In this context we note with pleasure the very strong
appeal to the Government which is being organized by the " Strength of Britain " Movement, demanding " the suspension of the Liquor Traffic during the war, on the grounds of national duty to our Allies, to the Army and the Fleet, and of conserving the full strength of the nation for present dangers and future needs." The following facts, declares the Memorial, stand out concerning alcohol:— "It hinders the Army : it is the cause of grave delay with munitions ; it keeps thousands of men from war work every day, and makes good, sober workmen second-rate. It hampers the Navy : it delays trans- ports, places them at the mercy of submarines, slows down repairs, and congests the docks. It threatens our mercantile marine : it has absorbed during the war between sixty and seventy million cubic feet of space, and it retards the building of ships to replace our losses. It destroys our food supplies : in twenty months of war it consumed over 2,500,000 tons of food, with sugar enough to last the nation eighty days. It uses up more sugar than the Army. It wastes our financial strength in the first twenty months of war our people spent on alcohol £300,000,000. It diverts the nation's strength : it uses up 500,000 workers, 1,000,000 acres of land, and 1,500,000 tons of coal a year ; and in twenty months of war it has involved the lifting and handling on road and rail of a weight equal to 50,000,000 tons. It shatters our moral strength : its temptations to women involve grave danger to children and anxiety to thousands of soldiers."
The list of signatures already received is a remarkable one. We sincerely trust that the Memorial will have very wide support Signatures should be sent to the " Strength of Britain " Movement, 20 Denman Street, W. Mr. Arthur Mee is the secretary.
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