THE RUSSIAN EXAMPLE.
[To THE ED/TOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]
Sta,—I am heart and soul with you in your efforts for Prohibition during the war, and in this connexion I see there is appearing now in some of the English newspapers a large advertisement stating the case of the distillers. Amongst other things, it says that the true facts about Russia are that only vodka has been prohibited. I have lived in Moscow and Petrograd since the beginning of .the war, and have of necessity visited practically all the restaurants and hotels of repute during that time, owing to the overcrowded state of these cities and the difficulty of finding somewhere to live; and the real facts as I have observed them are as follows :—(1) There is no bar in any hotel or restaurant where any kind of alcoholic drink is sold or dis- played; (2) all the wine shops have completely disappeared from the streets; (3) large breweries, in some cases owned by foreigners, are now being used as hospitals, and the manufacture of beer has ceased. Of course, human nature being what it is, there are in a very limited sense illicit sources of supply amongst the rich, when bottles of wines and spirits change hands for large sums of money, and amongst the poor who manage to get hold of methy- lated spirits and kindred concoctions; though our methylated spirit supply is strictly regulated, and it requires an attendance in person at the head police office before we can receive a ticket entitling us to buy it for household purposes.—I am, Sir, &c., Moscow, Russia, January 15th/28th. Moscow.
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