New-York tribune., 1918-04-28

having to drink it all at once (U
before. They hand over immense
sums for excess profits and they
keep the change, which is consider
able. This means that if they had to
be bought out now on present fig.
ures, the price would be much higher
than that professionally arranged by
Mr.. hloyd George when Chancellor
Of the Exchequer.
We do not take your heroic view,
with which personally I agree, thai
no compensation should be found for
"purveyors of poison" (as | have
heard it expressed) whose businesses
are closed down in the national in
terest. Liquor is with US legalized
trade, to be treated like any other,
and with our aristocracy, military
people and even clergy of the estab-
lished Church liquor investments
have been quite popular. When
breweries were turned into limited
liability companies, with hundreds OF
thousands Of stockholders, the power
Of this vested interest was put upon
Q broad foundation. At the same
time, most people would agree that
the war has shaken that structure
and that drink in Britain is doomed
to decline.
Consumption this year will be
much less, l imagine, than in 1917.
This result will be due to shortage
of shipping. George B. Wilson
writes:
"Foodstuhs used in brewing during
1917 were approximately 600 900 tons
OF barley and $4,000 tons of sugar.
The addition of this barley to our
bread supplies would have increased
them by 268,oOO,o00 four-pound
Of milling offal for feeding stock.
The whole of the sugar, IN the form
in which it is used in brewing, could
have been utilized directly for human
food The barley must either be i'm
ported or home grown; the proper
tion OF each class Is not stated. IF
entirely imported, it requires twenty
nine ships OF 5000 tons each. making
four voyages a year; if home grown
1t necessitates the cultivation of over
100000 acres; the additional use. in
either case, of valuable labor"
The Food Angle
Of Prohibition
The other day a charming hostess
offered me mild cocktail and l felt
badly about refusing it. But have
never been other than an abstainer,
and this does not seem to be the time
to alter. On previous occasions I
have written something about the
scarcity Of food in Europe Can you
imagine what terrible Indignation
many people feel because our gov
ernment is so weak over applying
prohibition? Because men want
beer, therefore girls and boys lack
sugar in their tea and sweets. And
beer gains the day. 1t seems to some
Of us that Providence is using the
Atlantic to teach us in Britain that
we can and must get on without alec
hol, except for industrial purposes.
The battle Of Picardy and request
for American troops were followed
Immediately by further drastic re.
ductions in beer imports. hope thai
America will make it q condition
that not one inch of her Liberty
ships shall ever be used for bringing
such cargo to Britain. You should
cut off these supplies just as India
cut off opium exports to China. All
that is best on our side would be
grateful.
Canada has issued an order sup
+ pressing the manufacture of liquor
save for mechanical and medicinal
purposes. "Medicinal purposes" sug-
gests loophole, but otherwise the
dominion is bone dry for the war
and one year afterward-cxcept
Quebec, where the order comes into
operation in May, 1919. There is
7 thus rather sharp difference of
sentiment and policy between the
/ Dominion and the mother country.
BY throwing her influence against
LIQUOR, America will thus help to
promote unity among English speak
/ Inu nations.
etill, you must not take US to be
worse than we are. There is u
/. subtle allegation, very convenient
! for German propaganda, that
Europe offers exceptional tempta-
tions for American and Colonial
troops. In what sense, II at all, Is
this true? War stirs all passions.
! War excitcs and sometimes weak
ems all nerves. Men, subject to war
ind away from home restraints,