Gustav Becker's United States Brewers' Association Scrapbook, 1939

              YEAR'S HOP SUPPLY
ON HAND FOR BEER
But Brewers Foresee Shortage
if Domestic Acreage Curbs
Are Not Modified
ASKS AID FOR SMALL PLANT
Speaker Holds the In9ustry
Will Suffer if Trend to
Bigness Continues
'r do not need to remind you
small breweries have a
I in fhu'.'. in their several
and the legislatioa
a State government ' .has
that the Illrge number' of
small operators has had far more
influence than the representatives
of a few big breweries.' ,
Mr. Elwell predicted that there
will be a 'tremendous failure
breweries within the next two
three years' unless the well
aged brewerills. come to the
of the less fortunate h',,,,,,,.,,,.
Many of th,e brewers ''LLt:llUl_~''LtJ
association's
yesterday In the prt:ll,[lu:ml.lrl
ings held by the United R.· .... ' ... '.'
Foundation which will open
nual convention in the hotel
At yesterday's ' preliminary
ings, directors of the Iouno..a.U(ln
heard reports from group cn.allrm,en
In eight States where the
Stocks of domestic and imported tion has conducted campaigns to
hops on hand in this country are voke the licenses of beer retail
sufficient to assure a normal out- who operate in violation of the law.
put of beer here for at least a year The foundation it was explained,
has investigated more than 3 000
despite the cessation of imports tail operators in the few '
from Europe, according to dele- that the self-regulation
gates who ' attended the closing ses- by the industry has been in
sion of the sixty-fourth annual tion in Nebraska, Alabama, Kansas,
venti on of t.,he United States 'O •• 1f ••• ,. Tennessee, North Carolina, Missis-
Association in the Hotel sippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia.
L-..,.'Lun ... yesterday. A ohn'''e,,.
was added, may
unless the United
of Agriculture can
to modify acreage
on domestic production.
1I1 '~ ~~~!:Y~:'';L~.'itf.~:~~~ head of thoef
and of the
and Malting Company at
'' •• ~ •••• n~ Wyo., was elected presi­dent
of the association at yester­day's
meeting. Mr. Becker suc­ceeds
Edw¥d Landsberg of Chica­go,
who has served as acting presi­dent
of the organization since the
death of Colonel Jacob Ruppert
last January.
Other Officers Named
Want U. S. Restrictions
Year's Crop Lifted.
Industry Moves to Stop
Retail Law Violations.
An appeal has been
Secretary of Agriculture lillnr,
Wallace to lift the Government'll
striction~ on the harvesting of
year's crop of hops, as a
forestalling a possible s!].ortage
suiting frpm the war, it was
nounced today at the 'i~tt.v.-foU1'·11l1i1'';:;JI
annual convention. of the
States Brewers Association, in '~;Ilrc:~ulrs:e:-rui8ru)i[e;~,ftI.''~tI
sion at the Waldorf-Astoria. close up
It was pointed out that the pos­have
the responsibil-sible
shortage of hops from ... broad
may provide the necessary impetus
to revive the growing of hops in
New York state. At the present
time about 90 per cent of hops used
in this country are grown on the
lity to lend our active assistance
,law enforcement authorities to
eliminate anti-social
wherever they may surround
sale of beer.' ,
Pacific coast.
The opening move in a long range
program sponsored by the United
Brewers Industrial Foundation to
gual'antee that any retail pr,acticts
prejudicial to the good name of
beer are eliminated was described
at a meeting of the State direotors
of HIe industry's self-regulating
committee. This move consists of
co-operating with law enforcement
agencies in eight States to revoke
li nus of retail outlets violating
tn la.w. I In the cour::;e of tpis co-operation,
more than 3,000 retatl outlets in
Nebraska, Alabama, Kansas, Ten­'
nesse' North CaroUna, Mississippi,
o~ma and West Virginia were
inve~gated, and }icensf'\ revoca­tiqn
suspensions, or in},unctions
w posed by state or local au-th
against more til-an 120 taw-vie
i establi/ihments. A num-b
oUlerli took thl! Indulltry's
g and corrected objection-ractices.
Under the. foundation's . plan
brewers and distributors doing
in the State are nr'rQr';~,.<'I
'committee is selec~d to
the self-regulatory activities
prominent citizen appointed
director to administer them. Out­lets
are thoroughly investigated.
Those found to be violating the law
or operating in a mann.6l' d~tri­mental
to the public welfare are
warned that conditions must be
remedied'. Failure to comply with
the warning orings an appeal from
the State director to the proper of­ficials
for law enforcement action.
Extended to Other states.
It was formulated three years
ago, and hILS the support of the
United States Brewers' Associa­ti'on,
Brewing Industry, Inc., and
the American Brewers Association,
The /lelf-regulatlon plan was first
tried In Nebraska, then in Alabama,
and was finally extended to the six
other States.
Later in tn day ystave ,Lorenz
Bec er, hea f the 'Becker Prod­s
omparw f Ogden, Utah, was
ected president· of the United
tes Brewers Association at its
'Ix y-fourth annual OODvention. Mr.
Becker is also president the
;Becker Brewing 'Maltin om-pany
of Evanston. ' Wyo., and in
addition is known as one of the
rifle alUl tr'p .hots in the
With Dignity and
Satisfied Millions,
He Declares.
NATION
Officials ~f Exposition
Invitation to States
for Next Year.
America's brewers were praised
today by Mayor LaGuardia for the
part they have played in making
the country more temperate. In­creased
beer consumption he said
had meant decreased-use ~f strong:
e1' fluids.
He spoke to a group of 500 brew­ers
from various parts of the coun­try
gathered at the World's Fair
Hall of Music, and told his listen­ers
that the arrangements for the
sale of beer at the fair had been
excellent.
'The entire arrangement was
carried out with a grea,;\ deal of
dignity,' he :.;aid, 'and to the com­plete
satisfaction of the 25,00,0,000
people who have visited the fair to
date.'
Sees Need for Beer Halls.
He' added that there has not been
arrest for intoxication at the
thus far , commenting that this
well for the management,
and for the American
The Mayor also advocated the
establishment in this country of
r halls sim1lar to those of Vi­with
good music and good
both provlded.
, 'The Vienna beer hal18 were the
Ideal fO.r com~~rt and tor public
~orals In every respect,' he said.
It IS very difficult to operate in
thiS country because of the ex­pense,.
but within those limitations
there IS a need in this country for
that type of en tertainment.'
Urges Pride in Industry.
G. L. Bec\§ir of OgdeI1-'\tAh newly
elected preSident of t e U. S.
Brewers Association, spoke after
t~.e. Mayor, and pointed QUt that
billions of dollars have' been
poured into American trade chan­nels
as the result of the relegaliza­tlon
of beer .. He also called upon
members of the brewing intlustry to
h.ve \~Jl to the best American tradi-tIOns,
take ' In their business
~ .and'
BREWERSAREURG
TO ADVERTISE, MORE
Barto.I} Tells Them Task of
Making Product Kno~n
'is Continuous
UnUke many European nations,
which hl/-ve not taken the lessons of
the' past to heart, the brewing in­d11St'I'Y
s~nce the relEigalizat!on of I
b~er, has not only corrected its past ,
mistakes but has adopted the policy
of going to the public and making
its aims known through advertising,
Representative Bruce Barton told
800, delegates to the slxty-fourtlf an­nual
convention of the United States
Brewers' Association at the Waldorf'
Astoria yesterday.
Advertising serves not only
make a product known to consum-sychologically
aUec the
hlm
tising ,,'as a continuous job,
new consumers were always
created and old one passing Rway
and that the brewers had only begun
their task of educath:,g consumers.
Cites 0 her Industries
'The coffee industry is ollly one­third
your size, but spends t.wice ItS
much on advertising,' he declared.
'The soap Industry Is one-fourtn
your size, and al~o ' p~nds twice as
much. The cigar'tte indus try,
which is only 15 per cent greater
than the brewing industry. spends
5()() tlme~ as much as you do.'
In his aUl,ual report to the brew­e~
s, C. D. Williams, secretary of the
ass(.ciatlon, declared that the volume
of beer 5ale~ continues disappoint­ing,
but that indlCQ,tions are for a
slight upturn. He estimated that
bear sales for thp calendar year 1939
woul<1 total 52,000,000 barrels, or a 2
per cent gain over 1938.
Not much hope for a reduction In
beer taxes was held out by Mark
Graves, New York State Commis­sioner
of Taxation and Finance.
Whereas taxes on beer amount to
about 20 per cent of the retail selling
price, he declared, cigarette taxes
now account for about 50 per cent
of the retail price and gaSOline prices
at least 25 per cent of the selling
Brewers Lauded
'Commissioner Henry E, Bruckman
' of the New York State Liquor Au­thority
lauded the brewers for hav­ing,
'by self-regulation, made impor­tant
contributions to law observance
and enforcement,' Sale of beer itself,
he stated, is in itself no problem,
but that the problem arises 'when
sale Is associated with harmful prac­tices.
'
In his welcoming address, Edward
Lansberg, president of the associa­tion,
summarized briefly the group's
accomplishments, stating that 'ours
is a task which is never done' and
warning that prohibitionists now, as I
before, were persistently active.
G. Becker icUr ident o.f the
aSSOCla ion, declared that '{ne rew- I
ing industry, at this moment, is
\'I'holly independent of all other coun­tries
in the world as to raw mate­rials,
equipment, technical knowledge
and rights of distribution. We do not
depend to any extent upon any coun- ,
try In any way whatsover for the
conduct of our business.'
Lowell Thomas, radio commentator,
spoke briefly at yesterday's luncheon
meeting.
BREWERS URGE END
OF HOP RESTRICTION
Measure Held Necessary to
Avert Shortage Due to
World Situation
A request to Secretary Wallace of
the Department of Agt'iculturc to
lift the restrictions imposed on hops
by this year's h op marketing agrea-ment,
and thus m3.ke an adjust­ment
held urgently required ,be­cause
of th' International situation.
'wiil be submitted shortly by the
United States Brewers Association,
it was decided at thA closing ses­sion
of tbat group's Sixty-fourth
annual convention at the Waldorf­Astoria
yesterday.
The decision to act was reached
following a discussion of the hops sit­uation
during the morning session,
which was led' b)': G. L. Becker of
Ogden, Utah; Irving J. Solomon of
Chicago, and James O'Connor Rob­erts
of New York. The meeting,
which 800 brewers were registered,
elected M;r. ' ker president; Ru­dolph
Scl~~erer of roo Iyn, N. Y.,
first vice president; Herbert 1:..
Charles, st. Paul, Minn' second vice
president; Carl W. Badenhausen.
Newark, N. J' treasurer; C. D. WII­secretary,
and John LeWIS
general counsel.
Shortage Seen
At the present time, It. was ex­plained
during the hop discussion,
there are available about 32,000,000
pounds of hops in the Unlt,ed States,
of which under the marke.tmg a gree­ment
no more than 30,000,000 pound~
can be picked withou,t penalties. At
rate of .63 pound of hops per
r ei, it was estimated that the
tic brewing industry would need
600 000 • pounds of hops during
ye~r ending Decemoer 3!, 1939, for
estimated beer pro\.1uctlon of 52,000,-
hop production
year, it was brought out, was 28,-
500,000 pounds, which were supple­mented
by 8,000,000 pounds of Im­ported
hops. Not only will AmeriCan
'mports of hops be cu.t off because
~f the wat:, It was stated, Ibut South
American and other countries which
normally depnd on European BOUrce~
of supply will turn t.o this c~untry
,for Hiefr hop needs, thus leadmg to
'what ,one speal<er characterized
BREWERS URGE END
OF HOP RESTRICTION
(Continued t!'Om Thll'd page)
shortage.'
Discusses Profits '
In a. discussion on broewery prof­Its,
F. H. Elweli, C. P. A. of M~I­Wis.,
listed five causes 'of I
'profitless volume,' which inclu deej
profits given away because cost ot
e
not inclUSive, because product was
under-priced, because effort was
made to r etain distributors and re­tallers
or secu~e new outlets, and
becaUSe 'miscellaneous profit Con­cessions
were made due to
John W. Russert, of Milwaukee,
Wis., president of the Master Brew­Association
of America, dis­cussed
the methods in which brew­masters
were co-operating with brew­ery
owners and executives.
Meanwhlle, as a. preliminary to
their third annual c onvention, which
is schedUled. to get under way this
morning, State directors of the
United Brewers Industrial Founda­tion
met at the Waldorf-Astoria yes­terday
to discuss the progress of the
brewers' 'clean-up-or-close-up' cam­paigns
which are currently in oper­ation
In , Nebraska, Alabama, Kan­sas,
Tennessee, North CarOlina, Mis­siSSippi,
Okla.homa and West Vlr-tigated
by the brewers' self-regulat­ing
committees in the past few
months, it was said, and an exten­sion
to other States in the near fu­ture
is believed probable. H. J.
Charles is chairman of the founda­tion,
Which has the support not only
of the United States Brewers' Asso-
BREWERS URGE END
OF HOP RESTRICTION
Measure Held Necessary to
Avert Shortage Due to
World Situation
A request to Secretary Wallace of
the Department ot Agriculture to
lift the restrictions imposed on hops
by this year's hon marketing agree­and
thus m3.ke an adjust­held
urgently required be­of
th' International situation.
wiil be submitted shortly by the
United States Brewers Association,
it was decided at the closing ses ­group'
8 sixty-fourth
annual convention at the 'Valdorf­Astoria
yesterday.
The decision to
following a discussion of the hops sit­uation
during the morning session,
which was led' by G. L. Becker of
ogden, Utah; Irving J. Solomon of
erts of New York. The meeting, tor
which 800 brewers were registered,
elected :r.~r.-IkCker president; Ru­dolph
Scl;~erer of roo lyn, N. Y.,
vice president ; Herbert L.
Cllarles, st. Paul, Minn., second vice
Carl W. Badenhll.usen,
Newark, N. J ., treasurer; C. D. Wil­liams,
secretary, and John Lewis
Smith, general counsel.
Shortage Seen
At the present time, it was ex­plai!
1ed during the hop discuSSion,
there are available about 32,000,000
pounds of hops in the United States,
of which under the marke.ting a gree­ment
no mere than 30,000,000 pound~
can be picked withou.t penalties. At
rate of .63 pound of hops per
rei, it \nas estimated that the
tic brewing industry would need
, 600,000 : pounds of hops during
year e!1ding Decemoer 3t, 1939, tor
estimated beer pro~uctlon of 52,000,-
000 barrels.
hop production
year, It was brought out, was 28,-
500,000 pounds, which were supple­mented
by 8,000,000 pounds of Im-ported
hops. Not only will AmeriCan
imports of hops be cu.t off because
of the war, It was stated, Ibut South
American and other countries which
normally dcpnd on European source'
of supply wll! turn to this countrY
for tl1efr hop needs, thus leading to
'what ,one ,speal<er characterized as
BREWERS URGE END
OF HOP RESTRICTION
(ContInued from Thl1'd Page)
very serlol.1S danger of
plying shortage.'
Discusses Profits
In a discussion on b:rewery pro!­:
its, F. H. Elwell, C. P. A. of M~I- '
Wis., listed five causes ' or
'profitless volume,' which Includeq
profits given away becaulSe cest of I
product was not known and heDCe '
not Inclusive, because product
under-priced, because effort
made to retain . distributors and re­tailers
Qr secure new outlets a d
becaus e H mI• scellaneous profit' conn -
cessions were made due to
cowardice.'
J.ohn W. RUBsert, of Milwaukee
WIS., president of the Master Brew~
Association of America, dis­:
ssed the methods in which brew­asters
were co-operating with brew­ery
owners and executives.
Meanwhile, as a prelim'
th' tho mary to
ell' Ird annual convention which
Is scheduled, to get under w~y thO m . IS
o~mng, State directors of the
,:mted Brewers Industrial Founda­tIOn
met at the Waldorf-Astoria yes­terday
to discuss the progress of th
brewers' 'clean-up-or-close-up' cam:
apta.i gns I which are currently in oper-
IOn n , Nebraska, Alabama, Kan-s~
s'. T:nnessee, North CarOlina, Mis­SI.
SS.IPPI, Oklahoma and West Vlr­gmIa.
More than 3,000 retail outlets In
t~ese eight States have been Inves­tIgated
by the brewers' self-regulat­lng
, committees in the past few
~onths, it was said, and an exten­sIOn
to other States In the near fu­ture
is believed probable. H. J
~har1es .Is chairman of the founda~
bon, whIch has the support not only
of the United States Brewers' Asso­ciation
but of two other national
~rewerll ' allsoclations as well-Brew­mg
I ustry, Inc., and the American
Brewers' ASSOCiation.
BREWERSAREURG
TO ADVERTISE. MORE
Barto.ll Tells Them Task of
Makiqg Product Known
'Is Continuous
Unltke . many EurQpean nations,
which nll-ve not taken the lessQns Qf
the· past to' heart, the brewing in- ·
d stl'Y si.nce the relegaIizatian Qf
b~er : h'as not Qnly cQrrected its pas
mistakes but has adQpted the polic.v
Qf gQing to' the public and making I
its aims known through advertising,
Representative Bruce Baeton tQld
800. delegates to the sixty-fQurtl1 an­nual
convention Qf the United States
Brewers' Association at the WaldQrf~
Astoria yesterday.
Advertising seeves nQt Qnly to
make a product known to CQnsum­sychQIQgically
affecte the
adveetiser's thlnking, and rna him
more CQnsclous of his sQclal 41lJUga -
tiQns, Represen tative Barton as­serted.
At the same time, however,
he warned tne brewers that' il~ver­tising
was a continuous job, since
new consumel'S were always' being
. created and old one passing away
. and that the brewers had Qnly begun
tbeir task of educati,:,g consumers.
CItes 0 her Industries
'The coffee industry is Qnly one­third
yO'ur I)ize, but spends t.wice as
much Qn advertising,' he declared.
'''1'he s O'ap Industey is Qne-fO'urtn
yQur size, and alsO' sp2nds twice as
much. The cigarette indu3try,
which is O'nly 15 per cent greater
than the brewing industry, spends
500 times as much as yQU do.'
In his annual report to tbe brew­e~
s, C. D. Williams, secretary of the
association, declared that the volume
of beer saleG cQntinues disappoint­ing,
but that indi~tions aee foe a
s light upturrt He estimated that
beer sales for the calendar year 1939
woul<l. to' tal 52,000,000 barrels, or a 2
per cent gain over 1938.
Not much hQpe for a reductiQn In
beer taxes was held Qut by Mark
Graves, New York State Com mls­slone'r
Qf Taxation and Finance.
Whereas ta,xes on beer amount t
about 20 per cent of the retail seIling
price, he declared, cigarette taxes
nQW aCCQunt for abQut 50 per cent
of the retail price and gasoline prices
at least 25 per cent of the seIlIng
Brewers Lauded
Commissioner Henry E. Bruckman
' of the New York State Liquor Au­thority
lauded the brewers for hav­ing,
'by self-regulation, made impor­tant
contributions to law observance
and enfQrcement.' Sale Qf beer itself,
he stated, is in itself nO' p.roblem,
but that the problem arises 'when
sale Is assodated with harmful prac­tices.
'
In his welcQming address, Edward
Lansberg, president of the associa­tiQn,
summa rized briefly the group's
accomplishments, stating that 'ours
is a task whiCh is never done' and
warning that prohibitionists now, as
befQre, were persistently active,
~. Becker iCEl ... Ill:e ident oJ the
aSTo'C1'81'!Oti, deClared that' e brew­ing
industry, at this moment, is
\vhQIIy independent of all other CQun­tries
in the world as to raw mate­rials,
equipment, technical knowledge
and rights of distributiQn. We do nQt
depend to' any extent upon any coun­try
In any way whatsover fQr the
cQnduct of our business.'
LQwell Thomas, radio commentator,
spoke briefly at yesterday's luncheon
meeting.
44
AT BREWING INDUSTRY DAY CEREMONIES-Mayor F. H. La Guard ia, of New
York City , concluding his address to brewers and their guests on Brewing Industry Day at
the New York World's Fair, Thursday, October 5. In the speakers' platform , left to right,
are George Ruppert, a director of the United States Brewers' Association and of the United
Brewers Industrial Foundation; Carl W. Badenhausen, chairman of the Foundation; Dr.
George H. Gallup, founder and director of the American Institute of Public Opinion ; G . L.
Becker, ' president of the association and chairman of the Brewing Industry Day program ;
His Honor, the Mayor; and Herbert J. Charles, retiring chairman of the Foundation.
ed to the tremendous stimulation of
trade channels brought about by the
return of beer.
'More than a million persons en­joy
legitimate and profitable em­ployment
throughout the nation be­cause
beer is back,' he said. 'More
than 3,000,000 fann acres and
about 103,000 farm workers are en­gagt'c!
in growing crops w'lich thp
brewing industry uses annually.
More than a billion and a half dol­lars
in revenue has been collected
by the federal government from beer
taxes. More than another half bil­lion
has gone to state and local
treasuries. Billions of dollars have
been distributed among more than
a hundred industries which supply
beer and brewing with se rvices and
equipment. More than ten billion
dollars of new and legitimate busi­ness
volume has been created
throughout the nation, benefiting
the economic and social welfare of
mill ions of people, in the six and a
haH years since beer's return. Let
us be proud of the business in
which we are engaged. Let us see
that the public understands us. Let
us ever so conduct ourselves as to
keep the good will and respect of the
people.'
Industry Aligns With Public
Opinion
Herbert J. Charles, retiring chair­man
of the United Brewers Indus-
GROWeRS OF
FAnCIEST OUALIN
GOLD S£AL
trial Foundation, spoke on the social
responsibility of the brewing indus­try.
'The memory of the public is
exceedingly short,' he sa id. ''iVhile
we who lived through prohibition
know its evils, prohibition is a 'bed
time story' to the new g-eneration.
It can easi ly return. Hence, the
F oundation is undertaking to as­certain
what the public thinks about
our business and what it thinks we
should do to make -our business suc­ceed
and endure. The public told
us that we would have to eliminat'e
the objectionable conditiolls which
surround a small minority of the
retail outlets where beer is dispens­ed.
vVe do not approve of these
conditions and we are not going to
be responsible for a return of pro­hibiti
on if we can help it. Public
opinion is as fleeting as an April
breeze and the Foundation endea­vors
to see to it that our indu stry
is aligned with public opinion.'
Gallup Polls Find Public Opposed
to Prohibition
Dr. Gallup, director of the famous
Gallup polls on public opinion, gave
an interesting address on the Amer­ican
public's first reactions towards
wal' as determined by his poll s.
Concluding his address, he turned
to the relation of public opinion to
the brewing industry, asserting that
there are few indu stries to which
S£E:DL£SS
-HOI»5-
SAn FRAnCISCO. U.S •. A.
Say yolt saw it in BREWERY ACE
, I
BREWERY AGE, October, 1939
\
public opinion is more important. '
P ublic Op1l11011 , he pointed out, 7
. brought beer back and now, after '
more than six years, public opinion
is still overwhelmingly opposed to a
return of prohibition. The most
recent survey made by his organiza­tion,
he 'said, indicates that t,wo out
of every three people would vote
against prohibition jf the question '
were put on the ballot now. How­ever,
he said, dry sentiment has
been slowly growing since repeal ,
adding:
'According to our studies the in-'
crease has been at the rate of about
one per cent a year for the last six
years, the chief gains coming in the
farm and small town areas where
the last great dry wave began. Thifi
does not mean that a new dry wave
is rolling up in the U nited States
that will take the country back to 1
tlhe drys of the y olstke~d Afct. The '.
c ry movement IS ma ' 111g . ew con-verts
in the great cities and among
the younger voters, and these voters
would have to be won if prohibition
is to come back. But the increase
of dry . sentiment, however slow,
does indicate that the industry can-not
afford to sit back and do nothing
under the assumption that a dry era
will never return.
'That the brewi ng industry has
united in carrying out a study and
analysis of how the publ ic thinks of
its business-and that the industry
is starting to translate the results of
this study into progressive and
honest action-is one of the reasons
why the brewing industry in Amer­ica
is this day to be hearti ly con­gratulated.'
Sample Washington Recipe Beer
Following the program in the
Hall of Music, the auelience ad­journed
to Ballantine's Inn for lun- '
cheon and sample bottles of beer
hrewed from the recipe of GeQrge
\ Vashington. The recipe appeal'S in
a notebook kept by the Father of
our Country when he was a Vir­ginia
colonel in 1757. The note­hook
is now in the New York Public
Library. Beer, followi'ng this recipe!
was brewed sjJecially for Brewing­Industry
Day at the ' iVorld's Fair :
by permi ssion of the New York
State Liquor Authority.
Following the luncheon. hundreds
of brewers anel guests enjoyed thei'r,
first tour of the ' iVorlc1's Fair, many '
continuing the rounds of the ex­hibits
and the amusement al'ea until
the gates closed in the early hours
of the next morning.
BREWERY AGE, October, 1939
BREWING In­dustry
day at
the New Yo rk
World's Fair, ob­served
October 5
by the hosts of
brewers and allied
tradesmen who
were in the east­ern
metropolis for
the annual con­ventions
of the
United States
Brewers' Associa­tion
and the Unit­ed
Brewers' In­dustrial
Founda­tion,
proved to be
an inspiring affair.
The occasion was
sponsored jointly
by the U.S.B.A.
and the U.B.LF.
43
music was provid­ed
and where ac­commodations
were available to
entertain and take
care of large num­bers
of people. Of
course, we recog­nize
the diffirculty
in this country be­cause
of the high
cost of -operation.
The Vienna beer
hall was the ideal
for comfort and
for public morals
in every respect.
Within limitations
there is need in
this country for
that type of enter­tainment.'
At 11 a m. an
audience of about
2,000 brewers and
their friends as­sembled
at the
huge Hall of Mu­sic
on the Fair
grounds. The re.
The mayor paid
a tribute to the
manner in which
beer has been sold
at the Fair, say­ing:
SAMPLING COLONIAL BEER-Participants in Brewing Industry Day at the World's
Fair, Odober 5, had the opportunity of d rinki ng beer ' made acco rd ing to t he form ula
written by George Washington in his notebook in 1757. Men dressed in Colonial costume
f1ded appropriate atmosphere to the occasion. In the above photo Carl W. Badenhausen,
newly-elected chairman of the United Brewers Industrial Foundation, is about to rece ive a
bottle of the Colonial beverage. 'Beer has been
sold here with a
great deal of dig­nity
and to the enti re satisfaction of
the 25,000,000 people who have
visited the Fair to aate. It may
interest you to know that since the
opening of the Fair we have not
had a single arrest for intoxication.'
on the stage, flanked by two large
American flags, they found G. L.
Becker, newly-elected president of
the U .S.B.A., who acted as chair­man.
Mayor LaGuardia of New
York; Dr. George H . Gallup, of
the American Institute of Public
Opinion; Commander H. A. Flani­gan,
vice-president of the Fair;
Herbert ]. Charles, retiring chair­man
of the U.B.I.F. ; Carl W. Bad­enhausen,
new Foundation chair­man;
Rudolph J. Schaefer and
George Ruppert.
American Flag Made in Brewery
Chairman Becker to ld the historic
story of the making of the original
'Star Spangled Banner' on the
malting floor of an old Baltimore
brewery and of how Francis Scott
Key was inspired to write the na­tional
anthem as he watched the
bombardment of Fort McHenry.
Miss Helen Henry, well known
radi o singer, sang the national
anthem as a fitt ing climax to Mr.
Becker's remarks, while the two
large American flags waved in the
breeze.
Need for Beer Halls, Says
La Guardia
Mayor LaGuardia welcomed the
members of the industry on behalf
of the -city of New York. He dwelt
on the progress represented by the
many Fair exhibits and urged those
present to go through the exhibits
thoroughly. The brewing industry,
too, said the mayor, has made great
progress not only in the chemistry
of brewing but in the elimination of
the 'bad habits that e xi sted a
quarter century ago.' There was a
need today, he sqid, for places where
people could sit down and enj oy
good beer and good music, adding:
' I wish it were possible to have
more of what used to be known as
Vienna beer hall s, where good
Suggests Industry Exhibit at
Fair
Commander F lanigan, speaking
on behal f of the Fair management,
lauded the brewing industry on its
contribution towards the success of
that huge enterprise, declaring that
the concessions of brewers had
helped substantially from a financial
standpoin t. He expressed the hope
that at next year's Fair brewers
would have an industry exhibit 'so
that the public may see what has
been done to help them enjoy good
things temperately.'
How Beer Stimulates Industry
Mr. Becker, speaking this time
as a representative of the United
tates Brewers' Association, point-
Industry Turns Out En Masse for
Brewing Industry Day at Fair
J
.,
I
/
BREWERS' JITTERS
T he brewing industry
some effects 01 war.
H ad it not been for World
War I there might never have been any
Prohibition. For this and other reasons
a prime topic at the U. S. Brewers' Asso·
ciation's annual confab in Manhattan
last fortnight was World War II.
Conveninu brewers heard the thesis
that Prohibition was born out of war
put in homely fashion by the man they
picked as their new president-ruddy,
hard-bitten Gustave Lorenz Becker, head
of Becker Products o. 0 gden, Utah.
Like the late Colonel Jacob Ruppert,
whom he succeeds, president Becker is
rouuh & ready despite his many seasons
(he1s an expert trap-shooter, delights his
friends by shooting out 'My Old Ken­tucky
Home' on a carillon which he has
installed in his rifle range).
Rapped out president Becker:
'We know from experience the terrible
consequences to our industry which
came, if not because 'of, yet with the hys­teria
of war. During the World War they
flocked to Prohibition and imposed it
into the national Constitution as a rem­edy.
This remedy, like most panaceas
seized upon in the frenzy of such times,
did not cure or correct the evils which
beset the people, but on the contrary
brought a host of others more dread­ful.
... '
Another to voice similar warnings was
adman Bruce Barton, who talked on
war & Prohibition, on neutrality, and on
advertising & public relations. Said he:
' Coffee as an industry, I am told by your
figures, is only one-third the size of your
industry, but it spends twice as much
in advertising .... The cigarette industry
is only 15% greater, but in advertising it
spends about five hundred times as
much .... '
Approvingly the ·brewers heard re­sults
of the United Brewers' Industrial
Foundation's clean-up drive, through
which they're trying to halt the drys be­fore
they get started. In its first year, the
UBIF reported, it had investigated more
than 3,000 retail outlets and had been in ­strumental
in closing more than 120 in
eiaht mid-western and southern states.
'Meeting separately, the Foundation
elected Carl W. Badenhausen, eminently
successful head of P. Ballantine & Sons
(Newark), as its new president, laid
plans for expanding' its 1940 drive into
some six or eight additional states.
How much the enemy had gained,
meantime, was evident from secretary
C. D. Williams' report that of the total
U. S. population, '6.7% lived in bone dry
areas in September, 1939, as compared
with 6.1% in the same month last year.
Meanwhile the delegates pondered an­other,
more pressing war problem. A
series of speakers trooped to the ros­trum
to warn of a possible hops shortage.
U. S. pro
enough to fill the needs of the industry.
But to get a better grade of hop~ for
premium beers the industry gen~rally
imports a sizable quantity-ehiefly from
Germany. (Last year 9,290,00~ l~. out of
the 34,874,000 lb. of hops used by the
industry were imported.) Today, how·
ever, this source of supply is cut off, and
it seems likely that the United States
will ,be called upon to export much
of its productJon to meet European
needs.
In the U. ~., meantime, hop sales are
currently lir#,ited under the marketing
agreement plt\visions of the Agricultural
Adjustment Act. Last year the Hop Con·
trol Board decided that of an expected
crop of 38,000,000 lb. in 1939,30,000,000
should be sold. The which, say the brew­ers,
despondently, won't be anywhere
near enough.
Accordingly, the industry has asked
Secretary Wallace to remove all hop re­strictions
this year. Willing to go part
of the way with the brewers, the Hop
Growers Allocation Committee has put
in a bid for the release of an additional
• .<..\1\1\ .... 1\1\) lb. But to complicate matters
even further, Secretary Wallace is re­ported
to be reluctant to make any
change. .
~jected among all these headaches
w'as one cheerful note, familiar these
days to many an industry. Present beer
sales, reported secretary C. D. Williams,
continue disappointing. 'Yet conditions
point to an improvement inasmuch as
we are unquestionably due for a contin­ued
upturn industrially, at least for a
period of time.' Sales for 1939, he esti­mated,
might show a 2% inc'·ease over
1938.
32
G. L. Becker, a director of the
United States Brewers' Associa­tion
since 1911 and an officer of
.that organization
for the past four
years, was ,elect-;
ed president of
the U.S.B.A. at
the 64th annual
convention in
New York City,
October 3, s uc­ceedin.
g Ed ward
Landsberg.
I n acknowl­edging
the hon­or,
Mr. Becker
said:
'.It would not G. L. Becker
be an easy task
for any man of ability and pres­tige
far superior to mine to step
into the august position of presi-dent
of the U nited States Brew­ers'
Association, following such
great leaders of the past as Julius
Li ebman , Edwar'd A. Schmidt,
Gustav Pabst, the late Christian
F eigenspan, our late lamented
presiden t, Colonel Jacob Rup­pert,
and Edward Landsberg. I
hope that I may be ab le to follow
very modest ly the sound planning
and the splend id achievement of
my illu strious predecessors. I
knovv of no organization that is
composed of a higher and finer
type of men than those of this
organization, which is so dear to
my heart. I would rather a thou­sand
times receive, and accept, as
I do now, the presidency of this
organization at the hands of th is
group than to be elected Presi­dent
of the United States. I can
BREWERY AGE, October, 1939
only promise you that I will do
everything within my power and
ability to conduct the affairs of
th is association so as to merit
your vote of trust today.'
Mr. Becker is president of two
successful breweries: B e c k e r
Prod ucts ,Co., Ogden, Utah; and
Be,cker Brev,;irig . & J.V1:,alting Co.,
Evanston, Wyo. In addition he
is an officer or director in a large
number of other companies, in­cluding
a sugar company, two
ra ilroad companies and a mining
company. He is nationally known
as one of the leading trap and .
rifle shots in the United States
and on many occasions has won '
top honors in competition in this
field.
A complete list of U.S. B.A.
officers and directors for the en­suing
yea,r follows:
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
UNITED STATES BREWERS' ASSOCIATION
R. J . SCHAEFER'''.', 1st Vice President
CARL W. BADENHAUSEN''''Treasurer
THREE YEARS
ALBERT J. BATES
G. Heileman Brewing Co.
La Crosse, Wisconsin
JAMES A. BOHANNON
Brewing Corp. of America
Cleveland, Ohio
ADOLPH COORS, JR.
Adolph Coors Company
Golden, Colo.
FRANK FEHR
Frank Fehr Brewing , Co., Inc.
Louisville, Ky.
EDWARD V. LAHEY
Smith Bros., Inc.
New Bedford' Mass.
MORRIS SCHAPIRO
Globe Brewing Co.
Baltimore, Maryla nd
LOUIS P. NEUWEILER
Louis F. Neuweiler's Sons
Allentown, Pa.
PETER G. SCHMIDT
Olympia Brewing Company
Olympia , Washington
WALTER E. GUYETTE
Harvard Brewing Co.
Lowell, Mass.
ALVIN GLUEK
Gluek Brewing Company
Minneapol is, Minn.
Officers
G. L. BECKER:''''''.'.'.'.'. ',President
C. D. WI LLlAMS'.'''''''.'''Secretary
Directors 1939·1940
TWO YEARS
S. E. ABRAMS
Jos. Schlitz Brewing Co.
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
CARL W. BADEN HAUSEN
P. Ballantine & Sons
Newark, N. J.
G. L. BECKER
Becker Prod ucts Co.
Ogden, Utah
H. J. CHARLES
Hamm Brewing Company
St. Paul, Minn.
JOHN A. FRIDAY
Duquesne Brewing Co.
Pittsburgh, Pa.
EDWARD LANDSBERG
United States Brewi ng Co.
9 icago, III.
JULIUS LIEBMAN
Liebmann Breweries, Inc.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
GEORGE E. RUPPERT
Jacob Ruppert Brewery
New York, N. Y.
R. J . SCHAEFER
F. & M. Schaefer Brewing Co.
Brooklyn, N. Y.
EDWARD A. SCHMIDT
C. Schmidt & Sons, Inc.
Philadelphia, P~ .
WILLIAM BRUCKMANN
The Bruckmann Co.
Cincinnati, Ohio
H. J. CHARLES'.' '.,,2nd Vice President
JOHN LEWIS SMITH''General Counsel
ONE YEAR
JOSEPH GOLDIE
Rainier Brewing Co.
San Francisco, Calif.
T. C. HAFFENREFFER
Haffenreffer & Co.
Boston, Mass.
WM. C. KRUEGER
G. Krueger Brewing Co.
Newark, N.J.
CHARLES J . LICK
Los Angeles Brewing Co.
Los Angeles, Calif.
B. B. McGIMSEY
San Antonio Brewing Assn.
San Antonio, Texas
L. P. MONAHAN
Pittsburgh, Pa.
WILLIAM PIEL
Piel Bros., Inc.
Brooklyn , N. Y.
EMIL G. SICK
Seattle , Washington
IRVING J . SOLOMON
Schoenhofen.Edelweiss Co.
Chicago, III.
JOHN W. STROH
Stroh Brewery Company
Detroit, Michigan
,J
LACK OF HOPS'
IS THREAT TO
U.S. BREWERS
Williams Says Shortage
May Give Rise to
Ration Plan
NEW YORK - Bee~ production
in the United 'States may be seri­ously
affected by threatened
ahortage of hops dUe to the cur­tailment
of imports and a poten­tial
mounting demand for exports,
according to C. D. Williams, sec­ret!!.
ry of the United States Brew­ers'
Assn.
'Recent restrictions imposed by
the United States Department of
Agriculture have cut hop produc­tion
far below previous quantities '
said Williams. 'This had a certain
basis in reason during the time
that brewers in this country could
secure extra needed quantities
from abroad-notflbly Czechoslova­kia.
Now, however, with that and
othet; European sources of supply
defimtely cut off for the period of
the War, and with the possibility
that we in this country ntay have
to meet not only our own needs but
th.ose ?f some of the foreign coun­tl'les,
It becomes imperative to in­crease
our domestic growing.'
Hops Prices Up
Williams revealed that a meet­ing-
of leading brewers was held in
Chicago to urge action on the Sec­retary
of Agriculture. Included
were Edward Landsberg, of Chi­cago,
President of the United
States Brewers' Assn.; G. L. Beck­er,
Ogden llah, Chair e
Brewers op Committee; S. E.
Abrams of Milwaukee; Irving J.
Solomon, Chicago; Paul Esselborn
of .Brewing Industry, Inc., St.
LoUIS; George Sippel, vice-presi­dent
of the Master Brewers Assn.;
Marcus Maegerlein, chairman of
the Material Improvement , Com­mittee
of the Master Bl'ewers'
Assn.; James O'Connor Rbberis
counsel, of Washington, D. C. ,and
Williams. '
'There has been an increase in
hop prices of from 40 to 60 per­eent,
in the past few weeks since
the war started,' said Williams.
'That in itself presents a serious
problem to brewers who cannot
ask the public to pay more for
beer. That increase, however ' is
not as important as the fact that
in. another year, we may be faced
WIth a shortage sufficient to cut
down
'It must be bor . .
nations abroad wli In bInd that
. all of the I~nl:s~f6r de-
Irro:vmg staples and '11 e . to
to Import h WI attempt
States W ops from the United
only l~rge e havi practically the
other than si~P y in the world,
Should that de Central Europe.
may have £0 b mand. develop hops
'D' e ratIoned.
1916 u~h~g J~rt ~ar year of 1915_
some 14 2-50 ODeD States exported
out f ' Pounds of h 0 a prodUction f 50 ops
in the last year th DO ,500,000.
Agriculture .cut e ep~rtment of
tion to 80000 000 domestIc produc_
comes ne~ess~ry ~ounds. If it be­any
such demand ~: t us to me~t
e~ced dUring other what expen_
,Will have t . ar Years, we
growing by s~mmcJgase domestic
W'll' e percent'
I .Iams said, further h'
Jtop Situation will b ,t at the
major topic f d' e one of the
convention ~f o~h ISi¥s~ion at the
Brewers' A e. mted States
called to meS:tn'j • ~Ich Y has been
at the Waldorf-Ast e~ ork City,
J>er 2 and 3. ona, on Octo-
~Id. William Bruckmann serve
the remainder of the unexpired
term of the late Christian Pt'igen­span.
Discuss Hops Shortage
Of chief importance to the as­sembled
brewers was the possi­bility
of a hops shortage.; The as­sociation's
committee on hops ex­pressed
the fear that a Shortage
of quality hops needed in the
brewing of beer may develop be­cause
imports from Europe have
been stopped by the war. The com­mittee
said an appeal I',RS been
made to Henry W. Wallace, Secre­tary
of Agriculture, to lift the
governm .. e>s restrictions on the
harvestin~ . of this year's crop of
hops as a means of forestalling
-'the danger of a possible short­age.'
It was pointed out, howe¥er, that
the possible shortage might pro­vide
the necessary impetus to re­vive
the growing of hops in New
York State. At tb~ present time
apprQJ{imately 90 percent of the
hopa used in thi~ country are
growtl 01l the Pacific Coa:st, while
b~e prohibit~on New York State
prOdilced several thousand bales
of hops annually. This production
has f~Uen oft', however, and this
year's 'crt>p is estimated at about
700 bales.
of . Hops Seen
ssible Aid to
Brel11ers Will Discuss
Hops' Shortage Th
N. Y. Growel's USBA Convention Begins Today at Waid
resentative Barton Will Speak
NEW YORK-G~stave L. Beck­el',
?f Ogden, Utah, was elected
preSident of the United States
Brewers' Assn. to succeed Edwllrd
Landsberg, o! Chicago, at the an­nual
conventIon of the association
held .last week at the Waldorf
Astona. .
Rudolph J. Schaefer of Brook­lyn
w~s electe~ to the position of
first Vice preSident. H. J. Charles
of St. P~ul, Minn., was elected
sccond Vice president. Carl W.
Badenhausen, of Newark was
e.lected .treasurer and C. rio Wil­hams
was re-elected secreLru'Y
Pollowing were selected Lo s~rve
011 the .hoard of di>:ect(lrs. LOllis P
.Neuwellcr, AltC:llt(lWIl Pa.· j~l'anJ:
F::hr, Louisville, ICy:; Aibert J:
Bates, LaCrosse, ' .; Adolph
Coors, Golden, ~o.~ dward V
Lahey, !-few Bedford, l\I'l~S.; Pete;
G. Schmidt, Olympia, Wash.; Wal-
A
ter . E. Guyette, Lowell, Mass.'
lvm Glueck M' '
Jal11('s A. ' IOn.'
Ohio; ~orr
NEW YORK-Representative Bruce Barton, radio-commentator
~well Thoma~, Henry Bruckman, Chairman of the New York State
Llquo~ Authol'ltr and Mar.k Graves, New York State Commissioner of
Taxation and Fmance are to be the principal speakers at the United
States Brewers' Assn. convention to be held at the Waldorf-Astoria
today and Tuesday. Bruce Barton~ . '
has selecte~ ~or his subj~ct 'Brew- hops may develop, Speakers on
ery Advertlsmg' and WIll empha- Tuesday will be P. H. Elwell of
size the necessity for applying Madison, Wisconsin' Irving' J.
~o.dern merchandising and adver- Solomon; James O'Connor Rob­tI~
mg. methods to the sale and dis- erts; G. L. Beckel', first vice-presi­tnbutlon
of beer. dent; John W. Russert, president
Business sessions of the conven- of the Mastel' Brewers Assn., and
tion will open at 10 a. m. today, F. p, Seibel. '
C. D: Williams, secretary of the About 1,060 persons are expect­United
States Brewers' Assn, will ed to attend. Among them will be
·offer his report followed by the about 250 women. While the busi­messages
of Edward Landsberg, ness sessions are in progress the
president and G. L. Becker, first ladies will journey to the World's
vice-president. 'Lowell Thomas will Fair-on . Tuesday-where Ladies'
speak at the luncheon. Bruce Bar- Day of' the United States Brewers'
ton will appear at the afternoon Assn. is to be celebrated.
session as will Commissioners In addition to vir.if, ; the Gen-
Bruckman and Graves. eral Motors Exhib' ~_nd that of
Discuss Hops horta Standard Brands, the ladies will
ge take lu~eon at the Schaefer
. ~&y will be evoted to dis- Center anil view the show at the
cussip. major problems of the in- Aquacade. The convention will
dustry,. one of l ' outstanding wind up WIth a banq'uet at 8 p. m.
ones. bemgo that tf pe, now that Tuesday evening at which Ben
foreIgn sources pply are cur- Bernie is to be Master -of Cere-tailed
because of the war and a monies and leading' radio and
foreign demand for American stage stars will appeal'.
a vast contribution to the econo­mic
and employment problems of
our nation, and we have the sat­isfa
·ction of knowing that the
American public as a whole ap­pre.
ciates and prefers the present
order and will contin ue to give
us their patronage and support as
long as we keep fa ith with those
established principles known to
us a ll and exempli fied by our
central policies.'
Industry Must Meet with Public
Approval
G. L. Becker, first vice-presi­dent
of the association -later
elected president-addressed the .
meeting on the subject of public
and ind ustry relat ions. He, too,
stressed the fact that the industry
must be ever a·lert against the
attacks of its enemie, enemies
who he said have not acknowl­edged
the lessons learned during
prohibition. The industry', he
pointed out, depends for its con­tin
ued existence on the good will
of the public, and the public in­cludes
non-consumers of beer as
well as consumers. Hence, it is
up to the ind ustry -to perform in
such a manner as to meet with
public approval.
'The industry,' he said, 'has
performed in such a manner that
I believe the average citizen of
tli is country has the conviction
that beer is a healthful food bev­erage
which serves. a useful as
well as a delectable purpose. To
foster th is conception we should
continue to ,cou rageously main­tain
the position that vve are en­gaged
in a lawful industl:y and
that. this industry is entitled to
be so regarded by the people and
their representatives in govern­ment,
that it is an industry that
sltpuld be encouraged rather than
combatted. It is our task to con­tinue
to represent this industry as
WITH BREWERY AGE CAMERAMAN
AT U. S. B. A. CONCLAVE - (I) Mirror
reflects images of John Johns (left) and
Mrs. Frank O. Rickers Jr., in this unusual
picture. To the right are Frank O. Rickers
and Mrs. Rickers, Sr.; (2) Crowd around
banquet reservation table; (3) Enjoying
banquet (left to right) Mr. and Mrs. Her­bert
A. Von Urff ; Clarence Wunder, and
W illiam J . Wilson , of Pacific Brewing &
Malt ing Co.; (4) Rufus Overlander (left)'
advertising manager of John Eichler Brew­ing
Co., exchanges views with beer dis­pensing
expert Ha rold R. Roffmann.
NEW YORK - Gustave L.
Becker, head of the Becker Prod­ucts
Company of Ogden, Utah,
and of the Becker Brewing and
Malting Company at Eva nston,
Wyo., was elected president of
the United States Brewers' ~')
sociation at last week's meetitlg.
Mr. Becker succeeds Edward
Landsberg of Chicago, who , has
served as acting president of the
organization since the death of
Colonel Jacob Ruppert last
January.
Other Officers Named'
Other officers elected at the
meeting included Ru~olph J.
Schaefer ookly . Y., first
vice presi H. J. Charles of
St. Paul, Minn., second vice presi­dent;
Carl W. Badenhausen of
Newark, treasurer, and C. D. Wil­liams
of this city, secretary.
Becker Elected U .S.B.A. President
G. L. Becker, one of the most prominent members of
t he Brewing Industry in Western America, was elected
pr, ident of the United States Brewers' As 'ociation at
the a~L1al convention in, New York.
B ecl~er, president of the Ogden, Utah, brewery which
bears his !tame, succeeds Edward Landsberg of Chicago,
who became president of the association on the death of
J'acob Ruppert, last January.
fB'ecker has been known for several decades as one of
America's ' foremost marksmen, particulady in trapshoot­in
o' events. His high standard of business ethics and active
interest in civic affairs have won him a nation-wide circle
of f riends and admirers. He is, perhaps, the only civilian
in America to-be awarded tpe American Legion medal for
distinguish)'ld service.
/o?' NOVEMBER 1939 THE WEST COAST BREWER
Becker, Head of U.S.B.A.
Pleads for Cooperation • • •
Follow ing are excerpts 0/ the address
0/ G. L. BECKER, preside1lt 0/ the United
States Brewers' A sso ciation at the annual
cOllvention 0/ the United Brewers' In ­dustrial
Foundation.
Ours repr esents the second oldest
industry association in the United
States and today the ation 's sev­enth
largest industry. It has behind
it a rich heritage of history, and I
am certain, if it so conducts itself as
to merit t he o'ood will of the publir:,
it will have- an even better fut ure, for
under such circumstances we need
not again fear the folly of prohibi­tion,
which for so many years de­stroyed
our business and demoralized
a great portion of the American
people.
While the art of brewing modern
beer came to us from the old world,
yet the process has been developed
- here in America to such an extent
'that I do not hesitate to say that
. American beer and ale is unsurpassed
bY. that brewed anywhere in the
world.
Other terr ·erate beverages have
. . had, and st{i~ -have, their vogue, but
there is no~~ that has so continu­ously
met the needs of the public;
for the story of a drink made from
barley seed antedates even that of
the grape.
Moderately used, beer is healthful,
not harmful ; exhilarating, not in­toxicating.
It is a natural drink made
from Nature's own products. Its usc
by the public will not diminish . . .
it should increase.
I do not propose to trace the his·
tory of the Brewing Industry, nor
to boast of its achievements. I shall
try, rather, to present to you certain
principles which should govern those
of us who are engaged in it.
The first and foremost of these i;;
cooperation among us all-not only
cooperation between employer and
employes-and in this regard I think
ANTIFORMIN I
Keeps Your Plant and Equipment
Clean, Sanitary an~ Free from W ild
Yeast and Bacteria·Contamination.
One Trial Convinces!
AMERICAN ANTIFORMIN COMPANY
164-166 E ighth Street Brooklyn, N. Y.
I can truthfully say there has been
splendid and whole-hearted cooper·
ation-but also cooperation among
the val'ious brewers throughout the
country.
The United States Brewers' As­sociation
has fought to keep the in­dustry
on the highest plane. It has
ever, even during the dark days of
prohibiti on, when its members were
in what seemed a hopeJess minority,
maintained the proposition that the
brewing of beer is as much a lawful
business as any other industry and,
as with every legitimate business, it
should not be subjected to discrimi­nating
legislation. It maintains that
those employed in the industry should
have the highest standard of living,
the best conditions under which to
perform their service, and the high·
est wages compatible with the sound
conduct of the industry. Above all,
it has advocated cooperat ion among
all bureaus, a spirit of live and let
live, of fair and honest competition-·
which is the best stimulus for prog­ress-
but no destructive and perni­cious
practices .
We of the association are proud to
have organized the United Brewers '
Industrial Foundation, not only in
our own service but in the service of
our entire industry and of the Nation.
It may be said that the Foundation
is truly the spokesman of our indus­t
r:v to the public. Our industry has a
story to tell-a story of performance
of its promises, and r ealization of
the h1gh expectations when the re­legalization
of beer became effective
on April 7, 1933, and brought to an
end the evil era of prohibition and
the crime and corruption and public
demoralization which were its off­spring.
The Nation 's business and employ­ment
and confidence were at low ebb,
indeed, when Congress enacted the
law making beer legal ' to provide
through such manufacture and sale,
by su bstantial taxes, a proper and
much needed r evenue for the Gov·
ernment. '
l.Jet's look at the r ecord!
More than a million person' en­joying
legitimate and profitable em-
Page 23
plo,)'ment throughout the ation be­cause
beer is back.
J\ lol'e than three mi11ion farm ac l'o;;
and 103,000 farlll workel';; engaged
in the growing of the farm CrOl)<;
which the Brewing Industry uses an·
nually in the production of beer and
ale.
More t han fifteen millions of dol­lars
of F ederal revenues from our
in d ustry 's taxes.
More than five hundred millions
of dollars additionally of state and
local r evenu es from our industry's
taxes.
Thousands of millions of dollars
distributed among more than a lllill'
dred industries which supply beer
and brewing with services and equip­ment.
More than ten thousand millions
of dollars of new and legitimate busi­ness
volume created throughout the
Nation ... reaching into every cornel'
of it . .. to benefit in innumerable
ways the economic and social welfare
of millions of people.
All of that in a little more than
six and a half years!
I say to you, r epresentatives of
brewing and its allied industries, let
us live up to the best traditions of
the A.merican way, let us he proud of
t he business in which we are engaged,
let us see that the public understand'
us ; let us ever so conduct ourselves
as to keep the good will and respect
of the people. 'l'hus, then, shall we
merit the wish for the perpetuity and
progress of our industry.
POELHUIS ELECTED
Ben Poelhuis was elected president
of the Alumni Association of the
Wahl-Henius Institute.
GROWERS - IMPORTERS
DEALERS AND EXPORTERS
S. S. Steiner, Inc.
535 FIFTH AVE •• NEW YORK CITY
30
thorities have given wholehearted sup- _
port and encouragement to our efforts to
eliminate the mall number of law­yiolating
establishments that were giv­ing
the brewing industry a bad name in
the State. The newspapers have also
pledged. their assistance and urged th'e
conti nuat~on- of our work. Thanks to
this'splendid support and the efficient
operation of the State ABC Board, our
campaign has won the endorsement of
the people of the State.'
Robert T. :YlcCluggage, Brewers and
Kansas Beer~ Distributors Committee:
':Kansas having no Alcohol Board of
Control, we have had to blaze our own
t'rail through an untrod den wilderness.
\Ye \\'ent direct to law enforcement of­ficials
with our program, pledged them
our support and found tl1em ready to
offer theirs in return. We have gone
into. 75 of our 105 counti es, and con­tacted
and conferred with 215 law en­forcement
officers. County after County
has been cleaned up in acceptable man­ner.
I am certain that Kansas is now
a better place_:in which to live.'
John D. Mosby, Tennessee Brewers
alld ,}leer Distributo'rs Committee:
' \ \ -hite the support of the press, the
public and the law enforcement au­thorities
has been very fayorable, I feel
that the real proof of T ennessee's ac­ceptance
of our program's honesty is
the fact that the highly organized and
militant drys of our State Ilave not once
chall enged our sincerity of purpose. On
the contrary, many of them have ex­pressed
th emselv es as convinced that ~
our ' 'ork is in the public interest.'
\ \'illiam v.:. Pierce, Brewers and
~Iiss i ss ippi Beer Distributors Commit ­tee
: ,.\ \ 'ith the -support of the authori­ties,
the self-regulatory and educational
featu res of the indu try's program pro­,
·ide the means of solving any licensee
problem that may ex ist in l\I.ississippi.
As a result of our 'clean-up or close-up'
activities, we ha,-e gained the support
of the public, and cOlwinced them of our
determination to conduct our business
la\\'fulh','
Col. ' Edgar H. Bain, Brewers and
)./orth Carolina Beer Distributors Com­mittee
: ' \\'e ha'e demonstrated by ac­tion
to the people of my State that the
beer industry of North Carolina carries
out its 'clean-up or close-up' slogan. ,',Ie
ha ,-e asked for and have been success­ful
in ohtaining re'ocations of licenses,
through cooperation with en f orcement
official s, in every case where we have
found such action warranted. VVe haye
proved concl usively that we mean busi­nes
I
vVlIde H. Loofbourro\\-, Oklahoma
Bre\\:ers and -Beer Distributors Com­mittee:
'The objecti 'es of the Okla­homa
Committee have been endorsed by
State officials from Governor Phillips
right on dO\m the line. This endorse­ment
has been substantiated by an of ­ficial
ruling from Attorney General
::vlack Q. \ Villiamson, which declares
our program of positive action against
law-'iolating establishments to be legal
and proper under the laws of the State.'
T. C. McKinley, Brewers and Beer
Distr ibutors of v,' est Virginia: 'The
1
(1 ) Donnelly. Hinrichs and Rickers. (2)
Krueger. Becker. Schaefer and Baden·
hausen findiIy ''Found time to have a bite
01 food. (3) The Diamond State Brewery
was well represented at the Brewers' Day
exercises. (4) A. B. Leachy. A. G. Frank·
enmuth and Charles Frankenmuth liked
George Washington's Beer. (5) Joe Don·
nelly asks Mrs. Rassieur. Mrs. Black.
Weisenlluh. Mrs. Schuchardt and Berkner
to visit the Owens·Illinois cocktail lounge
in the Glass Exhibit. (6) Wisloh. Nedoma,
Finger. Marshall and Maennle represented
the William Peter Brewery,
ER, 1939
MODERN BREWER
'ery iact that this program could be in­troduced
in \Vest Virginia at all proves
that the merit of the plan is clear to the
State enforcement authorities. vVe have
the pledged cooperation of everyone
from the Governor down and this proves
that they, as well as \v~, realize and be­lieve
our work is in the public interest.'
Christian Zoller, of the Foundation's
l\Iaine Committee: 'The extent to which
the Liquor Commission has supported
the Foundation's program in Maine is
'r,aphically illustrated by the enforce­ment
figures. During the first nine
months of 1939 there were 20 licelise re­vocations
and 71 suspensions. This is
conc!usi 'e proof that cO<2,WIration be­tween
the industry and the' Liquor Com­mISSIOn
can impro'e conditions.'
Election of Officersl
~I r. Carl V\' . Badenhausen was elected
Chairman of the United Brewers In­dustrial
Foundation at its third annual
COIl\-ention at the Hotel Waldorf­Astoria
today (Wednesday, October 4).
::\Jr. Badenhausen, who is president of
P. Ballantine and Sons, Newark, ,N. J.,
succeeds Herbert J. Charles, First -Vice
President of Theo. Hamm B~wing
Company, St. Paul, Mint)., Mr. Charles
has sen'ed as Chairman for the past two
years.
:Yrr. A. Kirschstein, Executive Vice
President and General Manager of Fox
Head \\'aukeska Corporat~on, Waukesha,
\,\'isc., ,,-as elected Second Vice-Chair­man,
alld Mr. T. C. Haffenreffer, Presi­of
Ha ffenreffer and Company, Boston,
::\Iass. , was added to the Board of Di­rectors.
Other officers and directors, all of
\\-hom were re-elected for another year,
are:
1:-t. Yice Chairman- So E. Abrams;
TI'easurer-Rudolph J. Schaefer; Secre­tary-
Hugh Harley.
J)irectors :-S. E. Abrams, Vice Presi­dent,
Jos Schlitz Brewing Company;
\\ihl'aukee, Wisc.; Carl W. Baden­hausen,
President, P. Ballantine & Sons,
Kewark, N. J.; G. L. Bec . t,
Becker Produc ompany, O~ en,
Utah; August . . Busch, J r., First Vice
President and General Manager, An­heuser-
Busch, Inc., St. Louis, Mo.;
H erbert J. Charles, First Vice-President,
Theo. Hamm Brewing Company, St.
Paill, ::vlinn . ; Adolph Coors, Jr., Presi­dent,
.A.dolph Coors Company, Golden,
Colo. ; John A. Friday, President, Du­quesne
Bre\\-ing Company, of Pittsburgh
_ Pittsburgh, Pa.
.-\150. .-\I\·in Griesedieck, President,
Fabta ff Bre\\-ing Corporation, St. Louis,
::\10.; \\ -a lter F. Haass, President, Goe­bel
Brewing Company, Detroit, Mich.;
A. Kirschstein, Executive Vice Presi­dent
and General ::\Janager, Fox Head
'''aukesha Corporation, Waukesha,
'''' isc.; C. E, )./ ewcome, Vice Pre ident
and General ::\[anager, Jacob Schmidt
Bre\\'ing Company, St. Paul, ::\1inn.;
Harris Perlstein, President, Pabst
Brewing Company, Chicago, III,: George
E. Ruppert. President, Jacob Ruppert
Bre,,'ery. Xew York and Rudolph J.
Schaefer. President, The F. & M.
Schaefer Bre\\-ing Co., Brooklyn, N. Y.
..
OCTOBER, 1939
Foundation RevieW's
An all day sess ion was required to
review the work of the United Brewers'
Industrial Foundation and to present
plans for the coming year. Even though
October 4 ushered in the World Series
between Yanks and Giants, Foundation
members stayed in their seats and stuck
to business.
Bernard Lichtenberg, Public Ralations
Manager 0 f the Foundation, r eviewed
public reaction and response to the
activities undertaken during the year.
At 'one stage, during the discussion of
Advertising themes, he produced a la rge
pile of orig inal letters from persons in
every walk of life who had written to
commend the FOl,mdation on its public
mes ages. Alonltside this pile he placed
a thin group of letters and postcards
r epresenting the correspondence oppos­ing
the Foundation messacres.
'The Board of Directors has ap­proved
our general public relations
policy and program for the coming
year,' said ~Ir. Lichtenberg, 'and I
can tell you that it is one of carrying
forward and exp,lt1d ing the things which
we have found good and practical. This
is a work in which we learn by an
accum ulation of experience, and we shall
continue to make our surveys and plan
'our organization of additional self regu-lation
states in the light of new de­velopments,
in the hope that our efforts
in the future will prove as effective as
h~ve.our efforts in the St~tes\where we
have already begun to work.
'We shall profit by the lessons which
have been learned in the past year, and
we shall seek to make our accomplish­ment
during the coming year even
greater. The same is true of our ad­vertising
program. 'vVe are constantly
checking and improving our copy and
themes, and consulting public attitudes
and interests. It is not so much a ques­tion
eQf. what our industry wants as
what the public wants, not what the in­dustry
thinks but what the public
' thinks. We believe that these questions
have been answered successfully in the
Foundation's brief years ot activity. We
must continue to answer them success­fu
ll y. Our educational and research
work will go on with dignity and thor­oughness,
and rigid adherence to the
highest standa rds of truth and accuracy.
It is our hope that when we submit our
report to you at next year's convention
the score will be not an addition of this
year's record but a multiple of it.'
The Self-Regulation Program
Reviewed by T_ Howard Kelly
The growth of the United Brewers
Industrial Foundation's self-regulatory
program during the year from an ex­perim
ent in one state to an expanding
performance covering nine states to date,
was reviewed by T. Howard Kelly, as­sociate
of Bernard Lichtenberg, who
has personally supervised the program's'
installation in each state.
Starting with Alabarna, the first state
organized under Foundation auspices,
Mr. I~elly explained briefly the reasons
why the Foundation Board of Directors
had authorized action in that state. 'vVith
Alabama as a model, he then explained
the procedure followed in organizing a
state ·for self-regulatory activity, and
outlined the method of operation em­ployed
to make the program function.
Pas ing on to each additional state,
he discussed adaptation of the general
plan to local conditions. With the aid
of slides he reviewed each state's record
and surr:marized the results.
As a dramatic climax to his talk, cur­tains
dropped from the walls behind
Its. Work
him, revealing display boards ceiling
high covered with newspaper stories
and editorial comment from each of
the nine states, all testifying to the
public's acceptance of the program as
evidence of the industry's sincerity and
determination to k ~ep conditions sur­rounding
the sale of beer as wholesome .
as beer itself.
Extracts of Talks by State
Directors of. U.B.I.F. Self­Regulation
Program
Law enforcement officials were highly
praised fo r their .cooperation with thee
brewin g industry to 'clean-up or close'
up' disreputable beer outl ets, by State
Directors of the eight self-regulatony'
states in their reports to the United
g rewers Ind ustrial Foundation at Its·
third annual convention at the 'vValdorf. ..
Astoria, 1 ew York, on October 4. All
eight State Directors spoke, while
Christian Zoll er, of C. chmidt & Sons,
spoke for the Foundation's ~Iaine Com­mittee.
_ Following are extracts of these talks:
Charles E. Sandall, ebraska Brewers
and Beer Distributors Committee:
'When the ebraska Brewers and
Beer Distributors Committee was or­ganized
on June 5, 1938, the course of
our action had been well defined and
explained to the business and public.
Our program called for action - not.'
propaganda.' Thanks to, the splendid co­operation
of the law Jenforcement au- .
thorities, our Committee has been abfe!
to carry out that program in such a way
that the people of Nebraska are now
convi.nced of the brewing industry;s
sincerity.'
Da\·id E. D~1I1n, Brewers and Alae
bama Beer · 'Distributors Committee:
'State, county and city en forcement au-
(1) Mayor La Guardia addresses the Brewers at the World's Fair.
(2) Mr. Gallup of statistical fame, tells about public feeling toward
beer. (3) Brewers gathering at Ballantine Inn for luncheon and a
sample of Colonial Beer as brew'ed by George Washington. (4)
Carl Badenhausen compares the Colonial Beer with a bottle of
Ballantine's. (5) Lichtenberg and Abrams discuss Colonial Beer.
(6) Nuber, Hittleman and Prottor visiting the Glass exhibit as
guests of Joe Donnelly. (7) Mr. Maynz joined the Overlanders and
al~ 'thoroughly tested Colonial Beer. (8) Mrs. F. M. E. Schaefer,
Ludwig Baer and Mr. Schaefer. (9) This group got a table near a
radio and listened to the ball game. They are, clockwise around
the table, Richter. Di Marti, Jr .. Di Marti, Sr .. Ed Verdi. Walter
Badenhausen, Bartel. Kennedy. Harslem. Ferri and Lucaa. (10)
The Sonnenscheins and Geigers had a merry time at the Fair.
(11) Franz Bing took his Colonial Beer and food outside.
III his opening address ~Ir. Charles,
retiring Chairman, expressed gratifica­tion
over the public endorsement ac­cording
the Foundation's self-regulation
program to 'clean-up or close-up' the
small minority of establishments where
objectionable conditions surround the
sale of beer.
early 1,000 brewers, allied industry
representatives and guests from all parts
of the United State participated in the
observance of Brewing Industry Day at
the New York W(ft'ld's Fair Oil Thurs­day,
October 5.
Addresses b\' ~[a\' or La Guardia of
New York City, Dr~ George H. Gallup,
fo under and director of the American
Institute of Public Opinion; Commander
H. A. Flanigan of the World's Fair, and
representatives of the brewing industr};;
wen; followed by a buffet luncheon at
Ballantine's Inn, where Colonial beer'
made ac.cording to George \Vashingt~n's
recipe was erved.
The ceremonies \\'ere held under the
joint auspices of the United States
Brewers' As ociation and the United
13re\\'ers Industial Foundation.
Chairman Becker told the historic i story of the making of the original
'Star Spangled Banner' on the nlalting
fl e.or of a Baltimore brewery, and ~Iis
Helen Henry, well known radio singe r,
sang the national anthem as a dramatic
cl imax to his remarks.
The Committee on Arrangements for
the day consisted or Rudolph J.
Schaefer, Chairman; C. D. Williams,
Secretary, U. S. B. A., and Hugh
Harley, Secretary, L . B. 1. F.
~. ;' ........ .>:..._ .... --.,......-----
I th 1nd., otive that prompted this affair on th. rt or
do 1 onor in • d .
for
de&vor to ~o 0
tim to try' to te 1 you ,1
n r1tin or your record
·uperior
te re r
t. n r
may b i.uterested in a word or ~ .. et concerning the Unit States Drl'.~''£
As J ted, this Aesoci tion I e i,ted or.more tb n
• century. In point ot ~.ge it 1, the ecoM old •• t trade 8Il oet tlon in
''aerlCf1 - half t .. 6 11 ti e of our n tlon. It 1ft co.poa or bout 170 of the
leadin, br .. ere of e Un! ted '; teG.
I t r!ze fOur
Also - 'd lik
orge.niMt.ion
Adore •• of Ci. L . Becker
Bee er Produc Co. )1018 e' Dinner
November 10, 1 39
et t.h t 0
ar, ortage
Of Hops Bring'
Brewers' Plea
YORK, Oct. 3 (JP)- Faced
a possible shortage of beer
hops in 1940 due to the European
war, the UuVeQ SlpH« Brewel's'
association toaay urged Secretal'Y
of Agriculture Wallace to lift the
government's restrictions on hal'­vesting
1939 hops and increase the
present quota.
'l'he association's committee on
hops said brewers were fearful a
shortage might result if Importa­tions
were cut ott by the war.
At the same time, the commit­tee
suggested the revival of hop­growing
in New York state, which
prod uced thou/lands of bales an­nually
before the advent ot pro­hibition
but now harvests only 700
bales a year. About 90 per cent of
the hops used In the United States,
it was pointed out, are grown on
the Pacific coast.
The brewers noted that the cli­mate
of New York state is simi­lar
to that of 'Czechoslovakia,
where the world's finest hops are
grown.
James O. Roberts of Washington,
D. C., a member of the commiltee
on hops, said the government
should permit the harvesting of , all
Am~ri~an-grown hops as a means
of warding oif the possible dan-ger
of a shortage. .
'There are ample Amencan
hops available to brewers,' he said,
'but failure to get imported hops
would force up the price of do­mestic
hops.'
Gustave L. Beckel' of
u't'ah , f e1' national rifle and
trap shoot champion, was elected
president of the assoc ialioll. He
succeeds Edward Landsberg of
Chicago, who became president on
the death of Col. Jacob Ruppert
last Janua~. •
Possibility ' Loss of Im­ports
Will Lift Price;
Urge Growing in State.
NEW YORK, Oct. 5.-(A»-Faced
with a possible shortage of beer
hops In 1940 due to the European
wal', the United States Brewers'
AiSllc:.ill.t.lon yestel day , dI g!!(f 'Sec­retary
of Agriculture Wallace to
lift the government's restrictions on
harves U939 -hops and
the preeellf quota.
Thfl association's committee on
hopS a.ld brewers were tearful a
shortau mi~ht result if importa­tions
Were cut off by the war.
At the same time, the commit/
tee suggeeted the revival of hops
gl'owln~ In New York State, which
produced . thousands of bales an­nually
before the advent of prohi­bition
but now harvests only 700
bales a year. About 90 per cent
of the hops used in the United
States. it was pointed out, are
grown on the Pacific Coast.
The brewers noted that the cli­mate
ot New York State ts simllar
to that of Czechoslovakia, where
the world's finest hops are grown.
James O. Roberts of 'Washington ,
D. C., a member of the committee
on hops. said the government
should p ermit the harvesting lIf a ll
American-grown hops as a n.eans
of warding- off the possible danger
of a shorlag-e.
'There are ample AmerIcan
available to brewers,' he said,
failure to get imported hops
rO;,ce up the price of domes-
u. S. B. A. Convention
Was A Fine Success
It Sets a New High Mark Among the
Annual Meetings of the Association G. L. BECKER
New Pres idellt
THOSE who came to New York City with expecta­tions
high as to the benefits and the pleasures to
be derived from the annual convention of the
U nited States Brewers Association had thei r expectations
realized. Rarely has there been a better convention, for its
sessions were devoted to subjects close to the hea rts of
all brewers. Interest in each session was constant and
sustained, and between the entertainment offered by the
convention committee, by individual brewers, by the
big city itself and by the World's Fair each and every
visitor found the time all too short.
Those who registered for the convention numbered
775 and in that number all parts of the nation were
represented. Those who asked for seats for the great
banquet in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, convention head­quarters
with which the convention was co ncluded,
numbered 1,0 18.
Features of the first business session on Monday,
October 2, were the President's address, an address by G.
L. Becker who was later elected to the presid ency, and a
comprehensive report by Secretary C. D. Williams. The
add ress of M r. Landsberg is giv en elsewhere in this issue.
The Starlight Roof was crowded fo r the luncheon
which followed and at which Lowell T homas, the well
known commentator was t he principal speaker. M r.
Thomas was at his best and delighted the aud ience with
his wit and humor.
Speeches in First General Session
T here were three interesting addresses at the afte rnoon
session of the convention as fo llows: by Henry E. Bruck­man,
chairman of the New York State Liquor Authority;
by Hon. Bruce Barton, U. S. Rep resentative in Congress;
and by Mark Graves, C~mmission er of Finance and
Taxation of the .ptate of New York, who discussed the
tax policies as applied to malt beverages. The add resses
of Messrs Bruckman and Graves appear in t his issue.
Mr. Barton advocated the strengthening of our national
defenses as a first step toward keeping out of war.
OCTOBER, 1939
Profit and Hops in Second General Session
On T uesday October 3, the morning sessIOn was de­voted
to fou I' subj ects, as follows:
Address by F. H . Elwell, C. P. A., Madison, Wis­consin,
' Brewe ry Profits, Why Not Get Them?'; 'An
Explanation of the Hops Situat ion'; Discussion by Irving
J. Solomon, James O'Connor Roberts and G. L. Becker;
Add ress by J ohn W . Russert, P resident Master Brewers
Association of America; Add ress by F. P. Siebel, J r., of
.T. E. Sieb,el Sons' Company, Chicago, 'Wildness in Bottle
Beer- Causes and Remedies'.
The add resses of Messrs. E lwell and Russe rt are given
in these pages.
The length of the discussion on hops precludes its print­ing
in th is issue but in t he course of a ca refu l paper open­ing
the discussion M r. Solomon said:
' In the matter of seed less hops we are now in a position
to prepare ourselves by conduCting proper researches to
determine a defi nition for seed less hops, both on the
physical judgment thereof and the chemical content, and
also to establish g rades of seed less hops. Our research
will also endeavor to determine on a definition and grades
for seeded hops. When our researches are finished we
will t hen be ready to meet all interested parties on a
common subject as well as laymen witnesses. Our Hop
Committee is absolutely in favor of encou ragi ng a better­ment
in hop quality for our own Ameri can hops and wi ll
do everything in its power to encourage the growth of
finer quality hops and through proper laws to accomplish
this. It must not be overlooked, however, th at when you
speak of exempti ng seed less hops you must in some way
be ready to make compromises with growers of seeded
hops, most of whom are small growers and must not be
subj ected to an exemption of seed less hops to their detri­ment
when fixing the salable quantity of Hops. The
whole matter is fraught w ith difficulties. It is a complex
situation and one which requ ires deep thought and con­centration
of effo rt to accomplish the desi red results.'
19
/
Annual Banquet of 'he U. S. B. A.
Members and guests found the Cuban Evening from
5 :30 to 11 P. M. Monday a distinct novelty and a
worthy result of the careful work and planning of the
Entertainment Committee. T he grand ballroom of the
Waldorf-Astoria was decorated in Havana night club
.style, and a spirited program of Latin American enter­tainment
was presented, together with a buffet supper.
The climax of the conve ntion was of course the banquet,
an excellent menu expertly se rved and incidental thereto
there was a floor show composed of a number of the best
numbers on the New York stage all of which the guests
enjoyed to the utmost.
1 he entertainment for the ladies during the convention
was carried out as planned and elicited many compli­ments
for the hostesses in immediate charge and for the
members of the General Convention Committee who
made the initial arrangements for it.
At a meeting .of the Board of Directors, following
the adjournmem of the convention, officers were elected
as follows:
President, G . L. Becker, Odgen, Utah; First Vice­P
resident, Rudolph J . Schaefer, Brooklyn, I . Y.; Second
Vice-P resident, Herbert L. Charles, St. P aul, Minn. ;
Treasurer, Carl W. Badenhausen, Newark, N. J. ; Secre­tary,
C. D . Williams, New York; Counsel, J ohn
Lewis Smith, Washington, D. C.
20
President's Annual Addres
'We Look With Pride Upon a Progressive Record
of A.ccomplishment'
I N his add ress opening the convention President Edward
Landsberg said:
'This assembly sets another mile-stone along the road
of our experience. It marks the end of activities upon
which we emba rked in our deliberation a year ago. It
marks the beginning of a new year-fraught with deeper
problems.
' ot only do we look back with pride upon a pro­gressive
record of accomplishment, but we also accept the
challenge of 'the year ahead for which this gathering of
our corporate strength has been called. I am confident
that the contributions which we each shall make in these
days together will total up the proper, equi·table, and
safe solution of our common problems and the advance­ment
of our common interests.
'In some detail, let me say that your officers, directors,
committees, counsel and secretary and all staff employees
served without stint of time and efforts so as to fun ction
at peak efficiency to better our industry.
Legislation Closely Watched
'Federal provisions affect ing us and the legislatures
of 44 states, which convened this yea r, have been closely
watched. Strong support was given to all measures
soundly favorable to our industry; vigorous opposition
was furnished against all unfair and too highly restrictive
The AMERICAN BREWER
Pnrl oj l /i f' Banquel Room
measures. Trade relations have been furthered. Statisti­cal
data useful to our operations has been supplied . Su r­veys
and studies have kept pace with our need for further
l ight on a variety of subjects. Continuous opposition
has been set against increasing Dry propaganda and the
encroachment of Dry territory.
'The intricate ramifications of these Associat ion
act ivities have been known to you in greater detail by t he
Secretary's report'. It is sufficient for me to affirm that
either directly or indirectly, but nevertheless, certainly,
eve ry member of this Association has received from its
wo rk a greater proportion of good for his individual busi­ness
than can be measured by his individual support of
the work of the Association. Likewise, brewers who are
non-members are debtors to us for our corporate accom­plishments
which cannot and wi ll not ever be attai ned
by indiv idual effort.
'We do have almost 100 per cen t complete statistics on
the actual dry areas th roughoul: the coun try for beer as
well as for liquor as of the present time and also for
the past few yea rs. Therefore, while we cannot say
exactly how many elections were held , we do know of
ove r 4,000 wet election results in the country which ob­viously
makes the statistics as to 5,000 out of 7,000
having gone dry incorrect. Also, with respect to the
numbe r of inco rporated municipaliti es, we have made
a study and find that of the 16,5+8 in co rporated areas
in the United States 1,++8 are Dry for beer or a total
of 8.8 per cent. Of this same total, 3,502 incorporated
areas are dry for liquor or a total of 21.2 per cent.
10,000 Dry Communities?
'W ith respect to the statement that out of 40,000
civic communties, 10,000 were dry, we have not attempted
to count up all of the very minor civic divisions of the
country that are dry. For in sta nce, a dry county might
OCTOB E R , 19 3 9
mean numerous dry towns within its area, some of th em
wit h a population as low as 10 to 15 persons. We there­fore
a re not fully prepa red at the moment to give accurate
statistics in combatting t he ' statement th at 10,000 out of
+0,000 civic communities a re Dry but we know, based
on our oth er studies and the actual coum of in co rpo rated
a reas, that the statemen t does not ring tru e.
'The Dry population of th e U ni ted St ates as of
September 30, 1939 amoun ts to 8,233,973 persons or
6.7 per cent of the total pop ulat ion of the country. As
of the same date for 1938, t here were 7,540,51 2 persons
living in d ry territo ry, or 6.14 per cent of the total popu­lation.
This means an increase of pe rsons who cannot
legally d rink beer of 693,+61 or 56/ 100 of one per cent
of the populat ion.
'T here has been a Dry gain in Illinois, Kentucky,
L oui siana, Mississippi, New H ampshi re, New M exico,
New York, Ohio, P ennsylvania, T exas and Wisconsin.
Again st this we have' a W et gain for beer in M aine,
Massachusetts, Vermont and the State of vVashington.
' T he total picture expressed in another manner is th at
there are at the present moment 2,7 11 units dry for bee r
throughout th e U ni ted States. T hese uni ts include, in
some cases, road di stricts, precincts, wards, counti es and
towns.
'O ur opponents freq uently claim d ry areas when there
is merely a di st rict or precin ct dry. We would be equally
entitled to claim such areas as wet. The facts are th at
an accu rate survey would incl ude an actual counting of
heads in each precinct, dist ricts, parish, incorporated town
or city.
'Freq uently, admittedly dry areas consume beer pur­chased
in neighboring wet districts. T here is, therefore
no such thing as an uncontrovertible statement.
(Contin ued on Page 24)
21
J /
FAILURES
PREDICTED FOR
SMALL BREWERS
N. J., was named treasurer, and C. D.
Williams, secretary.
er who is ar director of
A1IIa~g~a'!'m'!:''!'ia:eiJ Sugar company, Utah~
Idaho Central Railroad company, 'Sa.1t
Lake and Ogden Railroad company and
president of the Utah State Sports­men's
aSBociation~ - succeeds Edward
Landsberg, of Chicago.
They Have Lost Money for
Years, . Certified Public Ac~
countant Says at Conven~
tion of Association
Ne York, Oct. 4-F. H. Elwell, a
certified public accountant of Madi­son,
Wis., told the closing business
~ession of the 64th annual conven­tion
of the United States Brewers'
association at the .' ia
yesterday that 'there Is going to e
a tremendous failure of breweries
within the next two or three years.'
Many of the smaller breweries, which
Mr Elwell expecteQ to be the first to
close down, 'have lost money for
years . .. and are gasping a last
breath,' he declared.
'It ill opinIon,' he asserted,
'that the breweries have made
in not
management ·and
costs to the small
think the
Immeasurably
the small breweries,
small towns and cities,
of the industry rather than
have them closed out and the pro­prietors
bitter against the leadership
of the very industry which gave
them and their fathers a living fot'
many years.'
){s Elwell asked the meE'ting it
'the ably managed breweries' would
come to the 'rescue of the less for­tunate
brewers of America, or are
these unfortunates to fold up without
any ofter of assistance from those
.who know how to make and price
beer?' Every effort should be made,
he contended, to save the 610 brew­eries
now in existence. 'The help
you are in a position to give those
who need it may prove one of your
best investments,' he told the gath­ering.
Gustave ew<e~ of Ogden, Utah,
The association's committee on
hops needed in the brewing of beer
the fear that a shortage of qiJality
hops needed in th ebrewing of beer
may develop because imports from
EUrope have been stopped by the war.
The committee said an appea.l has
been made to Henry W. Wallace, sec­retary
of. agriculture, to lift the gov­ernment's
restrictions on the har­vesting
of this year's crop of hops as
a means of forestalling 'the danger
of a possible shortage.'
It was pointed out, however, that
the possible shortage might
the necessary impetus to revive
growing of hops in New York state.
At the present time approximately
90 per cent of the hops used in this
country are grown on the Pacific
coast, while before prohibition New
York state produced thou-sand
bales of hops This
production has
and this year's crop
(tbout 700 bales.
MANY FAILURES M' Becker, who is a director of
PREDICTED FOR p; g mate Silgar company, Utah-i
.' Idaho Central Railroad company, Salt
Lake and Ogden Railroad company and
S president of the Utah State Sports- SMALL BRE'WER men's association, succeeds Edward
. Landsberg, of Chicago.
>l ,The association's committee on rw hops needed in the brewing of beer
Tt£:1' ey Have Lost Money for hlhoep s fenaere dtehda ti na thsh oerbtraegwei nogf oqfu ableiteyr
Y C 'f' d P bl' A may develop because imports from ears, erh Ie u IC C~ Europe have been stopped by the war.
S C The committee said an appeal has countant ays at onven~ been made to Henry W. Wallace, sec-tI
'on of AssoCI'atI'on ererntamrye not'fs agrTesictruilctutiroen, st o olnif t tthhee gboavr­-
New York, Oct. 4-F. H. Elwell, a vesting of this year's crop at hops as
certified public accountant of Madi- a means of forestalling 'the danger
son, Wis., told the closing business of a possible shortage.'
wa et president of e associa-tion
at the board meeting. Rudolpb
J. Schaefer, of Brooklyn, formerly
second vice-president, was named
first vice-president to succeed Mr
Becker, and H. J. Charles, of St Paul,
was chosen second vice-presid t,
Carl W. Badenhausen, of Newark,
~ession of the 64th annual conven- It was pointed out, however, that
tion of the United States Brewers' the possible shortage might provide
association at the storin the necessary impetus to revi ve the
yest that 'there is going to be growing of hops in New YOI' _teo
a tremendOUS' failure of breweries At the present time ap' tely
within the next two or three years.' 90 pel' cent of the hops u ill
Many of the smaller breweries, which country are grown on tb ~c
Mr Elwell expected to be the first to ('oast, while before prohibitlttD New
close down, 'have lost money for York state produced several thou­years
... and a gasping a last sand <bales of hops annually. This
breath,' he declared. prodllction has fallen off; however,
and this year's crop is estimated at
'It is my opinion,' he asserted, 700 bales.
a' thdaect idtheed lmairsgteark eb rienw neroite sc ahrarvyein gm athdee ',. ...I i;iljiiii~a=~~::--:::==-~
gospel of good management and
knowledge of costs to the small
breweries. I think the industry
would have been immeasurably better
off to have the small breweries, lo­cated
in the small towns and cities,
as allies of the industry rather than
have them closed out and the pro­prietors
bitter against the leadership
of the very industry which gave
them and their fathers a living for
many years.'
'Mr Elwell asked the meeting ir
'the ably managed breweries' would
come to the 'rescue of the less for­tunate
brewers of America, or are
these unfortunates to fold up without
any offer of assistance from those
who know how. to make and price
beer?' Every effort should be made,
he contended, to save the 610 brew­eries
now in existence'!' 'The help
you are in a pOSition to give those
who need it may prove one of your
best investments,' he told the gath­ering.
Gustave L. Becker, of Ogden, Utah,
was elected president of the associa­tion
at the board meeting. Rudolpb
J. Schaefer, of Brooklyn, formerly
second vice-president, was ' named
first vice-president to Mr
Becker, and H. J. St Paul,.
was chosen president,
Carl W. Newark,
Brewers Seel{
Hops Supply
Ask U. S. Lift Limit Upon
Production.
NEW YORK, Oct: 3.-UPl-Faced
with a possible sbortage of beer
hops in 1940 due to the European'
war, the United States Brewing
Association y C'I Secretary
of Agriculture Wallace to lift the
Government's restrictions on
vesting 1939 hops and iIicrease the
present quota.
The association's committee on
hops said brewers were fearful a
shortage might result if importa­tions
were cut off by the war.
At the same time, the committee
suggested the. revival of hops
growing in New York state, which
produced thousands of bales an­nually
before the advent of prohi­bition
but now harvests only
bales a year. About 90 per cent of
the hops used in . the United States
are grown on the Pacific coast.
L. Becker of
Position of the Industry
In an Unsettled World
When One Brewer Puts Another Out of Business
He May Be Working With The Enemy
By G. L. BECK ER
Pr esident of t he U nited Sta t es Rrewe1's' Associatioll
From a1l A dd ress D eliver ed at the 64th C01lve1lt io1l
I VENTURE th e suggestion that we at this moment,
should emphasize the happy fact that the brewing
industry is wholly independent of all other count ries
In the world as to r aw materials, equipment, technical
knowledge and rights of dist ribution. W e do not depend
to any extent upon any country in any way whatsoever
for the conduct of this busin ess. '
It is a pleasing contemplation that our ind ustry con­tributes
to the temperate enj oyments of mankind . T o
an uncommon degree, ours is a business which depends
for its very existence, as well as the measure of its success
in competition with each oth er, upon the good will of the
people at large, not alone the consumers of beer, but
likewise the non-consumers.
Sitltation Is Desirable
In this respect, our situation at th is time is pe rh aps as
desirable as has eve r been achieved in the memory of any
of us. The cause of the brewing industry has been pre­sented
through the United States Brewers' Association
and the United Brewers' Indust rial Foundation, which
it formed; and which has perfo rmed in such a manner,
that I believe the ave rage citizen of this coun t ry has the
conviction that bee r is a healthful food beve rage which
serves a useful, as well as a delectable purpose in the diet
of the people. To foster this conception, we should like­wise
continue to co urageously main tain the position th at
we are engaged in a lawful industry and not an unlawful
industry, and that this industry is entitled to be so re­garded
by the people and th eir represe ntatives in gove rn­ment
; that it is an industry that should be encouraged,
rather than combatted. Being seventh in relative size
among the industries of America, it may not be destroyed
by the blame which attaches to the individual for some
i'nfraction of regulation or precept of ethics, nor for the
harm which might come from excess in the use of alcohol.
It is our task in the future, as it has been in the past, to
represent this industry as t he producer of a commodity
which does no harm, unless in g reat excess, and then no
more than other foods or d rinks, healthful in th emselves,
but harmful from overdoing. O ur product is a beverage
of moderation, and its proper use is one of the surest
means of achiev ing 'true temperance.
NOVEMBER, 1939
Law Observance
T he task of law obse rvance is an individual one. No
obse rvations conce rning the long range welfare of the
brewing indust ry in America can omit a refe rence to the
inseparable relation of the conduct of an individual
brewe r to the welfare of th e entire indust ry. In capturing
and holding the precious good will of the masses of the
people, any single infraction is an obstacle in the way
of success. Inev itably, th e single case is magni fie d to
condemn th e whole body of brewers.
'\iV f' ~ hall not lay down a u r righ t to take all honest
means to fend off what we know to be improper and
unwise regulations and res trictions of the brewing in ­dustry,
but it must be the united front of all of us, both
in our representative capacity as an association, and
individually as brewers, to strictl y obse rve the regulations,
Federal and State, which govern our industry, whether
we bel ieve in th eir wisdom or not.
T he people have accepted close regulation as a means
of control in th e interest of the public welfare. It is the
wish and will of those of us who a re engaged in ' this
industry to conduct ourselves beyond reproach and to
obse rve th ese rest rictions no matter how much we may
disagree with some which have proved unwise in past
experience. T he brewing industry is not properly charge­able
with the criticism which may come from personal
misuse, or improper exploitation of the product ; but we
should co ntinue to emphasize th at t he industry is dis­associated,
and should not be held responsible as a whole
fo r these remote conce rn s. By disassociating the distri­bution
of beer from any channel which cannot command
respect, the indust ry will avoid offending the sensit iveness
of the people, and bee r may be handled and dispensed as
a healthful commodity th at is, by nature, free from
stigma.
Need For Work On Taxation
While the people, in my opinion, have, as I have stated,
come to accept , beer as a beverage of moderation and
sobriety, and the brewing industry as wholesome and
lawful , and entitled to a fi xed and permanent place in the
indust rial life of the nation, gove rnmental bodies have
not so treated the industry in many instances, and par-
19
ticularly in the burden and variety of schemes of taxation.
This is the point of greatest delicacy in our entire situ­ation.
The task of the industry in the future is, to ease
this burden so that beer will bear only its fair share of
the cost of government. I t is a national duty to see to
it that beer is not destructively and punitively taxed.
Live and Let 'Live
Cooperation is an overworked word, but it is necessary
to reassert that though we should succeed in establishing
proper relations with the public, we may wholly destroy
that relationship and cut the life stream of the industry
by our conduct one toward the other. I say to you that
in my opinion, if the time ever comes when our industry
is concentrated in the hands of a few of our number,
then all that has been done to bring about the good will
of the public ~ay be destroyed and the industry will
again be in jeopardy. Each individual brewery must
occupy a respected and a valued place in the community
in which it is located. The conduct of a local brewery
in a community is a potent influence in the intricate
process of creating sentiment toward the industry. Re­moval
of that influence through the closing of such a
concern and the concentration of the activities of the
industry in a few large consolidated entities would re­move
a large factor in determining good will. When
one brewer puts another brewer out, of business, he may
unconsciously be working on the side of the common
enemy. I advocate now, as I have advocated all my
life ,that we operate not with the aim of destroying our
competitors, but in the spirit of mutual helpfulness.
Live and let live should be ou I' guiding principle.
There is if) this aspect a growing tendency to use
the State and municipal governmental powers to benefit
one as against another. By innumerable legislative de­vices
in addition to the power to tax, discriminations
are introduced into legislation. T his tendency is striking
at other industries as well as brewing. With 48 States.
all legislating for their own, this co untry, without a
national policy, could become a hodge-podge like the
Chinese walls and the barb 'wi re barriers of the no man's
lands of Europe. We should maintain the free flow of
commerce, including the commerce in beer and ale,
between these United States. This is one of the broader
questions on which this association has taken a definite
stand in the performance of its true functions in oppos­ing
the barriers of disc riminatory legislation, notwith­standing
the particular benefit which might accrue to
any individual member. The welfare of the whole should
be paramount to the transitory benefit of one.
It is my judgment, grounded upon the experience of
, more than 50 years in the brewing business that these
things which I have advocated can best be brought about
through the instrumentality of our association and the
foundation which it has established . That the tuture
of our industry IS indissolubly tied to them and that
20
unwavering loyalty to them and the principles for which
they stand is the best guaranty of the future of our
industry.
As in all endeavors, the success of the whole depends
upon the calibre, capacity, industry and fidelity of the
individuals who compose it.
If The Sun Could
Tax Us For light
By W. F. SHAPHORST, lVI. E .
A I.THOUGH we taxpaye rs are inclined to consider ou r-selves
heavily taxed for the necessities of life, here
is cause for comfort: The most important necessity of
all - sunlight - costs nothing whatever. Every lll'
habitant of the earth, whether a taxpayer o r not, should
be thankful that sunlight is fr ee.
To be obliged to pay for ol1ly one day of sunlight,
at ordinary rates for electricit)' would bankrupt the
ea rth. T here is not enough money in existence to pay
for a single day's sunshine.
Take for example a typ icid room such as the room
am seated in while writing this. 11 ft. by 12 ft., in
which there are three 50-\vatt lamps. At 10 cents per
kilowatt-hour the cost of lighting this room is 1 Y; cents
per hour, which, to most of us, is considered a reason­able
rate.
The lighting of this room is less intense than sun ­light.
The sun does a 'better job' . Let us therefore
assume that sunshine is actually worth 1 Y; cents per hour
on an a rea 11 ft. by 12 ft.
The sun is continuously shining all the ea rth- on a
disk 8,000 miles in diameter-and has been doing ,0 for
millions of yea rs without a second 's inter ruption. Th('
so-called ' total eclipses of the sun ' are not tot,d at all.
The area of the earth cut off by the moon is practicallv
nothing.
So, applying mathematics, we find th at the ,un is con­tinually
shining on 50,200,000 square mil es of earth.
This is equivalent to 10,580.000,000,000 rooms of thl'
size here mentioned- TIft. by 12 ft.
At 1 % cents per room per hour it is a matter of simp!!'
multiplication to find that if the sun could ;lI1d would
demand payment for sunlight , ' our daily bill would
amount to, this tidy sum: $3,8 10,000,000.000. Tn other
,,·ords, nearly four million million. War reparation s.
national deficits, cost of war, and such, of all nations com­bined
, a rc swallowed up many times in this gigantic sum.
Should we not be thankful that we are not ta xed for
sunlight?
The AMERICAN BREWER
' l
Explanation of the
Hops Situation
Views of Irving J. Solomon, G. l. Becker and James
O'Connor Roberts As Given in the Convention Symposium
(11 t the end of last mOllth (Inri after this disCl/s sioll took
place, the Secretary of Ii gricllltlire authorized all' il1 creflSe
of 10,000 bales in the allocable quantity of the·1939 crop.)
No PART of the recent convention of the United
States Brewers Assoc iation in New York City was
more interesting or more important th an the ex­planation
of the hops situation to which a portion of
the second day's program was devoted with Irving J.
Solomon, G. L. Becker and James O'Connor Roberts,
the latter of the legal staff, leading the discussion.
Mr. Solomon Opens
[n opening the discussion M r. Solomon said:
'As an alternate member of the Hop Control Board
in 1938 I did not have the privilege of participating in
any of its proceedings or actions taken pursuant thereto.
1 was not at any time called upon to act as an alternate
and, therefore, cannot speak authoritatively as to what
happened during 1938 except in so far and only to the
extent that I have learn ed of them since 1939. I was
elected to the Hop Control Board in 1939 as an active
member because I 'was of the opinion , and 1 still am of
the opinion, that the Hop Marketing Agreement and
Order were enti rely desirable and at reasonably long
range would benefit the Brewing Industry and at the
same time reasonably and materially assist the Hop
grower of the United States, and at the same time
provide the vehicle th rough which we could look for and
accomplish a betterment of American hops quality. The
acts of the Hop Control Boa rd, which I must pause to
say is an exceptionally fine body as it is now' constituted
in its personnel and in its management, have on ly been
passed after a mature deliberation of the subj ect matter
and after an exhaustive in vesti gation of the facts per­taining
thereto.
Plight of the Growers
' In the first place it was thought necessary to offer
a cooperative assistance to the Hop growers of the
United States particularly because of th eir sad plight.
Inadequate compensation for the crops was gradually
lea d:ng to a completely ruinous condition. It was fast
becoming- impossible for the hop grower to make loans
NOVEMBER, 1939
from the banks to finance the growing and harvesting
of hop crops. Some steps had to be taken to at least
reasonably assure the farmer his expense plus a reason­able
profi t to enable him to continue growing hops, and
more particula rly to enable him to grow better hops and
the seedl ess variety comparable with imported hops. Un­doubtedly
the brewing industry as a whole is vitally
interested in fin er quality hops. I t was also necessary
for obvious reasons to cooperate with American labor and
throu gh cooperation with the farmer to encourage and
make possible in creased employment of American labor.
I t was equally importaant to placate the farmer to assure
his cooperation in the fight again st prohibition and pro­hibitory
legislation. If anyone thinks that the hop grower
was enti rely in sympathy with the brewing industry, he
i, sad ly mistaken. Today, a very different feeling exists
between the hop grower and the brewing industry, and
now at least the large majority of growers in the States
o~ California, Oregon and .Washington are beginning to
believe th at the brewing industry is sincere in its stated
desire to reaso nably cooperate with the hop growers of
this co untry, and because of the activities of your as­soc
iation , of the brewer members of the Hop Control
Boa rd and the representation of the industry at the
hearings held on the Pacific Coast, there today exists a
ve r~' firm conviction on the part of the hop growers that
the brewing industry today is more than willing to co­operate
with the farmer and American labor and hop
farmers as such. You may rest fully assured from my
point of view that if this relation ship is. not continued
~'ou will fincL the farmer of hops bitterly opposed to the
brewing industry.
Seedless Hops Should Be Exempt
. ' I find that the brewing industry is vitally interested
in two aspects of the problems more than any others,
because during my experience in the hop matters my
attention has been directed particularly to two phases
of the matter: Fi rst, ve ry generally it is said seedless
hops should be exempt, and second, the limitation on the
sa lable quantity of the 1939 hop crop should be elimin­ated.
21
'The present lVlarketing Order and Agreement makes
no distinction between seedless hops and seeded hops.
Hops are dealt with as hops and, therefore, to say th at
seedless hops should be exempted from the provisions of
the Marketing Agreement and Order is a fallacy. It
should be said th at either the Marketing Agreement and
Order should be amended to exempt seedless hops, or
under the new Marketing Agreement and Order there
should be a deliberate attempt made to exempt seedless
hops. I do not believe that this has been generally under­stood
by the brewing industry, and no matter whether
it was generally understood or not, if it is the desire of
the industry to demand the exemption of seedless hops,
then that is another matter and one to be pursued at
the proper time in the near future when it is necessary
to consider the new Marketing Agreement. As the rep­resentative
of the United States Brewers' Association
and the only brewer representative attending the hear­ings
on the P acific Coast, I was placed in a very des­perate
position and one which I believe can be easily
explained.
'Certain harmless amendments to the Hop Agreement
and Order were proposed by the Hop Control Board,
most of the amendments were purely procedural, and to
explain them now would take up a considerable amount
of time at no great benefit to anyone. In addition to
the amendments it was necessa ry to have hearings because
under the Marketing Agreement and Order it was the
~and a tory duty of the H op Control Board to certify
its recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture of
the amount of hops considered by it necessary and proper
to constitute the salable quantity of the 1939 hop crop.
The salable quantity is based upon estimates of t~e hop
crop, its probable consumption at home and for export
and the import of foreign hops.
Issues Squarely Defined
'The Hop Control Board goes into the matter ex­haustively
and makes its recommendation to the Secretary
of Agriculture, who is not bound to accept the recom­mendation
and has the right to modify or change it if
he does accept it, therefore, at the hearings at Salem.
Yakima, and Santa Rosa the issues to be determined
were squarely defined in the notice of the Secretary of
Agriculture setting the date for the hea rings and stating
positively the subject matter of the call, and as the
representative of the Hop Committee of the United
States Brewers' Association in attendance at these hear­ings
my authority in my opinion was limited to the
matters as set out in the notice of the Secretary of
Agriculture. There developed at the outset of these
hearings a determined effort on the part of some hop
growers, principally Lloyd L. Hughes, In c., and Yakima
Chief Ranches, I nc., through their attorney, Mr. Cheney,
to offer at the hea rings certain amendments which had
not theretofore been called to the attention of the Control
Board or the Secretary of Agriculture as is provided in
the Hop Marketing Order. These amendments were
22
several and raised many questions, one of which, had
it been accepted, in all probability would have changed
the status of each and eve ry member of the brewing
industry, because through the definition of handler as
defined by the amendment each and every brewer would
have found himself a handler and been burdened with
all of the provisions of the Hop Marketing Agreement ·
and Order including the payment of assessments. I could
not tolerate this amendment, and, therefore, voiced strong
objections to it and at the same time to each and all of
the other amendments which were offered by this lawyer
and later also by a lawye r for Horst. The oth er amend­ments
would have been most untimely for the brewers
because the brewer's side had not been considered, nor
was I, as a brewer, able or willing to prejudice our
rights by permitting a hearing on them without consul­tation
with members of the industry and without proper
preparation on the subj ect matter and the opportunity
to be hea rd through expert witnesses.
Attempts to Define Seedless Hops
'The matter of seedless hops as such could only have
been considered in one of its phases and that related
only to the part seedless hops played in the volume of
hops produced as it effected the salable quantity. There
would have been no proper opportunity for a hearing or
discussion on the question of seedless hops as th at matter
would relate to the quality of seedless hops or their
exemption. Certain of the amendments attempted to
define seedless hops, of course, so lely from the grower's
point of view and thi s, of course, would have been mani­festly
unfair to the brewing industry and without giving
the brewing industry an opportunity to be hea rd. My
action in obj ecting to the hearings on these amendments
was concurred in by the representatives of the Hop Con­trol
Board, by the attorneys for the dealers and the
growers were entirely sympathetic with my position . W e
were successful in obtaining a ruling directly from Wash­ington
through one of our presiding officers, keeping out
all evidence on the proposed amendments which were
not the subject of the ca ll by the Secretary of Agricul­ture,
and the amendments themselves, therefore, were not
received in the record except only as amendments offered'
but denied.
[The next paragraph given in the October issue is
repeated because of its importance.]
'In the matter of seedless hops we are now in a posi­tion
to prepare ourselves by conducting proper researches
to determine a defi nition for seedless hops, both on the
physical judgment thereof and the chemical content, and
also to establish grades of seedl ess hops. Our research I
will also endeavor to determine on a definition and grades
for seeded hops. When our researches a re finished we
will then be ready to meet all interested parties on a
common subject as well as laymen witnesses. Our Hop
Committee is absolutely in favor of encouraging a bet­terment
in hop quality for our own American hops and
will do eve rything in its power to encourage the growth
of finer quality hops and through proper laws to ac-
The AMERICAN BREWER .
. \
complish this. It must not be overlooked, however, that
when you speak of exempting seedless hops you must in
some way be ready to make compromises with growers
of seeded hops, most of whom are small growers and
must not be subjected to an exemption of seedless hops
to their detriment when fixing the salable quantity of
hops. The whole matter is fraught with difficulties. It
is a complex situation and one which requires deep
thought and concentration of effort to accomplish the
desired results.
Board's Industries Committee
'The Hop Control Board has established an Industries
Committee, one of whose functions it is to meet with
all interested branches of the industry for the common
purpose of establishing definitions and grades for hops
and all other matters pertaining thereto. For this pur­pose,
among others, the board has appropriated $7,500.00
for expenses.
'When the Hop Control Board, after its mature de­liberation,
fixed the salable quantity of the 1939 hop
crops at 150,000 bales after an exhaustive search into
all facts to determine the amount on hand, the estimated
quantity of 1939 crops, the probability of imports and
exports, the supply in brewers' hands, etc., it was be­lieved
that this amount would be adequately sufficient
to reasonably protect all parties interested. The pos­sibility
of European war had also been considered. The
Secretary of Agriculture was not bound to accept the
figure recommended by the Hop Control Board and he
also has power to change or modify the figure even if
accepted and ordered by him. The clamor by the in­dustry,
which seems almost unanimous, to have the
Secretary of Agriculture waive the limitation on the
1939 crop has led your committee to take steps to ac­complish
the results so desired, and this it has done with
the full cooperation of the Master Brewers' Association
and the Brewer's Industrial Institute, and I note from
recent publications that the American Brewers' Associa­tion
has also taken similar action. Personally, I have
always doubted that the Secretary of Agriculture would
completely remove the limitation for many reasons. In
the first place, there are several thousand bales of 1939
hop crop still in the hands of the Pacific Coast Stabiliza­tion
Committee. The~e are several thousand bales of
the 1937 hop crop still in esse, and bear in mind that
I am making no statement as to quality, although I feel
reasonably sure that much of the 1938 hop crop referred
to is excellent because it is notorious that the 1938 hop
crop was one of the finest ever produced, and further­more
the salable quantity as recommended was supposed
to contain a cushion against a 1939 partial crop failur~.
Growers Allocation Committee
'The Growers Allocation Committee recently met and
passed a resolution against the waiver of any part ot
the limitation on the salable quantity. More recently,
however, that same committee, in view perhaps of the
attitude of the brewers, has again met and is fostering
NOVEMBER, 1939
a recommendation to the Secretary of Agriculture to
raise the salable quantity by an additional 1O,00Q bales,
which salable quantity as fixed tentatively by the Secre­tary
of Agriculture was slightly lower than that as
recommended by the Hop Control Board. Since the
brewing industry has clearly manifested its desire that
the limitation on salable quantity be entirely waived, it
seems impossible for the brewer members of the Hop
Control Board to vote for the resolution sponsored by
the Growers Allocation Committee going only part way.
' Individually, however, I have no doubt all are heartily
in favor of the raise of 10,000 bales if the Secretary
of Agriculture would not waive the entire limitation
since the way will be paved for a much closer scrutiny
of the problem now raised by the growers. The hops
problem is a long range matter and as such cannot be
easily disposed of without some reasonable cost to the
brewer in the interest of a necessary cooperation with
the farmer and labor to assure plenty and better hops.
The grower has not profited in proportion to the present
high prices. The fault perhaps lies elsewhere.'
Six Fundamentals
Mr. Becker outlined six fundamentals lI1 growing and
selling hops. He said :
'Supplementing what Mr. Solomon has stated to you
as Chairman of your Hops Committee and a member of
the Hops Control Board, I wish to outline for you cer­tain
fundamentals pertaining to the growing and selling
of hops which cannot be disputed. Also I will give you
a brief history of the efforts of the United States Brew­ers'
Association to solve this most difficult problem.
'First: Brewers must have an adequate supply of
quality hops to brew good beer.
'Second: The brewing industry is the only outlet for
hops. No other profitable use has been found for this
agriculture product.
'Third: In addition to an adequate annual supply of
hops there must always be a sufficient carryover of hops
to act as a cushion against possible succeeding years'
shortage.
'Fourth: If the hops grower is to remain in business
he must receive a price for hops sufficient to cover th-e
cost of production with a reasonable margin of profit.
'Fifth: There must always be some responsible agency
from whom brewers can purchase hops.
'Sixth : Every effort must be made to improve the
quality of American hops and the method of picking and
storing.
'Having these fundamentals in mind the President of
the United States Brewers' Association more than five
years ago appointed a committee to study the hops prob­lem.
Meetings were held with growers and dealers and
every effort made to find a solution. However, nothing
came of this as in 1934 there was a shortage of hops
and with the resultant increase in prices everyone except
brewers lost interest in the movement.
23
'Not untii 1':1J6-37 did the problem agall1 become
ac ute. At that time the g ro we r~ due to low prices fn r
hops ;,nd chaot ic conditions affecting their ma rketing, had
introduced in the Congress of th e U nited Stat es a bill
to make hops subj ect to the marketing agreement provi­sions
of the Agriculture Adjustment Act. Your associa­tion
,,'as ab le to at least temporarily block passage of
this me;;su reo I t was th en that the growers asked for
a confe rence with representatives of brewers to see if
some mutually ag reeable plan to save the hop growing
industry could be found.
' l\l[eetings were held in Utah, Oregon, \ Vashin gton
State and Californi a. At the California mee ting the
dealers we re in vited to atte nd. Here it was finally agreed
as a comp romise that brewers would withdraw their
obj ections to the proposed hill authorizing a marketing
agreement for hops with an amendment limiting its
ope ration to two crop years. The act was passed and
made applicable to 1938-39. hops. Let it be sa id he re
that we neve r were in favor of the marketing agreement
nor did we believe it would solve the hop problem.
'H owever, the gro\l'e rs were insistent that it would
and thei r condition was becoming despe rate. \rYe either
were going to see large numbers of them go to the wall
financially, with hate in their hea rts for our industry
and with a possible resultant shortage due to failure to
plant sufficient hop vines, or we were goi ng to agree
to what they wanted. Right here 1 might say that the
banks and other loaning age ncies represented at the meet­ing
frankly said unless the ma rketing act passed, no new
loans would be made to growers.
' In sho rt, we were faced with a fact, not a theory,
and worked out a compromise which we believed would
be most beneficial to ou r industry.
' Hearings were held and the marketing agreement
placed in effect. Further hearings were held t his year.
At all of these hearings eve ry effort has been made to
protect the brewers' interest and to ensure an adequate
supply of quality hops. Early this yea r it was pointed
out by the growers that the marketing agreement would
expire with the 1939 crop. They stated and co rrectly so
that if it were not extend ed chaotic conditions would
again confront the growers. If growers knew that at
the end of the 1939 year they could ma rket all of their
hops there would be no compliance with quotas assigned
to growe rs. They poi nted out that good faith required
us to give its marketing agreement a fai r oppo rtunity
to work. To make a long story short we ag reed not to
oppose a two years extension which was passed by Con­gress.
There are those who now say we were wrong.
P erh aps so - hindsight it always better than foresight.
but I am not prepared to admit we were wrong.
'We have tried to get them to lift the quota prov i si o n~
t his year as a matter of precaution but without results
to date. You may be assured th at your representatives
have done and will do everything in their power to en­sure
your havin g an adequate supply of hops. I know
24
that at present the price of hops is much above what
it should be, but in my judgment the growers are not
to any great extent profiting. This is an unnatural 'and
I hope, tran sito ry, condition created by the hysteria that
alway; comes with the clouds and the tempest of war.
{ou r committee intends to do what can be done to
remedy the situation.'
Influence of Agreem!!nt On Quality
M r. Roberts said:
'The subject of hops and th e, hop situation have been
so well covered by M r. Solomon and M r. Becker in
their remarks that there remains little for me to say.
L would like, however, to make just one or two point'S
{or you r in ~ormati o n . Fi rst, it has been said that the
::doption of the hops marketing agreement and the pro- '
g;ram which has been ca rried furward under that ag ree­ment
has not anything spec ificall y a part of it w hic~l
,,'ou ld improve the quality of American hops, and yer
t here is one basic principle contained and und erl ying the
entire hops marketing agreement which has that result. ,' ,
'·The hops ma rketing agreement results in a lesser
amount of hops being available for marketing. If II
grower has 100 bales of hops, under the marketing
agreement he will only be permitted to market, say, 75
of those 100 bales. The grower knows that when he
comes to his picking time. Necessarily, havi ng in mind
the profit motive which is ever present with all of us,
he picks the best 75 per cent of his entire crop, and : ~
the net resu I t of the adoption of the ma rketing ag ree­ment
as a genera l proposition is to increase the quality.
'The second point that 1 would like to emphasize is
that the present market structure has no substantial
reason for existing. T he actual facts a re that numer­ically
in poundage there are ample ho'ps flowing and
avai lable to brewers, or that will be avai lab le with the
completion of the 1939 hop picking season.
'The current figures show that there wi ll be ample
hops for domestic brewing purposes with a normal or
fair carry-over after the '39 hop crop comes in. There
is this deficiency, however. which is resulting from failure
of imports and increase in foreign exports, and that is
in the quality hops and not so much in the amount ot
hops. Necessarily with the falling off of importations,
seed less hops coming from foreign countries practicall}r .
havi ng stopped, there is going to be a greater demand
on American seed less hops, and you are going to have
an increased price flowing from that normally, and that
is one of the main reasons why you r committee is urging
the Secretary of Agriculture to lift the present all oca ble
quantity and permit all American hops to be picked.
' I t is true that amongst those hops wi ll be some which
will he car ried over next year as surplus, but it will
gua rantee to the American brewer if that allocable quan­tity
is lifted, all of the quality hops that are needed for
brewing this yea r.
At a co nference with the Agricultural Department ­immediately
preceding this conference, the Secretary
agreed to take under advisement the question of lifting'
The AMERICAN B R E W·E R
Brewing Industry Day
At World's Fair
NEARLY 1,000 brewers, allied industry representatives
and guests from all parts of the United States
participated in the observance of Brewing Indus­try
Day at the ew York World's Fair on Thursday,
October 5.
Addresses by Mayor LaGuardia of New York City,
Dr. George H. Gallup, founder and director of the
American Insti tute of Public Opinion; Commander H.
A. Flanigan of the World's Fair, and representati ves of
the brewing industry, were fo llowed by a buffet luncheon
at Ballantine's Inn, where colonial beer made accordi ng
to George Washington's recipe was served.
T he ceremonies were held under the joint auspices of
th e U nited States Brewers' Asso::iation and the U nited
Brewers Ind ustrial Foundation .
Following the ceremonies hundreds of brewers and
guests enjoyed their first tour of the World's Fair, many
continuing the rounds of the exhibits and Amusement
A rea until the gates closed in the small hours of t he fol­lowing
morning.
The audience assembled in the huge Hall of Music at
11 :00 o'clock in the morning for the speeches and musical .
program. Seated on the stage were found G. L. Becker,
newly elected president of the United States Brewers'
Association, who acted as Chairman, Mayor La Guardia,
Dr. Gallup, Commander F lanigan, H erbert ]. Charles,
retiring Chairman of the Foundation ; Carl W. Baden­hausen,
new Foundation Chairman ; Rudolph ] . Schaefer
and George Ruppert.
Chairman Becker told the historic story of the making
of the original 'Star Spangled Ban ner' on the malting
floor of a Baltimo re brewery, and Miss Helen Henry,
well known radio singer, sang the national anthem as a
dramatic climax to his remarks. Add resses fo llowed by
the Mayor, Dr. Gallup, Commander F lanigan, Mr.
Charles and Mr. Becker.
After the program in the H all of M usic, the audience
adjourned to Ballantin e's Inn for the luncheon and a
sample of the George Washington recipe beer, which had
been brewed for the occasion by special permission from
the New York State Liquor Authority.
---0--- '
C. M. Badenhausen
Foundation Chairman
C ARL W. BADENHAUSEN was elected Chairman of the
United Brewers Industrial Foundation at its third
annual Convention at the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria on
October 4.
Mr. Badenhausen, who is president of P. Ballantine
CARL W. BADENHAUSEN
Sons, Tewark, T.]., suc­ceeds
Herbert ]. Charles,
First Vice President of
Theo. Hamm Brewing
Company, St. P aul, Minn.
Mr. Charles has served
as Chairman for the past
two yea rs.
More than 500 brewers
and representatives of
allied industries from all
parts of the United States
attended t he meeting and
discussed furthe r align­ment
of the public interest
and the industry.
A. Kirschstein , Executive Vice P resident and General
Manager of Fox H ead Waukesha Corporation, Waulce­sha,
Wis., was elected Second Vice-Chairman, and T. C.
Haffenreffer, President of H affenreffer and Company,
Boston, Mass., was added to the Board of Directors.
OCTOBER, 1939
In his opening address Mr. Charles, retiring Chair'man,
exp ressed g ratification over the public endorsement ac­corded
the Foundation's self-regulation program to
'clean-up or close-up' the small minority of establish­ments
where objectionable condition surrounded the sale
of beer.
The convention app roved continuance of self-regula­tory,
educational and adve rti sing program and its ex­tension
into additionl states, and received progress repo rts
of all State Directors where se lf-regulatory and educa­tion
al program have been put into operation .
---0---
U. S. B. A. Resolutions
Among the reso lutions adopted in t he U. S. B. A.
Convention were t he following:
Directing the preparation of a bill for introduction in
Congress which would authorize the refunding of 2.0
per cent of the tax paid on all bottling beer - this to
compensate for leakage and wastage in the bottling pro­cess.
Opposing the enactment of a bill in Congress which
would place brewers under a permit system.
Opposing the Congressional bill banning the advertis­ing
of malt beverages by radio or the distribution of
periodicals or newspapers containing beer advertising, in
interstate commerce or through the mails.
Favoring the enactment of a law prohibiting bottling
shops in places not adjacent to th