244 HEARINGS BEFORE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE. 
Mr. Roprey. Would it increase the sale of those government pro- 
tected wines; and if so, would that be any benefit to our people? 
Mr. Wirey. It would result this way: We would not be compelled 
to pay the prices of fine wine and get poor wine. 
The Cuatrman. Do not the poor wines go into certain lines of trade, 
to certain grocers, and the better wines go to a better class of trade? 
Mr. Witry. You will be surprised to find how few of those best 
wines are to be had. 
The CHarrman. For instance, there are some stores that would only 
sell the best wines if they guaranteed them as such. There are Park 
& Tilford in New York; they would not sell a customer a wine under 
a false brand, just as your army and navy stores in London would not 
do it. 
Mr. Writer. I do not know about that; but I do know this: Every 
one is sent out branded with one of those names—Pontet Canei, 
Chateau Lafitte or Chateau Yquem, or some other such brand—and I 
know we sent our own man to a large importing firm in New York 
and he asked for a dozen cases of red wine. He tried some of the 
casks around there and finally found one he liked, and said, ‘‘ That 
suits me and | think that will suit my customers.” So he ordered 
some of that. ‘‘ Now,” he said, ‘‘some of my customers want some- 
thing like this and some want something different.” The man from 
whom he was purchasing replied, ‘‘ Here are these thirty-eight kinds 
of labels; help yourself.” So he chose the labels and took them away 
with him. That wine did not come, perhaps, from within a hundred 
miles of the vineyard it was represented to come from. 
_Mr. Scotr. Reverting to the question asked by the chairman a 
moment ago, can not you tell the committee just what you would 
do if you were sent over there as the agent of this Government to 
trace up these wines?. 
Mr. Witey. I could not do much, because Iam not an expert in 
that kind of work. 
Mr. Scorr. Assuming you are an expert?! 
Mr. Wier. I would not do anything in secret. I would simply go 
openly to the merchants and say: ‘‘If you want to send these wines 
to the United States, you must certify before the consul, and to my 
satisfaction, that they have come straight from the vineyards they are 
represented to come from, and you can not send them under wrong 
names.” 
Mr. Scorr. Do you think that certificate would be worth anything? 
Mr. Wrrey. I thirk so. 
Mr. Scorr. Would not a man who would adulterate a wine and 
brand it falsely, and sell it for something that it was not, make a false 
certificate as to what wine it really was? 
Mr. Witey. What I want is evidence which will enable me to 
exclude a wine that comes in here with a false name upon it. If we 
could have evidence under the present law we could exclude these 
wines; what we lack is the proof. 
Mr. Burueson. You could exclude them on the ground of false 
a 
Mr. Witey. That is it, on the ground of false labeling; we do not 
need ae legislation; we have that. 
_ The Cuarrman. Suppose they would come with a government cer- 
tificate that they were correct. “You would have to accept that. Your 
