CRICCIETH AND "DOWN GLASSES."

(TO THE EDITOR Of THE " SPROTATOR.'1

Sts,—You may be intereated to.know what Criccieth has been doing since your notices of the " Down classes " policy have appeared in the Spectator. A working Committee has' been formed, meetings held, and the enclosed leaflet 'has been drawn up and distributed to all in Criccieth and the surrounding

district.—I am, Sir, &c., ' MARIANNE GREAVEs. ' Bros Eifion, Criccieth, North Wales..

" AN APPEAL TO THE PATRIOTISM OF THE. PEOPLE OF CRICCIETH AND LLANYSTITMDWY.

WHAT THE KING HAS -Donn ?

By the King's command no Wines, Spirits or Beer, will be consumed in his Majesty's House after April 6th, 1915.' (An official statement issued early last year.) - It is urged that every loyal citizen of- Criccieth should follow the King's example in this respect as a matter of patriotic duty

order to promote National Efficiency during this Critical Period in our Country's History.

The drink habit is the chief cause of NATIoNAr, INF.FFICIENcr.' (Statement to the Chancellor of the Exchequer by a Deputation of Ship-builders—none of whom were abstainers.) - ` The services absorbed by the Drink Trade are on a gigantic scale, and the net result of it all is a decrease in National Efficiency. I say in all seriousness that if we are to maintain our Armies in the Field, we shall before very long have to choose between BREAD and BEER.' These weighty words were used by Mr.• Alfred Booth, Chairman of the Cunard Steamship Company—no temperance fanatic, but a hard-headed business man.

II.—For the sake of National Economy.

Consider these striking figures for the year before' the War :— • Spent on Drink £166,000,001) „ Bread 89,000,000 „ the Army. and Navy 74,000,000 Crain representing one-quarter of the corn annually grown in the United Kingdom is being used for the production of alcoholic drinks, and our expenditure on these represents nearly half-a-million 'Sterling a day.' (From Times of January 21st, 1916)—in other words enough grain to make a THOUSAND MILLION LOAVES is leieg destroyed every year to brew' beer and spiritic Drinking moans

the destruction of food stuffs and increases the cost of living. In short, as recently declared by a high authority, the Brewers' Dray is getting in front of the Ammunition Wagon and the Wheat-truck, and the situation thus created has become so acute that according to Mr. Runeirnan the question of excluding imports required for brewing and distilling is at present engaging the serious attention of the Government.

How You CAN HELP.

The outstanding fact of the day is that ws stun ECONOMISE if we are to WIN this WAR. Every penny wasted is a penny given to the Germans On the contrary, Anything which induces a nation of forty-eight million persons to save at the rate of one penny per head per day would-in a year place *co sum of £72,000,000 at its disposaL' (Sir George Paish, one of the greatest writers in the Kingdom on Economics.) THE GOVERNMENT weNTs THIS IIELP FROM YOU !

• Surely this is the day for self-sacrifice. Our young men are offering their lives in defence of their Country, and we who stay at home should deny ourselves a great many of the things wo may hitherto have enjoyed. WE MUST set our faces against waste and self-indulgence of every kind. CRICCIETH has done exceptionally well in the number of the young men who have offered themselves to King and Country, and we have every confidence that the district will now do equally well in following the King's example by abstaining from all intoxicants during the period of the War.

On behalf of the War Temperance Committee,

J. LLOYD Jones, The Rectory, Criccieth. WILLIAM GEORGE, Garth Celyn.

Dated this 1st day of February, 1916."