Norwich bulletin., 1922-10-14
FINDS NORWICH DEATH RATE
 DROPS IN YEARS OF DRY LAW

During these years beer and whiskey were selling at the usual price in Nor-l wich. But the usual price didn't tell the whole story, To the five cents for beer or the ten cents for whiskey, no one add ed the funeral bill of the dead from alco- hol; nor the hospital expenses of the wounded from John Barleycorns; nor the pension for the almshouse and the char ity fund for the disabled of the saloon.
 .aThen came 1919. This was the year in which. on July 1, wartime prohibition became effective It was a half dry and a half wet year. The death rate drops just as the unheeded Cassandras of pro- hibition had always prophesied-dropped from 19l in 1917 Ggnoring the abnor- nal rate in the wet influenza year fs1S) to 17.7 The saloons were closed. All the usual channels whereby intoxicants were obtained were gone.
 .The next year saw the Volstead act become effective in January. This gave federal officers power to act but the local police lacked authority. Illicit selling de- veloped an organization in Norwich as elsewhere and registered it's effect on the delicate meter of the vital statistics. The mortality rate climbed back again to the highest point 1t had reached since 1915 and registered 19.3 deaths per thousand. It was a good year flor those who be- lieved i'll personal liberty provided they were in the undertaking business.
 ..1921. saw an improvement The diff ficulty of obtaining drinkable intoxicants the wholesome fear of blindness or death from wood alcohol, the unwillingness of the average man to take all the trouble. undergo the risks and pay the exorbitant prices demanded, all reduced the con sumption of alcoholic beverages in Nor wich in this year. Added to this, was the effect of the passage of the state en- l foreement act, which placed much ! needed weapon in the bands of the police. i Tn the table above you can read all this story. The death rate fell once more with an increased degree of enforcement Ito 16.5.
 l 'sThe illicit dealers in liquor had plenty | of time in which to develop their system. | Sources of supply, means of transporta- ton and methods of distribution had been developed by them increasingly from the day when wartime prohibition arrived Such systems require time to develop
 The police in. Norwich as elsewhere de- velop in turn their system. This also re- l cuires time With successive months the police system becomes increasingly ef- l fective Backed by the support of the decent and law-abiding element of tht community, 1t ultimately controls the sit uation. It was so in Norwich. This, too is written in the table above.
 "In the current year the death rate Eel again to a figure which constitutes rec
 ord for the community. In the first eigh months of this year there have been 3fi
 deaths. Should the same ratio prevail fo the balance of the year, the death rat for 1922 will be 15.1.
 prohibition is not complete in Norwicl
 any more than elsewhere. It has becom
 more effective each year, but full enforce
 ment has not yet been obtained. Drunk enness has decreased greatly but ther are still some avenues by which stroni
 drink reaches both town and city Wit the closing of these sewers of death, tn death rate will drop still more.''