El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-10-19
ENGLISH LABOR
IS SOBER NOW
Baneful Influence of Booze
Has Been Shaken Off
the Nation.
By EARLE c. REEVES.

London, Eng Oct 19.-The war
has made England practically sober
The dead weight Of inebriety which
slowed down Britain's war effort in
the early days of the conflict has been
shaken off. a nation that for cen
turtles was imbued with taverns. tip
ping and the resultant train Of de-
lirium tremens has bucked up and in
three years become soberer than ever
before in her history.
Where there were 100 drunksrds
in England before the war there are
now but 10" said lord D'Abernon,
chairman of the central control board
Of the liquor traffic. This includes
both men and women. This is the
greatest record, based on scientific
data. ever made or claimed for so
large an area in any part Of the civil
lied world"
Before the war lord D'Abernon was
a bulwark in England's financial sys-
TEN. Six feet two or so tall, white
bearded, but as sturdy as an oak, lord
D'Abernon gained fame as the man
who saved Egypt's finances. He also
was former governor of the In
perial Ottoman bank, ConstantinOple-
When widespread drunkenness
threatened to disrupt shipbuilding
munitions making and other essen
tial war work, a board OF control was
esta blished under the defence OF the
realm. and lord D'Abernon was Sc
lected as the best man in Britain 20
make the nation efficient by holding
king Alcohol in check. He's now re-
garded as the first authority in Eng
land on the liquor problem.
Our problem has not been to attack
the brewing trade, but TO do away
with inefficiency and waste in indus
try" he said
Bad Conditions
When lord D'Abernon took charge.
voluntary efforts and appeals had
done little TO make workmen sober.
Higher wages. with unregulated pub
lie houses. resulted in greater drunk
enness- Thousands OF workmen be-
gan 10 drink upon receipt Of wages
m Saturday and didn't turn up for
of the workmen in many plants con-
stantly were off duty. When machin-
cry broke down, workmen flocked 10
the public houses, returning to work
long after the proper time
In certain districts, notably Gretna
and Carlisle. where large government
operated munitions works spranz I'D,
liquor industry, saloons and all. and
now conducts them properly. But
that's only incidental TO the main
work done, though it illustrates the
fact the government IS not trying to
destroy the liquor business. Its pur-
pose is to keep the people temperate
To what do you attribute the di-
minishing Of drunkenness p" I asked
Restrictive regulations and bet
terment Of workshop conditions" lord
D'Abernon replied. Beer and spirits
have been diluted. Beer contains only
about half as much alcohol as before
the war and spirits one-fourth less.
It's difficult TO get drunk on our war
beer It's expensive TO get drunk on
our War-spirits-
Then there has been less beer TO
drink because Of the U-boat menace.
and another reason for lessened
drunkenness is prohibition of treat
ing. Formerly man went into a pub
lie house wanting only one drink He
met friends and had six. This was
customary It has been stopped.
Before the war saloons were open
from II to 1917 hours every dav. in
Guiding Sundays Now the maximum
time for selling drinks is five and
half hours"