The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1919-09-12

Great Britain Discusses Liquor
Compensation
Considers Buying Out All Liquor
Interests
Billions Required to Meet Such
Scheme
REVEL IN GREAT WEALTH
Liquor Men Now Making Abnor-
NAL Profits
Great Strength Lies in Political
Connections
Necessity of Prohibition for En-
pire to Hold Up Industrially,
Recognized; Step Fought by
Entrenched Interests
Great Strength Lies in Political
Connections
lAlhert Porterl

closer together save, apparently, OF
one subject, and that is Prohibition
Our English cousins seem to be onl,
just awakening to the fact that Amer
ica's action with regard to Prohibition
directly challenges Britain's CONNER
cial supremacy This at least is some
thing Prohibitionists have reason t
be thankful for. A British cabine
minister is reported to have said: Il
America goes dry, God save England,
and this, says the National Enquirer
expresses the concern OF the majorit,
of thoughtful Britishers. The sam'
paper in its issue of August % last
goes on to say:
-' The American steel trade is
fairly stripping the vitals out of
the British steel trade and other
branches of British industry are
beginning to suffer from American
competition. All of this is a SUBJ
ject for legitimate concern of
Americans as we'll as Britishers
as it is vitality important to Amer
lea that Britain's power shall not
decline and unless Britain goes
dry. twenty years from now it
will be practically down and out
as an industrial and political
power. The hopeful factor is that
the British people are singularly
sensible and logical in their con-
illusions. When they see that
they must go dry for the country's
sake they will go dry and will en-
joy It afterwards.
1t is to be feared that the chic
obstacle in the way of Prohibition II
England is compensation. A "Dc
partmental Committee appointed t,
inquire upon what terms the inter
ests in England and Wales concerned
in the manufacture and supply of in
toxicating liquors should be acquiret
by the state" reported October 81
1917, to the British House of Com
mons as follows:
1t is impossible for us to ascer-
tain with any approach to COM
pleteness the outlay involved in
State Purchase. :. Accord
ing to the best judgment that we
have been able to form we think
that the gross cost of acquiring
breweries with all tied-houses,
stocks in trade and other assets
including goodwill, stock,
furniture, fittings, etc, may be es-
timated for England and Wales
at not less than s350,000,000
($1,750.000,0 00) on pre-war basis
of valuations. This does not in
cludc the costs of acquiring the
production and wholesale distribu-
tion of spirits or of compensation
or for loss of occupation to IL
cense-holders and other persons
engaged in the trade.
A similar committee reported tina,
the cost for purchasing the liquor in
terests in Scotland would be s61,246
1858 ($306, 234, 2oO).
Enormous Profits
The Committee for Ireland re-
ported that they found reluctance on
the part of the representatives of the
distillers' and of some of the brewers
associations to give information as to
their profits; consequently the Com
mittec had difficulty in fixing the
amount of compensation. 1t is not
difficult, however, to gain an idea as
to the total amount which would have
to be paid by the government for ac-
curing the breweries, distilleries, and
other liquor interests in ireland when
we turn to a report such as that pub
1ished in the Daily Chronicle (Lon-
dom of August 2 last, concerning the
great brewery business of Arthur
Guinness, Son & Co., Ltd, of Dublin.
The chief product of this concern is
the popular stout" or porter" which
for generations has been prescribed
for delicate" patients by family physi-
clans. The head of this concern was
created baronet in 1885, then raised
to the peerage as Lord Iveagh in 1891,
and in 1905 was created a viscount
He is Fellow of the Royal Society
and Doctor of Laws. These per-
sonal facts are mentioned just to show
the difference between the heads of
such concerns in the British Isles and
the majority of brewers in this eoun-
try. According to the Chronicle, it
appears that during the past year the
Guinness brewery business made a
gross profit of s5,S55,900 or. reckon
ing for convenience FIVE dollars to the