Any one who comes to close quarters with the subject
will soon find, las we have done, that the Trade is far too powerful for such a plan to succeed. They have far too much influence over the Press and over both polit;cal parties to make it worth serious consideration. It would mean temporary ruin to them, and they would fight it to the death. They claim, and it is no good to blink the facts their full pound of barley and sugar, and we are oonvinced that they are power- ful enough to get it. As long as the element of private profit remains =eliminated, Beer and Whisky will win. Therefore, as practical people, we are obliged to face the fact that we cannot have the 'things we want—i.e., (-1) the proper conservation of- our dwindling
foodstuffs, (2) the proper use of the man-power now taken up in the manufacture, retailing, and transport of intoxicants, and (3) the maximum efficiency of labour—unless we buy out the Trade.
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