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Show Busch Outlines His Program To Counteract Prohibition Movement IN a recent interview in the St Louis Post-Dis- patch, August A. Busch, president and principal princi-pal owner of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association, Asso-ciation, outlined a comprehensive program for counteracting the prohibition sentiment which has grown so rapidly in recent years that territorially 85 per cent of the United States is dry by prohibitory pro-hibitory or local option laws, and 48 per cent of the population lives in dry territory. He suggested: sug-gested: 1. A strict enforcement by state authorities of all excise laws. 2. The establishment throughout the country of the German saloon system, which permits only beers, light wines and temperance drinks to be sold in dramshops. 3. Co-operation by brewers with the state authorities au-thorities to put out of business every saloon keeper keep-er who does not obey the excise laws. 4. Abolition of treating in saloons, to discourage discour-age drinking to excess. 5. Discontinuance of bars in saloons, all service serv-ice to bo given at tables, at which customers will be seated. "To what do you attribute the growth of the prohibition sentiment?" the reported asked. "To the violation of the law by saloons," he answered. "Unquestionably the prohibition sentiment senti-ment is directed against the saloon. Not all sa- loons violate the law, but the law-abiding saloon sa-loon keeper is the victim of the law-violating saloon sa-loon keeper. "There are two sides to this question and our own observation prompts us to say that you should be sustained in any effort to correct conditions. condi-tions. We make no question that the responsibility responsi-bility for the correction rests, in a large part with this business itself. The law alone cannot do it. As an official you are put to the proof, and you must often be hampered by technicalities. On the other hand, we cannot do it without your guidance. "We are persuaded, however, by co-operation, a better result can be obtained. Every disreputable disrep-utable saloon should be closed. "It is my belief that the ultimate outcome of the prohibition sentiment in this country will be the establishment of the German saloon system," Busch continued. "In Germany saloons sell only beer, light wines and temperance drinks. There are no bars and no treating. Many of the evils of drink are attributable to the treating habit. A man goes into a saloon to get a glass of beer. He meets a friend, or a group of friends, and sometimes twenty or thirty drinks are consumed. The treating system ought to be prohibited. "I am spending $125,000 to build a Deutsche wirtschaft at Gravois and Morganford roads to demonstrate that an institution at which only beer, light wines and temperance drinks are served can be ,made a success. I am going to call this the Bevo Mill. It is to be constructed principally of vari-colored stone, most of which, with my own hands, I gathered from my place, the Grant Farm. t "There will be no bar In this establishment. There will be a high-class cafe. All drinks will be served at tables. "I want to make this institution an object lesson les-son of an orderly conducted place, where every law will be observed." Busch is building a $3,000,000 plant fronting on Broadway, immediately east of the main brew-' brew-' ery establishment, which will be used exclusively for the manufacture of Bevo, the new temperance drink he has put on the market. He was asked if he was manufacturing the temperance drink in anticipation of prohibition in Missouri. "No," he said. "I conceived the idea that the aaar.Mfa ! people wanted a beverage containing less alcohol than beer contains. There is 4 per cent of alcohol alco-hol in beer, and less than one-fourth of 1 per cent in Bevo. I think the real remedy for the drink question is education. By education all the evils of drinking will be gradually eliminated. If I forbade for-bade my children from drinking, they probably would develop a strong desire for it and get it anyway. "My father was very strict with me about smoking. Every time he met nre he would smell my breath to see whether I had been smoking. The result was that I used to take his cigars and hide myself away and smoke until I was satisfied. Now my family can have anything in the world it wants in the drink line,' and I do not think there is a family in America where there is less drinking." drink-ing." "If any saloons who are customers of this brewery are violating or evading the law we do not know it. If any committee of citizens interested in-terested in the enforcement of the law will point out to me any saloon that is not obeying the law, I will do everything I can do to close it. I want this business in which I am interested to stand for morality." "Have you ever considered what use will be made of your properties if a prohibitory amendment amend-ment should be voted or law enacted in this state?" "As time goes on the sentiment of the people changes. I want to say that if this organization with which I am connected is forced to go out of the brewing business in St. Louis, it will be here and I will be here as a factor in something else. Of course, I think it would be a sad world where such harmless stimulants as beer and bevo could not be sold, but our great plant here, in which about $70,000,000 has been invested, would be wonderfully well suited for an ammunition factory, fac-tory, such as the United States will have need of in carrying out its plan of preparedness, or it could be converted into the greatest meat packing establishment in the world." "Do you think, Mr. Bush, that there will come a time when the people will tire of prohibition and permit the sale of beverages for consumption in the home, but not in the saloon?" "I do not expect such conditions," he said. "As I said before, I think the saloon, with the bar eliminated and the sale of stronger drinks prohibited, will not be objectionable. I think that is the solution of the question. I do not think the middle-man's club should be taken away from him. There ought to be a place where people peo-ple can meet, exchange views and be served with light beverages. People would not care to transfer trans-fer this sort of pleasures to their homes. There ought to be an institution peculiarly for such purposes. "And now," added Busch, in conclusion of the interview, "if I had before me a convention of brewers of the United States, I should say to them that if they wanted to render the greatest possible service to their own interests they would insist upon the strict enforcement of the dramshop laws and co-operate with the proper authorities in closing every saloon that has not been conducted con-ducted strictly according to these laws." |