successfully. Wherever one put the spade into the ground gold came to light and when it became scarcer, the spade was pushed in a little bit deeper. That period was ended long ago in Germany. We find no more gold on the sufrace; we have to dig deeper, but then we too find gold, and you may be assured that this gold secured with hard work and sweat gives us more pleasure, greater satisfaction and nobler gratification than that gained without effort. I think, gentlemen, that this time may also soon come for the American brewing trade, or has perhaps arrived. Therefore, prepare yourselves and build an organization which will enable your trade to withstand the storm the mutterings of which are already to be heard. We have given you a good example. We were your apprentices and have taken over many a good thing from you. Today we are superior to you in many respects, especially in the field of organization and rational work. Bring for yourselves, from Germany to America, those achievements in which we excel, as an offering of thanks for the service you have rendered us.

The next International Brewers Congress will probably take place in Berlin. Respond with a large representation to the invitation which will be forwarded to you. I assure you of the most cordial reception; you are welcome. With this thought I conclude: I hope to see you again in Berlin! (Great applause.)

THE PRESIDENT:-Gentlemen, next in order will be a motion to appoint a Committee on Resolutions, and that all resolutions shall be presented to that Committee in writing and referred without debate.

MR. FEIGENSPAN:-I make that motion. Carried.

THE PRESIDENT:-I will name on that Committee Mr. Percy Andreae, of Chicago; Mr. August Fitger, of Duluth; and Mr. A. Bergner, of Philadelphia.

The next in order of business will be the report of the Trustees. Now, gentlemen, this is quite a lengthy report and as it is very warm, if there is no objection, I would suggest to you that only parts of this report be read. I think every member has a copy and can read it at his leisure.

The Secretary then epitomized the report of the Board of Trustees, the full text of which is as follows:

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES.

GENTLEMEN:-During the past year the active work of the United States Brewers' Association has been extended in every department, and new work of a permanent character undertaken by several of the standing committees. The demand upon the Association for information and counsel is growing continually, not only on the part of our members, but by those whose interest is entirely uncommercial. Students of social legislation and municipal government, publicists, journalists, and professional men in the ranks of law and medicine, and even the ministry, have come to recognize that we keep in touch with all phases of the alcohol question, and that the information obtained is so arranged as to be available for ready reference.

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REVISION OF CONSTITUTION AND BY-LAWS.

For the purpose of increased efficiency, it is proposed to add several standing committees, and to make each one of the standing committees a compact working committee by limiting its number to five members.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES.

The real work of the Association during the past year is indicated in the reports of the various committees, which will be presented to you separately, and should have your thoughtful consideration.

ORGANIZATION BUREAU.

The forces of the Organization Bureau have been in demand constantly in almost every section of the country. It is not the province of the United States Brewers' Association to take any part in local contests, but the services of experienced men are needed in the formative work of bringing our people together and establishing a basis for the co-operation of the allied trades.

VIGILANCE COMMITTEE.

The report of the Vigilance Committee will give you the history of the legislative aspects of the brewing trade during the past year and the general trend of the elections. On the whole, these indicate a growing intolerance with prohibitive methods, but at the same time an increasingly organized determination to suppress dis

reputable resorts, and to restrict the licensed retail sale of alcoholic liquors to responsible men of good character.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE.

The Advisory Committee has been constantly employed in advising our members in regard to labels and other technical matters, particularly in connection with inter-State shipments. The laws of several of the States are in conflict in regard to the requirements of the labels used on bottle beer. For instance, there is a law in Nebraska which makes it compulsory to give the net weight of the beer in the bottle, and its alcohol content, and also requires the use of the words "intoxicating liquor." In Michigan, the law requires that the package shall be labeled "pure and without drugs or poison.” Such laws are not in conformity with the provisions of the Federal Pure Food Law, and it is evident that steps must soon be taken to secure unification of the State label laws.

The agitation for the definition of "what is beer" is still going on, but it is not receiving very serious consideration in the public press, principally because of the very general suspicion that the agitation has not been promoted in good faith. It was clearly shown at the Beer Hearing conducted by the Secretary of Agriculture and by Dr. Wiley last year, that the agitation was "personally conducted" by a barley expert connected with the Society of Equity, which has a large number of barley growers in its membership. While it was perfectly proper for such an organization to endeavor to extend the barley market, its method of doing so is certainly open to question. Moreover, it has shown that its motive is entirely selfish by opposing the plans of the Crop Improvement Committee of the Grain Exchanges to increase the barley acreage and improve the quality of the product. The United States Brewers' Association was the first great industry to advocate the passage of the Federal Pure Food Law, and has consistently upheld it. We have at all times co-operated with the Board of Food and Drug Inspection in its enforcement, and we welcome the firsthand investigation which the Board is now making of brewing methods and materials.

PUBLICATION COMMITTEE.

The work of the Publication Committee has been extended this year by the publication of a Monthly Bulletin for brewers,

which summarizes and interprets the news, and keeps the record of the legislative calendar.

LABOR COMMITTEE.

The work of the Labor Committee has increased very greatly. Since the employment of our adjuster, his services have been in constant demand, not only as a conciliator, but as an advisor in regard to labor contracts. The experience of the past year in this connection, only emphasizes the need of a national brewery trade agreement and a national brewery arbitration board. Many of the difficulties that have arisen in local labor circles recently are of a trifling character, and could easily be settled by reference to a central body, which would jointly represent the employers and employees.

We regret very much that the effort to provide adequately and fairly for compensation of injured workmen, and for an old-age pension fund was voted down by the Brewery Workers' Unions. The preparation of the plan involved a large amount of labor, and it is keenly disappointing that this labor is without any tangible result. It has, however, aroused more general interest in this whole important sujbect of compensation for industrial accidents, and our proposed plan has been favorably commented upon by the press of the country, and particularly the advocates of social insurance, not less as a humanitarian advance than as a valuable and practical contribution to the literature of the subject.

CROP IMPROVEMENT COMMITTEE.

The report of the Crop Improvement Committee is a new departure, and should have the special attention of our members. The development of the beer business was temporarily checked during the past year by abnormal conditions, but the beer sales are bound to continue increasing, and it is the part of wisdom to look ahead and provide for the future. There is room for much improvement in the quality of our raw materials, and with the exhaustion of the soil in some of the important producing sections, the area now under cultivation must be extended.

FEDERAL RELATIONS COMMITTEE.

The work of the Federal Relations Committee is indicated to some extent in the list of congressional bills that will be found at

the end of this report. Our Counsel has been kept busy answering legal questions that have been submitted to him by our members and in the conferences that these have involved with the various federal departments.

RETAIL TRADE REGULATION.

The discussion of the Liquor Problem is beginning to take on a more practical character. It is now pretty generally conceded by all impartial observers that the experiment of prohibition has proved a failure in all settled communities. There may be many small villages and hamlets where there is no need of a saloon for social purposes, since all of the inhabitants are decently housed, and are too widely scattered to be neighborly. A restaurant cannot live upon the custom of the occasional wayfarer,—it needs a reasonably steady and constant business to pay the cost of operation. Generally speaking, a place that is not big enough to support a restaurant, does not need a saloon. Of course, this does not mean that such communities are made up of total abstainers,—the mail order business flourishes in rural hamlets, and there are probably hundreds of thousands of farmers who make cider for their own use. It is, however, safe to assert that wherever there is sufficient demand to warrant the maintenance of a place where liquor can be bought and served for consumption upon the premises, such places exist, whether sanctioned by law or not. This is true of all prohibition towns and cities in this country and in Canada, as well as in other countries.

In the main the business of the saloon is to supply the demand, not to create it. Possibly the frugality of the race might be increased if candy and coffee, chewing gum and cigars, ice cream sodas, pickles, and other things that are not absolutely necessary to sustain life were to be put under the ban. Whether the people would be as happy and contented is another question. The only class of men who follow a prescribed hygienic regimen are the inmates of a federal prison, who are sufficiently fed and watered at a per capita cost of about 11c. per day, but their enforced dietary does not apparently lead to the formation of the hygienic habit, and as soon as they return to freedom, they follow their natural inclination just the same as all the rest of us do. The trouble with the prohibitionist is that he leaves human nature out of his calculations.