Norwich bulletin., 1918-01-10
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Curious Paradox Caused by Higher Prices of Booze.

MT. Editor: Norwich is drinking less than it did few months ago, beca use of the war. Paradoxically. Norwich is drinking more than it did a. few months ago, because of the war. Drink CTS in the city are consuming only three -foafti1s as much liquor as before the increased taxes put John Barley corn on basis of prohibitive cost.
 Statistics show that. And yet 'tis said drunkenness is on the increase. Obviously, the war must be to blame. The increased cost of liauor and the unprecedented taxes on alcoholic b6v erages had it's immediate effect in most places. Some saloons pr6fnptly closed their doofs@pefmanently Nor is it expected to end with this only slight it1toad into the business. A narr1bef of doubtful saloon keepers here and elsewhere are hoping against hope that their business will increase sufficiently at higher prices to over come the handicap of the heavy taxes Many of them, it Is said, find it almost impossible to continue, and a whole sale surrender of licenses would cause no surprise. But the chief reason for the decrease in drinking can De laid to the door of drinks costliness. There was a day when with a few silver coins juggling in ones pocket ene could 1 venture to buy a drink. for a Foofftftil without running the risk Of falling short Of the cfafse. But now bne must have $1 bill in readiness, With the silver in reserve in ease--as is prob- able if any number at all are drink | if1g-the price of the ''found'' will be 1 in excess of this sum. For this reason drinking is more often done in groups of two or three, rather than six or seven. The twos and threes have two and three sfinks-for it is still ebli-
 gafufy for each participant to buy-4:
 and depart: In the elder days each of l the groups of six or seven would have
 had six or seven drinks. s.. l Still another reason for the decrease is the reduction in quantity which 1 the saloon keeper serves. Formerly 1 when drinks of whiskey. gin and othef
 distilled liquors cost two for a quarter the barkeep set otit a glass which would contain four and one hall
 ounces when filled to the top, and ont
 was welcome to fill it to the top if ols 50 desired. Now, with the same. drinks costing anywhere from 20 to 40 cent a throw, depending upon the quality of the beverage and the grade of the
 saloon, a glass with 8 capacity O. pnIy two and half ounces is set out
 Further, the cost is expected to rist gradually in proportional not out O. all proportien-te the constantl! ishrinking quantity Of distilled liuHol Lin the government warehouses. High
 balls and cocktails at 50 cents, 1s cent!
 ana even $1 are forecast, and Wliel
 that time comes only, the very rici
 will have means to drink. To the in
 crease in drunkenness iii contradiction I @1 fH I true, we must first blame the psyche logical effect of the war: and, second . the tendency of those of small ifieotfle to turn to the cheaper, fiery grades 0 1 whisiey and gin to drink as much al
 they can get for the price of one drinR The Wfiskey which once sold for fiv cents and now for 10 is not whiskey fl the general meaning of the term btl a cheap substitute made of crude al
 cohol, sugar and prtine juice, ha . double the intoxicating effect and doe i uuadfuple the damage to the healtl as the more expensive Whiskies Thos . in the possession of statistics on tn subject say that iii war time people
 particularly the uneducated and ehl slightly educated elasseE-seefa to sue ctinnb to feeling of recklessness an . irresponsibi1fty not evident in times 0 . peace. I am not speaking for Nor ? wieh; but it is a fact that in the prfh cipal cities the number of arfaigfi
 fnents in court daily has more tha
 doubled since the declaration of wa { by the United States. Many of tfes, 5 of course, are wanderers-sofne per ! haps youths who left their homes t escape the draft and others who waii der about for no other, reason tha . that police court judges are making uncomfortable throughout the cbtintr
 for those who are out of work in time
 when there is more than enough wor . for all But the most are citizen s whom the general feeling of ,restles | and uncertainty of war time has dfiy en to drink In all, the far -feachin x effects of war are of complex natur
 One curious tangent Is that all ove the country people are drinking les T yet seem to be drinking more.
 j. H. CUMMINGS.
 Norwich, Jan. 3, 1918.