2.S. Congress, Senate. Committee on fina HEARINGS BEFORE THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE UNITED STATES SENATE SEVENTY-FOURTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON H. R. 8870 AN ACT TO FURTHER PROTECT THE REVENUE DERIVED 5137 JULY 26, 27, AND 29, 1935 Printed for the use of the Committee on Finance UNITED STATES WASHINGTON: 1935 CONTENTS Statement of: Barlow, Lester, Stamford, Conn., Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co.. Celler, Hon. Emanuel, Representative in Congress, State of New Choate, Jr., Joseph H., Washington, D. C., Chairman and Director Federal Alcohol Control Administration.. Corrigan, Walter D., Milwaukee, Wis., Wisconsin State Brewers' Denning, William I., Washington, D. C., National Publishers' Asso- 136 Donnelly, M. J., Chicago, Ill., representing brewers shipping in 113 141 Jones, Howard T., Washington, D. C., counsel Distilled Spirits Insti- Gross, Miss M. Louise, Harrison, N. Y., national chairman Women's Hankerson, F. P., St. Louis, Mo., national legislative committee Hodges, Joseph C., Chicago, Ill., Advertising Metal Sign and Display Johnston, Sidney A., St. Louis, Mo., Associated Cooperage Industries Lourie, Harry L., Washington, D. C., National Association of Alco- McCabe, George P., Washington, D. C., counsel American Brewers' McMackin, Hugh J., Washington, D. C., National Wholesale Wine Miller, Tobias, New York, N. Y., Old Prescription Co., Inc.. Mulrooney, Edward P., New York, N. Y., chairman New York State Tapee, Joseph A., New York, N. Y., representing the Institute of Wine and Spirit Distributors, Inc. Thompson, Lockwood, Cleveland, Ohio, former vice chairman Na- 66 Letters, briefs, telegrams, etc., submitted by: Cobb, Zach Lamar, Los Angeles, Calif., attorney for Lawrence Ware- National Lumber Manufacturers Association, Washington, D. C.. American Iron and Steel Institute, New York, N. Y. FEDERAL ALCOHOL CONTROL ACT FRIDAY, JULY 26, 1935 UNITED STATES SENATE, The committee met pursuant to call at 10 a. m., in the Finance Committee room, Senate Office Building, Senator Pat Harrison (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Harrison (chairman), George, Bailey, Clark, Byrd, Gerry, La Follette, and Capper. The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Choate, will you come up here, please? STATEMENT OF JOSEPH H. CHOATE, JR., WASHINGTON, D. C., CHAIRMAN AND DIRECTOR, FEDERAL ALCOHOL CONTROL ADMINISTRATION The CHAIRMAN. We have before us this morning H. R. 8870, the Federal alcohol-control bill. Will you make a statement on this bill? Mr. CHOATE. In general, Mr. Chairman, I have very small criticism of the bill as passed. The greater part of it, it appears to me, is entirely satisfactory. It has, however, two major defects from my point of view, and my point of view now, I think, is that of the unprejudiced observer, because the future of this organization is a matter that does not concern me personally. The second section of the bill makes the new Federal Alcohol Administration a division in the Treasury Department. It provides that the salaries of the staff, which are to be fixed by the single Administrator, must be approved by the Secretary of the Treasury, and in the next subsection (d) it provides that the rules and regulations which the Administrator is authorized and directed to make are subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. I respectfully submit that these provisions are violations of one of the fundamental principles of good government, that power and responsibility shall be concomitant. The bill places upon the single Administrator an enormous task, gives him immense power, makes him the judge of the business life and death of 17,000 or 18,000 businesses, gives him power to make regulations which protect the entire public in the matter of labeling and advertising. He proceeds under the bill to study the problems involved in the making of his regulations. After that study he drafts and promulgates his regulations. Under the bill as it stands they have no force whatever until approved by the Secretary of the Treasury. Now the Treasury has not now and never has had any concern with the main purposes of this bill, those purposes which are sometimes escribed, rather unhappily, as social control of alcohol. 1 |