 'War Beer' Assured by-Court by-Court Action. U. S. Judge Mayer Grants Injunction Prohibiting v Interference. NEW YOKK, May 23. Uninterrupted Uninterrupt-ed production of "war beer" until the courts lia o pasted upon the claim of the United Mates Brewers' association thai the leverage, containing 2 3 1 per cent alcohol, is iioii-intoxicaling, was Ji.ssup'd today when Federal Judge -Mayer granted an injunction restraining restrain-ing government interference with its manufacture. The court declared that his decision had been influenced by president Wilton Wil-ton 's riH'::;Le to congress recommending recommend-ing repeal of the war-time prohibition act, iu so far as it relates t obeer and wine, and by Federal Judge A. N. Hand's ruling last week that the law placed a ban on the manufacture only of liquors that were iu fact istoxicat-i..g. istoxicat-i..g. Althuugli United States District Attorney At-torney L'afl'ey, ropn-esenting the government, gov-ernment, opposed granting an injunction, injunc-tion, Judge Maver said he believed such action would contribute to a fair settlement of the questions raised by the .brewers under the emergency prohibition pro-hibition act. Tho injunction, a temporary tem-porary one, would be effective, the court said, pending review of hie decision de-cision by the circuit court of appeals or, if the government should decide to let it stand, until tho brewers' suit permanently to enjoin prosecutions for manufacture of tho 2 3-4 per cent brow could be triod in tho district court. Advises Early Review. Judgo Mayer announced that he would sign the temporary injunction next Monday and suggested that the federal attorney and Elihu Koot and William D. . Guthrie, counsel for the brewers, confer with the senior judge of the court of appeals to. arrange an early review of the order. District Attorney At-torney C'at'fey pointed out that if possible pos-sible a decision on appeal should be obtained before Julv 1, when prohibition prohibi-tion of the sale of intoxicants becomes effective unless congress, in tho meantime, mean-time, follows the suggestion of the president for repeal Sr amendment of the law. The injunction granted was in the suit of the Jacob Ruppert Brewing company com-pany against District Attorney Caffey aud acting Collector of Internal Revenue Reve-nue Mclllegott. This is one of a series of cases raising identical questions and intended to test the emergency prohibition prohi-bition act in the Aew York 'district, thus setting a precedent for brewery -operation throughout the country. Attorneys for the brewers declared they sought tho temporary restraining order to prevent suspension and the consequent ruin of their clients' business busi-ness while proof was being taken on their contention that "war beer" was not intoxicating. The federal attorney urged that there was no ground for enjoining en-joining tho administration of criminal justice on mere allegations of threats to enforce tho law. Single Trial Urged. Judge Mayer declared he wished to remove the case from "the technique, of law," believing that the interests of the United States as well as the vast property interests involved, -would be best served by thorough consideration considera-tion of the caso in a single trial. He did not think anything would be gained by prosecutions here and there, 'terming 'term-ing possible proceedings along that line "a legal fiction." He ruled that an injunction could properly be issued on the implied threat of the government govern-ment prosecuting authorities to enforce the law. Thex court asserted he must accept as the iw in the case of Jud?e Hand's decision that the w-ar time prohibition, both as to manufacture after May 1 and sale after July 1, applied onlv to beer, wine and kindred products 'that were intoxicating. He added that when tho president, having restricted production produc-tion of beverages during the war crisis, announced publicly that tho national interest no longer required a ban on beer and wine "a court of equity must necessarily accept the pronouncement as coming from a well-informed source." Many Affidavits Offered. In their argument for the temporary injunction the brewers counsel called the court 's attention to a volume of affidavits affi-davits prepared tor the anticipated trial of the suits seeking a permanent injunction, these documents asserting that 2 3-4 per cent beer is a nonintoxi-ennt. nonintoxi-ennt. Statements to this effect were sworn to by Dr. William J. Gies, pro fessor of biological chjmistry at Columbia Colum-bia University; Dr. llobffrt A. Hare, professor of ehtrapeutics at the Jefferson Jeffer-son Medical college, Philadelphia; Dr. Stephen P. Jewett, chief psychiatrist of the alcoholic wards at Bellevue hospital; hos-pital; Prof. John Marshall of the medical med-ical school of the University of Pennsylvania; Penn-sylvania; Dr. Charles A. Eosewater, of Newark, authority on alcoholism and inebriety, and many brewery officials, employers of labor and labor union officials. of-ficials. George Eech, consul general of Denmark Den-mark in the United States, testified that since the introduction of 2 3-4 per cent beer into his country, intoxication intoxi-cation had been reduced to a minimum. WASHINGTON, May 23. Since federal fed-eral authorities have not interfered with production of beer containing 2"i per cent alcohol, officials here said tonight to-night that determination of the New York federal district court to issue an injunction against interference would not have any immediate practical effect ef-fect in the controversy- over the legality legal-ity of the brewing of the beverage. Tho government has contended that beer containing one.half of one per cent or more of alcohol was forbidden, but has not taken executive steps to stop production. Brewers only have been warned that if the court eventually holds the manufacture of this beer illegal ille-gal they will bo liable to prosecution. |
