Evening star., 1895-07-18
ALCOHOL in FRANCE
A Serious Danger on Account of the
Spread Of Crooked Brandy.
It Has Caused an Increase of Drunken.
ness I'm the Lower Glasses, of In
sanity and Of Crime.

Consul Chancellor at Havre has made an
extended report to the State Department
upon alcohol In France. He quotes large
ly from N. Maurice Laporte-Bisquet, who
has recently published brochure inveigh-
ing against the farmers Of France. who. it
is said. convert all or part of the products
of their vines and fruit trees into an in
different brandy by a process of imperfect
distillation. Mr.. Chancellor says they are
literally legalized ''moonshiners." The ex-
isting law in Frence comedies without tax
alton to this class Of distillers having
small portable stills entire liberty to man.
ufacture into liquor all their own fruit and
all that may be brought to them by neigh
bors. and also they may move about from
place to place and make liquor. The large
distillers. who are heavily taxed, object to
this, and 1t Is asserted that 1t works great
fraud on the treasury. The law was orig
inally intended to apply to limited guam
tity meant for home consumption, but 1t
has resulted in the manufacture OF an
enormous amount of vitsated brandy which
is sold to the community and drinking
houses at very low price and has had
the effect Of greatly increasing the drunk
enpess in France.
A Serious Danger.
Senator Bisque. says this habit has
grown to such proportions that the coun-
try stands In the presence Of a very seri-
ous danger. not only In the moral and
social aspect, but 1t Is felt In loss to the
government in a reduction Of revenue
amounting to more than 32.OO0.O0O francs
annually. The effect upon the legitimate
commerce in brandies and alcohols has
been serious, some large houses complain
ing that their business has fallen off % to
so per cent. A reduction in prices has also
resulted.
In 1874 there were less than 100000 of
these small distilleries in France, and but
40 litres were allowed to be produced by a
s;Egie proprietor. and this was confined to
l.sc on the premises. In 1894 the number
had increased to 100000. with privilege of
unlimited production. Much of this cheap
liquor finds its way to the United States as
thousand hecf6htres of this pernicious dis
tillat!on are annually exported to the
United States.
Increa.c Sf Drunkenness.
Consul Savage at Nantes. France. in writ
ing to the Department of State. says that
since the advent of crooked brandy the
progress of alcoholism in France has been
very rapid. Increase of drunkenness
among the lower classes has been alarming
in the past ten years. A writer in one of
the pubic journals says: Alcoholism is
the great misfortune of the present day.
ard II the evil is not corrected. France-the
country of sunshine, of good wine and great
gayety-wili be changed into a nation of
brutes.'"
Insanity Is also on the increase with the
increase Of drunkenness. In 1854 there
were 13S cases to each 100000 of population
in 1885, 1856 to 100000. and at this time 1t
is said to be 166 to every 100000.
. Consul Savage thinks that whisky drink
ing in the United States can be checked by
the substitution of cheap wines. While
cheap wines were obtainabie in France.
and before the great increase Of cheap
brandy, drunkenness was comparatively
rare.