[To raw Estee. OF vs. .8vacrrros.")
SIR,—The reason given by Mr. Lloyd George for the further restrictions in the sale of alcohol which he indicates will shortly be imposed by the Government is that the abuse of drink by a limited number of workers is hindering the output of war material. If this is so, I honestly believe that every one connected with the licensing trade will support him in any steps he may consider it necessary to take with the object ak
improving industrial efficiency. At the same time, however, it is surely but common justice that, as the reason for the proposed restrictions is explicitly stated to be purely for war purposes (although I fancy there are signs of the Temperance Party's familiar axe on the military grindstone), the community for whose welfare the restrictions are considered necessary should bear the lose which they occasion, and not that it should again fall entirely upon "the trade." Brewers, dis- tillers, and publicans lay claim to no greater patriotism or unselfishness than Ministers, temperance reformers, or traders generally, but they do claim as much, and no one, I think, will deny that they are represented in the fighting line in their fair proportion compared with any other trade or profession.
To quote an example of the result of the restrictions imposed since the war started, I will give from my own know- ledge the experience of a small company who own five houses in Inner London. For the period from the outbreak of the war the percentage of falling off in the trade compared with the corresponding period of the previous twelve months has been:—
Property No. 1 ... ... 23.5 per cent.
„ 2 151
The returns which are prepared each week show for the same period in 1913-14 a substantial net profit, whereas in 1914-15 they show a lose. (I am quite prepared to substantiate the above figures at any time.) To read the numerous articles and letters in the Press by Bishops and various temperance authorities is to receive the impression that a publican is something between a criminal and a degenerate, and in any case an outcast from society, whereas he ia or should be nearer to the angels than a person of any other calling. Any one with or without a pant may become, let us say, a tinker, tailor, or temperance reformer, but not a publican. A man's history must be laid bare before he can become one, his movements are traced from place to place for at least seven years, many references must be given, his house is open to inspection by the police at any and all times of the day or night, and he must appear in most districts before the Justices each year to have his behaviour reported upon by the police, and any slip from the tight-rope of publican conduct is generally fatal to his life in the licensed trade.
Mr. Lloyd George is a moat able Government Minister, but he is also an ardent temperance supporter, and however much he may desire to dissociate his convictions in the latter capacity from his judgment in matters relating to the war, the reasons he gives for contemplating further drastic measures against " the trade " and the extravagant language he uses seem to indicate that he has not been altogether successful. He attributes the recent strikes to the abuse of alcohol by a certain proportion of the strikers. Has be con- sidered what an infinitesimal proportion they represent of the consnmere of and traders in that article ? Is he really convinced in his capacity as Minister, and not ae temperance reformer, that the trouble is due to drink ? When he holds tip whisky as the curse of the country and compares it to absinthe, has he ever considered what proportion the teetotalers in our Army and Navy bear to those who drink and enjoy whisky in moderation P Does he not think that five per cent. would be overestimating rather than under- estimating the proportion, and that the remaining ninety-five per cent. of the Army and Navy have shown few signs of degeneracy P Does he not know that the consumption of absinthe in France is almost insignificant compared with other apgritifs and liqueurs which are still being appreciated by the French Army as well as the civil population P Does he not know also that vodka is the monopoly of the Russian Govern- ment, and that the community at large bears a great part of the loss entailed by its withdrawal am, Sir, 3m..
OUTCAST.
[We have dealt with the whole subject in our leading columns.—En. Spectator.]
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