Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-20
THE BANE OF FRANCE
ALCOHOLISM A GREAT NATIONAL
PERIL.
Rapid Growth in the Consumption OF
Liquor q Calamitous
Sign.

| Paris Correspondence Of the Boston Transcript.
| Counting alcohol at 100 degrees. France
consumed in the year of grace 1900 The
amount Of Is l-5 litres per head of her
Inhabitants. men, women and children OF
| this amount 4 % litres were taken in the
| form of brandies DR. other strong liquors:
2-S more were in beer and cider, and D
| htres was the alcohol consumed in wine.
In practice, this means that very many
men. many women and some children con-
| stunned more than this average quantity.
For the beginning of the century. among
all countries. civilized and uncivilized. this
| Is the high-water mark of the consumption
| of alcohol by n race of mankind.
This does not mean that France is afiiict-
ed with the violent. spreeing drunkenness
| which lets loose on Anglo-SaXon commune
| ties temporary lunatics at the most unex-
pected times and places. 1t does mean that
| a certain portion of the French population
| Is becoming drugged with the constant use
| of alcohol as n steady stimulant even
| thcu ugh 1t be taken in the shape of mild
| drinks like wine, beer and cider.
| In 1880 each average inhabitant of France
| ABSORBED during the course of year n
| little over ga litres of alcohol. mainly in
| v inc. Compared to the present figure this
is as 100 to 2S3 while the increase in popu-
| lation has been only as 100 to H.. Other
| countries have worked out the problem. at
| least in part it now remains for France to
see whether she can do much. always
| sIpposing that politics will not succeed in
| preventing her from saving her soul alive.
| Drink of Nations.
In 1929 the average inhabtant of Sweden
consumed annually % Is litres of pure al
| cohol; in 1900 he had reduced his ration to
little less than litres. In Finland in
1850 each inhabitant consumed % ltres; in
1900 the quantity had sunk to = litres-that
| ic in he I In,
| England there has been dimnution in
the last twenty-five years from 10 to lit
| tie under litres per inhabitant-a slow
progress in the right direction. In the
| United States, where whole classes never
| touch alcohol in any form. the proportion
| has not changed for sixty years, remaining
always little over litres per inhabitant.
| If you assess all the alcohol drunk on the
| universally of the community. Only the
| specialist can say whether the peculiar
| problem of alcohol in the United States is
being solved in any case, it is totally uG-
| like that which Frenchmen have to face.
Sweden, Norway and Finland, which once
| headed the list, show what public good
| will do when politics does not stand
| in the way. Rising Canada. at less than
litres stands lowest in the alcoholic line,
| to the great glory of its people.
| With France stand. though lower
plane of destruction. Switzerland with 1$ia
| litres per inha bitant: Belgium, Italy and
| Denmark, with something more than 10:
Germany over, and England and Austria
|
| ahead of the United States
Alcohol and Degeneracy.
| The most striking fact in the alcoholiza-
| ton of what called the Latin races is
| that it results, not so much in drunken
| ness a in nerve malades and degeneracy.
Both drunkenness and disease. which are
| at once recognized as a result of alcoholism,
are undoubtedly spreading among the
| laboring and poorer classes; alcohol gives
| cheap JOY opium does in China. and the
absolutely free sale of alcohol in all its
| forms leaves the 10y unconned
| In 1874 the old license law was done away
with. and since that time any is free
| TO sell liquors, weak or strong. on the same
| conditions as he would sell bread and beans
| or tea. The number of shops in which
| alcoholic drinks sold to he consumed
on the spot will soon reach oG0,ooD for all
France which is about for every twenty
| households. OF course. there are great
| sober regions where the proportion is much
less, but these are offset by certain country
| districts of Normandy. fishing regions of
Brittany and manufacturing towns where
| the liquor dealers form large fraction of
| the community. They the great elect
ors in politics. Perhaps the republic is not
| strong enough to regulate and still less to
destroy their power, for the representatives,
| of the people in parliament assembled are
not likely to go seriously against the in
terests of those who have chosen them to
| their places Yet there is no truth 50 fully
demonstrated by the experience of all coun-
| tries as this: The consumption of alcohol
| increases in direct ratio with the facilities
| of sale.
Private Distilling.
Another great and ever-increasing source
| of alcoholism is found in the practice of
private dstilling prevalent in certain wine
and cider regions. This evil parliament has
attacked repeatedly. but sidewise and in
effectually, for the same political reasons
~,
to every successful government which de-
ponds for its existence on n ma jority in
parliament. and the deputies depend for
their legislative existence on their constitu-
entS, who are in this case devoted private
distierS. So here is another political dead
lock in the way of reform.
In 1869. the year before the war which
founded the republic there were 90 500 of
these private distllers, who We're supposed
to distil only strictly limited quantities Of
alcohol or brandies from their own produce
for their own consumption. In 1879 their
number had risen to 146 $50 in 1889 TO
spite of the intervening attempt to legislate
them out of existence, they numbered l37-
Us. 1t is believed that the excise agents of
the state actually discover only a small
part of the alcohol thus privately distilled
1t is certain that the departments of the
country where there are the most of these
private dlstillerieS are the most COMPLETELY
alcoholized, especially in the rural districts
while the sober departments get their alco-
hol from outside their own limts-anorber
proof that opportunity makes the hard
drinker, as we'll the thief