REPEAL OF PROHIBITION

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 305, 23 November 1932, Page 7

REPEAL OF PROHIBITION

UNITED STATES BEER BILL. LEADING POLITICIAN CONFIDENT QUESTION OF MR HOOVER’S VETO. (United Press Association —By Electric Telegraph.—Copyright.) Received November 23, 1.10 p.m. WASHINGTON, Nov. 22. The Speaker, Mr Garner, who is Vice-President elect, told newspaper men on Tuesday that, in his opinion, the United States House will pass the Beer Bill at a short session, but he refrained from any forecast as to the probable time. Mr Garner said also that with the Beer Bill and a reductions in Government expenses it might be possible to secure a balanced Budget without passing other forms of taxation. Asked what percentage of beer he favoured, Mr Garner said, “Within the Constitution.”

About 2.75 or 3 per cent? he was asked.

“Somewhere around that,” Mr Garner replied. The Speaker gave a guess that legalised beer for revenue would bring m 250 to 300 million dollars annually. Meanwhile, White House aides to President Hoover said that the President had neither affirmed nor denied that his veto would be given to any Beer Bill that Congress enacts. Representative Britten said that he had taken up the beer legislation with the President and predicted that Mr Hoover will not veto it. AMERICA’S ANTICIPATION. “Wets” control both Houses of Congress, but not by the two-thirds majority necessary to delete the Eighteenth Amendment from the Constitution. They can, and probably will change the Volstead Law to enable beer to be sold, (says a New York message.) The Hearst newspapers, which strongly supported Mr Roosevelt, said editorially: “It is pathetic that the richest nation in the world should rely for a solution of its money problems on a glass of beer and the amount a drinker can be taxed.” The papers added that all foreign wines will bo barred from the United States, and that California will have a great boom again. It is interesting to note that California, Washington and other Pacific States possess State liquor enforcement laws which expire automatically in December, so that the Western seaboard of America will be wet again soon.

The financial pages of the newspapers of the larger cities were crowded with notices of issues of shares and bonds of new brewing companies. A great revival of the liquor business appears to be coming (says another report). Beer by Christmas promises to be an actuality almost everywhere, even if the legislation is not quite complete by that time.