The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-12-07

tary necessity in Toronto. as in most
of the other provinces. and the local
people say that the change it has work
ed is astounding. A hundred police
men who have left the force to enlist
have not been replaced because they
are not needed. The arrests for drunk
enness have fallen off eighty per cent.
Before the law went into effect, it is
admitted that Toronto saw some pretty
wild nights, especially Saturdays.
Drunken soldiers sometimes fairly
terroriZed the streets, and often took
possession of street cars. preventing
| the conductors from collecting any
fares. Numbers of men were picked
up by the police regularly once week,
and either fined or sent to the work
house. The workhouse is almost empty
now.
Montreal and the city of Quebec are
both still wide open, and in both of them
the perils of selling liquor in city full.
of half idle soldiers are plainly evident.
At the discharge depot in Quebec,
where the soldiers who have been re-
turned from the front wait for shipment
to their homes. drinking is the common
occupation. Dozens of whiskey bottles
are in evidence in every room of the
barracks, and at night soldier after
soldier is carried in dead drunk and
flung down on his cot In Montreal, a
military regulation prohibits the selling
of liquor to soldiers before 5 o'clock,
but they make up for lost time after
dark, and fights between soldiers ard
civilians, usually over some argument
about enlistment, are frequently seen
on the streets.
! The Ontario law has of course limit
ed the Ottawa bars to the two per cent.
drinks, but the situation is alieviated
there by the fact that there is a town
right across the line in Quebec. When
you want a drink of real liquor in
Ottawa, they tell you to 90 to Hull
One small and hitherto unimportant
establishment in Hull, with the sign
Canadian Club" on its door has at
tanned fame which has almost over
Swallowed that of a much larger and
more respectable organization by the
same name. A certain British officer
who recently arrived in the capital
asked cabby to take him to the
Canadian Club, where he had dinner
engagement. After long and muddy
ride he was deposited at the door of the
Hull oasis.
Although war has won an almost
complete victory for temperance in
Canada, it is no mere war measure.
and the prohibition advocates claim
that the change will be permanent.
They are now working for a federal
measure which will enable them to limit
the inter-provncial traffic in liquor.
The fight for prohibition in Canada
began with the establishment of the
Dominion, and like the same cause in
this country has been vigorously car
ried forward by numerous organizations
formed for the purpose, and by the
churches. But in Canada it also gained
the endorsement of one of the great
political parties-the Liberals. They
were defeated largely on their prohibi-
ton plank, and then came the war,
changing sentiment completely, and
bringing success to the recently defeat
ed cause. Before the war, there was
local option in all the provinces except
British Columbia, and many parishes
were dry, but practically all of the
cities had licenses.
Canada is in earnest about temper
ance, as she is about everything else
these days. The sudden overthrow of
the liquor traffic at a heavy financial
loss, largely because it was demoraliz-
ing the troops, is typical of the spirit
that animates Canada today.