There is some difference of opinion as to the propriety of publishing such information as the annual product of the various breweries in the country, and it therefore seems proper to explain why it has been decided to give the figures in these pages, and how the information has been obtained.
For some time the particulars were furnished to certain parties in Chicago and New York, by a clerk in the Internal Revenue Department at Washington. In this there was probably an injustice, for what is demanded by the law cannot be withheld by the brewer, and both analogy and general reasoning indicate that this forced information should be considered as confidential, and not exposed to the comment of indifferent persons or business rivals.
This view of the case is the one now held by the Department, as appears from the following correspondence:
Official.
From the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.
(Copy.)
Treasury Department, Washington, D. C.,
September 15, 1879.
Henry H. Rueter, Esq.,
President United States Brewers’ Association.
Sir: Your attention is called to an article in the Brewers’ Gazette of August 15, ultimo, headed, “Thrown Together; A Comparative View of the so-called Brewers’ Returns,” in which are embraced copies of letters from this office in relation to lists of reports of sales of fermented liquors for the years 1878 and 1879, as published by the Western Brewer and A. E. Tovey.
Please inform me whether the brewers of the United States desire that such tabulated statements be prepared by this Bureau as therein stated for publication.
Very respectfully,
(Signed) GREEN B. RAUM,
Commissioner.
Reply of the President of Brewers’ Association.
(Copy.)
United States Brewers’ Association,
Boston, September 25, 1879.
Gen. Green B. Raum,
Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Washington, D. C.
Sir: In reply to your esteemed letter of the 15th inst., referring to the preparation and publication of tabulated statements of brewers’ sales, and asking if, in my opinion, the brewers of the United States desire that such tabulated statements be prepared by the Internal Revenue Bureau—I beg to state, that I have no data which would enable me to answer your question definitely. Many brewers, undoubtedly, feel indifferent in the matter; some may favor the publication, and others are opposed to it. They argue that there is no parallel case in any other branch of trade; that individual business affairs should not be thus made public; that the publication of individual sales leads to undue competition; and that these lists are a bone of bitter contention between the publishers.
If the inquiry has been addressed to me with reference to the future action of the Department, I beg leave to suggest that the brewers’ wishes can be best ascertained at their next yearly meeting, in June, and I would respectfully ask you to delay action in the matter till then.
I am, sir, most respectfully yours,
HENRY H. RUETER.
Answer to Above from Internal Revenue Department.
Treasury Department,
Office of Internal Revenue,
Washington, September 29, 1879.
Henry H. Rueter, Esq.
President United States Brewers’ Association, Boston, Mass.
Sir: Acknowledging the receipt of yours of the 25th instant, in reply to office letter of the 15th instant calling attention to an article published in the Brewers’ Gazette relative to errors in reports of sales of fermented liquors for the years 1878 and 1879, as published by the Western Brewer and A. E. Tovey, and inquiring if such publications were considered desirable by the brewers of the United States, I have to say that I fully concur in your opinion that, while some may favor the publication of such statistics, others would object thereto, and would argue that there is no parallel case in any other branch of trade; and that individual business affairs should not thus be made public; that such publications lead to undue competition; and that they become a bone of bitter contention between publishers. For this reason, I have decided to prohibit the furnishing of such lists hereafter to any and all parties.
Respectfully,
R. E. ROGERS.
Acting Commissioner.
On the other hand, while it is certain that many brewers are glad to have their product extensively stated, it is at least probable that very few have any real objection. In order to test the question we sent a printed form of inquiry, as to production, to all the brewers in the country. A large majority furnished the desired information, and as many others doubtless failed to answer simply through negligence or indifference, it seemed certain that the number of objectors was so small that this list might be published with propriety and to the satisfaction of far the larger part of those interested. It is to be noticed that this is a very different thing from printing enforced statements, without a shadow of authority from the brewers themselves. In this book the figures are generally furnished by the brewers and for this very purpose. Where no reply has been received, the product has been stated according to the best testimony that could be obtained, and the total result is certainly more accurate than any yet published. This is not because the government returns were incorrect, but because of carelessness in transcription, or errors of the types, or both. Whatever the cause, so many errors have been discovered in the so-called official lists of those who obtained their information through Washington, as to greatly impair the value of those tables, and create much dissatisfaction among those who find an erroneous impression of their business thus disseminated through the country. Without claiming that our own are absolutely free from error, we are prepared to maintain their substantial correctness and their superiority to any yet offered to the public. The product here shown is greater than that stated earlier in this book. The returns on which that statement was made seem to have been incomplete at the time of publication, unless the fault lies in the transfer of figures or in the footings, a kind of defect from which few public documents of a statistical character are wholly free. The number of breweries here given is less than the former statement, owing to the omission of a considerable number of the smaller establishments, concerning which no satisfactory information could be obtained, and the further omission of those whose owners were known to object to a publication of their business. The total product of all so left out is known to be inconsiderable, though it cannot be exactly ascertained.
Those most apt to find fault with a public statement of the amount of their business are the smaller brewers, who sometimes fear that their business will suffer if it is known that they dispose of less beer than some rival. To such it may be said that a good business need not be a large one. There are plenty of men in the country who work on a comparatively small scale, and yet would not be induced to extend their operations. They make enough, as it is, to satisfy their wants, and they are not loaded down by the cares that attend a struggle to sell as much as possible. They fear no injury because their sale is not so large as that of some one else, and they are perfectly in the right, as experience shows. Still again, there are many small breweries to-day, that will be great fifteen or twenty years from now. We have shown in Appendix C something of the possibilities of sudden development in this business, and with the increasing taste for beer these opportunities will be better than ever. It is not against a brewery that it is small. Its product may be of the first quality, and it may be small simply because the owner does not care to have it large.
Other considerations might be adduced, but it seems as if enough had been said to justify the printing of statistics prepared as are those here furnished, especially as they must be interesting to every one who makes a study of the beer question and wants as much and as varied information as he can obtain.