The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1916-12-07
CANADA IN WAR TIME
By FREDERIC ]. HASKlN

Canada, has meant victory for
prohibition in Canada. Since August,
1914, temperance or prohibition laws
have gone into effect in Ontario, Mani
toba, Saskatchewan and Alberta. lille
British Columbia will join the drys next
July and only sixteen per cent of the
parishes in Quebec have licenses. The
sparsely populated Yukon Is the only
wet spot of any size in the Dominion,
Toronto claims the distinction of
having more rigid regulation of liquor
traffic than any other city of its size in
the world, and it also claims that its
temperance laws are obeyed better
than most legislation on the subject.
The Ontario temperance law would
seem a mild and almost Intellectual
piece of legislation to the average
typical American prohibitionist, with
his dreams of abolishing alcohol alb
solutely as beverage. A study of the
workings of the Ontario law suggests,
however, that perhaps temperate tenn
perance legislation is more effective
than the radical kind, because it is
more easily enforced. and therefore,
commands more respect.
A Canadian province has no right to
prohibit the manufacture of spirituouS
liquors, and there is a strong feeling
about personal liberty throughout
Canada which makes it nearly impossl-
bic to place many restrictions upon the
right of the Individual to have liquor il
his home. The result is that the On
tario law merely prohibits the traffic ir
huuors containing more than two anc
one-half per cent proof spirits, between
residents of the province.
You can still get anything you want
in Toronto on a two per cent basis.
There are numerous beers and aies that
come within the law, several wines, anC
even liquors. The bars carry as brave
an array of bottles as they ever did
and look as tempting as of yore. But
alas the spirit is absent, in more senses
than one. No noisy throng lines up tC
the polished brass. On the contrary
the bars are as quiet as Undertaking
parlors, with the barkeeper costly
asleep in the corner. No. the two anC
half per cent. stuff is not popular.
But any man who has money anC
forethought can get all of the liquor
he wants in Toronto. Case goods
can be shipped in from anywhere il
Canada or the United States, and g
great deal of it does arrive every day
from Detroit and from Quebec There
is no difficulty at all about the trans
action. A case of wet goods may ever
change hands after it reaches Toronto
without violating the law. If A has &
case of whisky that wants to buy, Z
may phone to friend in Buffalo, and
sell the goods to him, and he may, over
the same phone, resell it to A. 1t i.
readily seen how this loophole in the
law Cputu De SlICICIGu SO IfldL almost
any sort of liquor deal would go through
it; but the Toronto authorities say that
no attempt is made to violate the spirit
of the law. In fact it is a proud anC
oft-heard boast of the Canadians that
they have more respect for. law thar
Americans" as they call US. Whether
this be true or not, it is probable that
the common sense and liberality of the
law is its strength. 1t has abolished
drinking at bars. and much of the
street drunkenness, which resulted
therefrom. 1t has kept whiskey away
from the soldiers. 1t has not prevent.
ed the man of means from having al
coholic beverages in his home, and it is
probable that no law has ever accom-.
plished that AS for the two and hall
per cent. liquors, they are harmless, II
for no other reason, because so very
few people drink them.
Prohibition was good deal of mill