The Dolores star. [volume] (Dolores, Montezuma County, Colo.) 1901-current, 1910-05-06
!!akAalg!s'k
osselssles show Ole lnerease In Cen
sumptleW, Ovt Temperaree Neses
Amere Weeklnomen.


Among Wesklnomsn.
Twelve years ago Deputy Joseph
lRslnach presented to the French par
lnsuena . bill that failed. for limiting
BY law the number Of liquor shops 10
France. In 1880 an eiectioneerinG law
had been voted. abolishing Louis Nst
,poIeou's decree Of December 20. 1881.
by which liquor selling was 'ubject 70
q state license. As q consequence
any one Ia free to sell all sorts OF ai.
lcoholic liquors In France. Just az free
Us he Tor she), Is to sell bresd or
beans, says writer In Chicago Even
Ing Post Other consequences were
soon felt, and before ten years were
over parliamentary commissions were
publishing two.volume scientific re
ports on the Increase OF alcoholism.
iSadi Carnot was author OF one OF
these before he became president For
the same electioneering reasons. par.
lament has never done anything In
The matter beyond ordering the re-
ports to be printed. NJ. Reinach now
returns to the charge.
III we are today the most alcohol
,i,ed country In the world. we owe the
.humiliating and dangerous privilege
mainly TO this law OF July II. 1880.
giving liberty to the liquor trade"
To avoid Understandings. which
would be unjust to the French and
would nuilify the force Of the example.
two things should be remembered:
First, alcoholism, at least among
she Latin peoples Of Europe. is not the
same thing as drunkenness. An OBJ
server who passes his life In France
among the French-will notice that
both are on the increase; but osteu-
iiafious drunkenness Ia still rare, even
among the classes suffering most from
alcoholism. The one II no proper
gauge Of the other.
The tourist may still wander
through all the cities and country Of
France without once having his stten.
ition drawn to q drunken man. Now
and then the yard-long breath Of an
odd coachman or laborer or salesman
n,ay stir him to suspicion that stale
alcohol Il stewing inside: but no outer
D amer will show It. A Frenchman
may over-stimulate himself all day
Ions with alcohol and 90 on doing II
'or years without ever being good and
properly drunk In his life. This
makes alcoholism less OF . nuisance
ti.sr II II In England and America.
where II produces the Intermittent
lunscy Of drunks and sprees.
Second. the Increase Of alcoholism
IN France does not 60 along with an
increase In drinking habits Of oil
classes nor with an Increased con.
sumption Of liquor In all parts Of the
country. just the contrary.
The great substantial middle class
the "bourgeoisie" or class OF property.
owners. big and little. and men and
women iivins on salaries In respecta.
bility that associates them with prop
erty owners-has never consumed 20
little liquor at its meals and In Its
homes. This II true even OF table
wines. beer. and cider, which, in
France and In French statistics, are
mot reckoaed among alcoholic drinks.
And, ever since the immense popular.
ity Of Pasteur's teaching and example,
with the aid Of the younger medical
profession. there has been q steady
advance In simple water-drinking.
This 10 equally true Of another sub.
,stsntial and highly creditable class Of
the French population-the married
skilled workmen who eat their princi.
pal meal. the evening dinner. at home
With their families. This trend toward
temperance Ii also verified among
Freasant farmers. and. In general,
among all the agricultural population
IN proportion TO Its assimilation with
the town bourgeotsie. In particular,
~ will be seen when we come to the
statistics. the country regions OF
France vary between the two sx
tremes Of alcohol drinking.
All this would seem to 10 asains,
the asserted Increase Of alcoholism In
France. So do certain century old hab
ITS Of the French race, which have
Grown Into an inErained second nature
providence and close watchfuinesu
IN money matters. conventional 40
ctai ways; ssnsitiveness to the opin
ION Of people with whom ones lifc /,
.l'assed. and dread Of laying onessil
open TO criticism-not TO speak OF the
intolerable modification TO q French
mans vanity when he has made {
public fool Of himself.
All these elements In French iifs
which favor temperance do not pre
vent the very unpleasant facts shown
BY statistics. not only Of the iiauo,
ssllins itself. but also OF the conse
Queaces In disease. want. crime, imam
NY. and evil heredity. And the sta
tistics show. both for the classes Of
tie population and for the parts OF
the country In which such facts arr
chiefly verified. that these facts are
direct consequences Of free trade ii
liquor.
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Dpoana p0ua TaNno eaaen 6rkas