Mr. W. Walters Butler, 'Chairman of Messrs. Mitchell and Butlers,
one of the largest brewery companies in the Midlands, said recently at the annual meeting of the company that in his opinion the temperance problem could be solved only by the State purchasing the Trade outright. He recognized that in the present financial circumstances of the country State purchase was probably not practicable, but he did not see why municipalities should not signify their desire that the State or the municipalities should be permitted to take over breweries and licensed houses. The Daily Herald has spoken of Mr. Butler as advocating Municipal Socialism. Mr. Butler, who, we imagine, is anything but a Socialist, of course advocated State or municipal purchase for the simple reason that it is the only way of removing from the Trade the incentive to make profits by encourag- ing excessive drinking. Keenly competitive conditions at present almost compel landlords to sell as much drink as they can. State or municipal servants would not have this incentive. From a commercial point of view they would be worse traders, but from the point of view of temperance better traders.
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