The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-03-07
FRANCE PLANS TO FIGHT INCREASED
 ABUSE OF LIQUOR
Parliament Plans to Stop Is- Suance of New Licenses
 For Bars.
Germany and Italy Both Take Steps to Reduce Use
 Of Alcohol.

1ishrnents in France is to be presented to Parliament as the opening wedge for the anti-aIcohol campaign which is being taken up anew by temperance advocates
 Here are some of the facts with which they are Ewing to drive AozAe the need of restraint:
 If the drinking places already es- tabHshed were so apportioned there would be one for every group or eighty inhabitants of France
 In some districts drinking places gre so. thickIy placed that there is one for every seventeen persons.
 New drinking places are springing up throughout the country at the rate Of six day.
 More alcoholic drink inciuding wines. is consumed in France than in any other nation in the world.
 In the form of spirits alone it is es- tamated that $236, 100000 worth was drunk in Fl ance, during 1911
 ACornpIete prohibition is beyond the widest dreams of any French temper arce reforner,'' says Henri Schmidt who is the author of the bill about to come before the House of Deputies. s-srld the most we can hope at present Is to forbid the opening of any nes saloons
 reBv refusing to grant new licenses we hone in the course of time, as some of the present drinking establish meuts fail or cease to exist for other reasons. to reduce the average or dred Inhabitants. We shall not. however, try to prevent the opening of restaurants where drink is sold with meals
 .sBut even such a mild nt1-a1coho1- fc measure as this is likely to meet with much opposition in Parliament. How dffflc11t it is to pass temperance 1egissafion in France may be Judged from the fact that in 1912 only 126 out Of 500 Deputies voted in favor Of a rni1der bill which originated in the Senate and was twelve years passing through the Upper House
 ssWe hope, however, that the gener- al elections this spring will consider ably increase the temperance vote in the Chamber and we are organizing an energetic non-party campaign throughout France, urging each polit- icaI group to obtain from their can didate a declaration on the drink question and if possible a pledge to support anti-alcohol1c Legislation
 After the passage of the law at present before the House there are two other projects which we hope to realize in course of time. One is the absolute prohibition of the sale of absinthe.
 s.Omcial statistics show that the consumption of this liquor which
 
 creased to 2s, ,0OO, 900 litres in. 1910. The increase of crime in France dur ing recent years is largely due. to ab- sinthe-drinking. Our mad-hOu5es are filled with 1unatics who would have been sane and healthy men and women but for absinthe.
 ssThe second anti-a1coho1ic meas arei will be for abo1ishing the ssprivil- ege'' of spirit disti11ers to manufac- ture a quantity of spirit free from taxation for consumption by them selves and their families. The amount of spirits thus manufactured is enormous. especially in the cider districts such as Normandy and Brit tany where every peasant is disti1- Ter of spirit in a small way
 E. The government has no check whatever on spirit manufactured un- not by any means consumed by the distilIer and his family It is esti- mated that if the spirits manufactur ed under the privilege were taxed at the same rate as other alcohol it would bring revenue of at least $25, ,0o0, ,0o0-
 We propose no legislation at pres enf against the drinking of wine In districts where nothing but wine is consumed there is very little alcohol i ism Un6DFEunate1y inhabitants of the famous Wine-grow1ng districts of France are no longer content to drink wine alone They have acquired the taste for more pernicious drinks and at the same time more absinf1e is be- | ing drunk each year in the Midi than in any other part of France Mime. Leon BrunschwfeF, General i Secretary of the French Union for Won1an's Suffrage and a prominent fempeEanca reformer says: fAnti-al- coholism is one of the chief blanks in our platform and believe the grant ing of votes for women will be the on- 1y means of securing temperance majority in the French Parliament ,, Berlin, March 7-The German Par 1iament, like that of France, will soon be called upon to consider measures of restraint upon the liquor business of the empire
 The Federal Council has prepared for consideration a bill which is the result of years of agitation against the issuing of liquor licenses regardI ess of whether there is any real demand for more drinking places. Under the existing law municipalities are au- thorized to refuse licenses where the need for their issuance is not proved, but the new measure makes such re- fusa1 mandatory. It also requires applicants for licenses to show that and can be depended upon to conduct their business property.
 The new measure is general in it's application, but is aimedD primarily at Berlin, where the development o1 drinking places of a dubious sort ir the last three or four years has been amazing. Quiet residential districts have been invaded by gaudy restau- rants and cafes, and institutions known as American bars equipped with barmaids and exotic fddIers, an6 serving mixed drinks termed ttAmeri- can" To these places come hang ers-on of both sexes; none of then close their doors before or 4 o'clock in the morning, and in most of them business is at it's height at those hours
 Proponents of the new licensing bill declare that not one in ten o1 these resorts exists to meet a real need but rather. to create one, and that they are prolific breeding places o1 Immortality. Particular objection is