A WHISKY WAR

Auckland Star, Volume LXXV, Issue 217, 13 September 1944, Page 3

A WHISKY WAR

DISTILLERS BACKED

UNSCRUPULOUS MERCHANTS

LONDON. Reputable whisky retailers throughout the country are delighted at the determination of the Scotch Whisky Association to act against those who are selling proprietary brands at excessive prices. They say that it has becomc necessary to keep the trade free from unfair price-raising and to prevent a few members from benefiting at the expense of the majority who abide by the price regulations. A Ban and a Protest The association took its first action against Mr. Sklar, of Leicester, by forbidding members of the association to supply him, says the Daily Mail. Mr. Sklar, speaking to a Daily Mail reporter, said his case was sub judice, but he added: "I am taking action against the Whisky Association. I am prepared to go into the Witness-box and declare on oath that I never supplied whisky to anybody above the controlled price." The trade is now turning its attention to operators in a different category from Mr. Sklar—those in the Black Market. Night Club Profits There is abundant evidence that unscrupulous merchants have been making huge profits in selling wellknown branded Scotch whiskies to get-rich-quick night club proprietors and others whose clients are willing to pay almost any price. Captain Albert Dyer, chairman of the National Consultative Council of the Retail Liquor Trade, said: "We welcome the Scotch Whisky Association's efforts to prevent the black sheep from getting the supplies. "They are to be found here and there, but they are not many."