The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-07-04
LIQUOR CONTROL
STRICT IN ENGLAND
All Glasses Equally Affected by Law
Which Limits Drinking Period
to -Four Hours
TREATING Forbidden
Invalid Soldiers Not Allowed to Pur-
chase Intoxicants--No Booze Sold
Between Friday and Monday.

The Winnipeg. Canada, Tribune OF
Nav 81, summarizes the liquor con-
troll regulations now in force in Eng
land The Tribune reminds its readers
that these regulations apply in every
city and hamlet and bind all classes
In the community equally. The work
house and the employer who gets his
LIQUOR at the club are under the same
regulations.
All public houses are closed except
during the following hours:
Week days: From IL, noon. till
2:30 p. NJ, and from 6 r. NJ, till $50
p. M
Sundays: From p. NJ. till : r. NJ,
and from 6 2. NJ. till Q p NJ.
All treating is forbidden. This
rule is very strictly enforced. At the
beginning people sometimes forgot
it's existence, but their forgetfulness
was no excuse in the eyes of the law.
Prosecution invariably followed. and
severe penalties were inflicted upon
the man who had accepted the drink,
the bartender who had served the
drinks. and the owner of the estab~
lishment.
No soldier who is undergoing any
kind of treatment in hospital may be
served with alcoholic stimulant in
any shape or form This rule applies
also to officers of all ranks. The SOL
der who Is hospital patient can be
easily distinguished by his blue uni
form, and all officers who are patients
must wear blue band around their
arm on all occasions.
Wine merchants are only allowed
to supply liquor on week days from
IL, noon, till 2:30 p. NJ. and from p.
M. till 2 p. NJ.
The sale of spirits is prohibited
from 2.30 p. M. on Friday until 2
noon on the following Monday. The
object of this restriction is to pre-
vent people from laying in a stock Of
liquor for the week-end. 1t effectively
put an end 10 Sunday drinking.
No publican or wine merchant is
permitted to serve liquor to person
who is obviously under the influence
of drink.
No publican or wine merchant is
allowed to give credit,
The penalty for infringing any Of
these regulations Is six months i'm
prisonment, or 100 pound fine. or both.
All these regulations have been
most strictly enforced since the be-
ginning. and any infringements of the
law have been promptly and severely
dealt with. Prosecution invariably
followed. and exemplary penalties
were inflicted on all parties concerned
in any illegal transaction. There was.
of course. resentment OF inconven-
ience experienced. A customer would
forget that the hour was dry. en-
deavor to obtain a drink. and would
be considerable annoyed at his lack
OF success in the matter. But people
soon settled down to the new condi-
tions, and the country has undoubt-
eddy experienced the benefit of these
restrictions. In London last Christ =
mastide the convictions for drunken
ness showed decline OF 60 per cent
as compared with the convictions OBJ
tanned during the same period in1 1915.
In Great Britain similar comparisc<
showed a decline of more than 20 per
cent. The Times OF January 8, 1918,
gives a chart of the number of con-
victions registered yearly during the
last Ave years In sixteen English
cities with populations OF over 200.-
| 900. In 1918 there were 107,31s con-
victions, 106.297 in 1914, sa.09l In
1915. 4s.6ss in 1915. and 26,622 in
1917. These figures speak for them
selves.