The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-02-14

Paris, Jan. 80 (By MaiD-So there is to be prohibition in the United States. One of New Yorll's most i'm portant hotel keepers is quoted in the morning papers as foreseeing the col lapse of everything. His gloom makes me think of Irwin Cobb's story of the two negroes who inspected the electric chair in the death chamber at Sing Sing
 And when dey git de man in dc chair" asked one, and de warden pushes the button, den what?"
 Ruin" replied the other. "Jes' ruin"
 The experience of Europe during the last four years and a half should reassure these viewers -with-alarm. Every state in Europe has interfered more or less with the liquor traffic. The interference has ranged from slowing down of the quality of the British beer and whiskey to com blete prohibition in various towns and districts. Even today in Paris the shortage of wines and whisIeys has decreased the sale. With port at 60 cents a glass and whisley at S7 to S8 6 bottle, few people can afford to get comfortably tipsy.
 Not a Mite Worse Of.
 Nothing has happened. No one has been mite the worse for it, so far as I have seen. The Latin races are addicted to the reasonable use of light wines and, beers with their meals, and they have been somewhat put out because the guests within their gates have drunk most of their reserve supply. The Anglo-Saxon is a mighty bottle man. Half a dozen men from across the blue water will dispose in a day of enough to last a French family a month. But most of the French manage to get their win ordinaire and the visitors will be all the better off for not having hard liquor.
 Now, I am going to say something unpleasant, but it is a fact for all that. We Americans do not know how to carry our liquor. We drink too fast. The old Kentucky rule is observed by most of us, "One drink Is too little and two is too much and three isn't half enough" One of the restaurants here-its name Is known to every one who ever read a story of Paris-was closed for eight days recently. Two drunken American of ficers had insulted the wife of g French officer and he had very prop eriy and completely resented 1t.
 Criticized by Frenchmen-
 There was a fight in the Folie, Bergere lounge the other night Drunken American officers again. 4 fight in g railway station. Drunke1 officers A fight on the streets Drunken officers. A fight in a cab aret Drunken officers, plus a drunker '. M. c. A secretary The French are beginning to criticize us very se- verely. That statement may well bt repeated. They criticize us very SC Verely. The other night I sat In { restaurant and listened to thre, American officers crawling. By m! side sat an elderly French couple After time the lady turned to he husband:
 Are there, then she asked, ''IC gentlemen in America?"
 This Is unpleasant reading, but 1 as the truth. One often hears Ameri cans here ask other Americans t point out some new restaurant:
 "One that the Americans have nc found yet" they say.
 Try to Dodge UnpIeasantness.
 These arc not Gallicized American that ask for un-Americanized restau ranta They are not expatriates. N one has a more complete contemI for the unfortunately somewhat nr merous American who finds any fol eign country better than his own tha have. If people of that sort sough to avoid their own people over hel would put the black curse of Dels ware county on them and let 1t go ; that. But most of the avoiders al newcomers to the city, drawn hel recently on business. They only see to dodge unpleasantness.
 It is necessary to emphasize Il fact that it Is the American offic, who has too often made a nuisan, of himself on the streets of Paris not the American doughboy. I ha- seen few drunken privates and no, coms, of course, but many mo drunken officers. Yet the privat outnumber the officers by fifty to o1 perhaps more. I do not know u exact proportion The American c ncers are the pick of our people college graduates, men of indepe dent business, professional men. B they drink too much, or they seem drink too much.
 Anxious for Change.
 The explanation is a simple one. ] officer gets to Paris on his leave, ter six or eight or twelve mont spent in the bush. He wants crowd everything he can into his f days. He has set aside beauco francs for the seeing-Paris trip, a aims to go back to his unit as cle as knife. Because we have not as a nation-learned how to drink
 takes too much. He is a gourma rather than a gourmet of sensatio The other day I saw pair of Anne
 cans swallow this appalling
 quence:
 First, hot rum punch; second, (
 dozen iced oysters on the half sht { third, hot rum punch; fourth, fish gratin; beer, more oysters, r
 punch and finally a cognac. WI
 I went out they were weaving up the bar and trying to make up tn minds what to have next. The W
 had gone about, and four or Frenchmen watched them in anna
 nent The proprietor evider
 feared they would die on the pre- T, ises, but being thrifty business n continued to sell them drinks. s No European would drink as