THE STATE AS LICENSED VICTUALLER
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] .Sra,—Inasmuch as Parliament has refused to extend the Carlisle Scheme, and various Bills embodying State control of the drink trade have been rejected, there is little likelihood of licensed premises being established- in new housing estates under State managementi as suggested by Mr. R. L. Reiss, who conveniently; omits to • mention several factors which condemn such a policy.
The Carlisle Scheme waspurely a War expedient, and solerim pledges were given by the. Government that it was not to be considered as an experiment in social reform or as a solution • of a difficult problem. Properties were acquired practically at the. Control Board's own terms, and in some instances •
compensation ranged from nothing to only ,X100. . - The experiment has contributed :nothing to the cause of temperance reform, for Carlisle has produced -year after-year a higher-ratio of drunkenness in proportion:-to • population than the majority of county boroughs throughout the country. Observers report that there is far more drunkenness in Carlisle than is represented by convictions. " There is one good thing about Control," • a customer told •Mr. Filson- Young, who investigated conditions at Carlisle, " if - you get drunk you're not run in unless you behave badly: The police are in with the Control, and they want •good returns -for the House of Commons."
Lady Horsley told the Royal Commission that she,.would regard an extension of State management to other parts of the country as a definite setback to temperance refOrrn, and Lord Snowden said he had spoken and written more on behalf of public ownership of the drink traffic than any man in the British Socialist movement, and, being anxious to see a practical experiment in State purchase, had taken part in that at Carlisle, and was greatly disappointed by it.
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