The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1923-09-21
Organization Which Operates
Much as American Exemplar
Does, Waging Vigorous
Campaign.
BEGINNINGS ARE SMALL
Use Schools, Barracks, Motion
Pictures and Literature; the
United States Is Watched.

ties of the Ligue Rationale Contre
PAlcoolisme of France, designated in
the story as the Anti-Saloon League of
France. The headquarters of the League
are located on a boulevard in Paris
which abounds in liquor cafes. One of
these cafes is within "syphonsquirt"
of the Ligue office. The work is being
carried on under the direction of NJ.
Jean Meteil described as a Every sim
cere and tolerant man."
The story says:
"The Ligue Rationale Contre pAlcool.
isme is now and for many years has
been waging a persistent campaign in
France against the liquor evil. 1t is
struggling against many handicaps, such
as the slenderness of its funds, the
power of the wine growing and distribu-
ting industries and the lack of public
interest The Ligue has no
illusions about the obstacles in its path,
and its leaders cannot for a moment see
the possibility of the fufillment of Pus-
syfoot Johnson's prophecy of dry
world by 1890 They would like intense
ly to see that come to pass. They ad-
nit that they would like to see the pro-
hibition in France of all alcoholic
drinks. But they know that cannot be
brought about for generations, if ever, so
they concentrate on educational work, on
attempts to strengthen and assure the en-
forcement of existing laws governing the
sale of liquor, on campaigns to lessen the
consumption of hard drinks.
= with their meagre funds and in the
face of public indifferent or hostile,
they really are getting their case pretty
widely spread. The method in which
they place the most hope, as the Ameri-
can prohobitionists did in the early
days, is in influencing the young. Thus
workers for the Ligue preach the dam
gers of drink in the schools of France
and in the army barracks. In this work
they are obliged to practice considerable
restraint, for they are forbidden by law
to agitate against what are officially
known as 'hygenic drinks" that is, wine
and beer. The interest of the children
is stimulated by the presentation of
medals, attended by considerable cere-
mony. The ,Ligue reports that as a re-
suit of this phase of its work 10000
children hate taken the pledge against
drinking spirituous liquors
Uses Motion Pictures
"The Ligue maintains centres of in
fuence in various parts of France, some
of them having permanent offices, and
within recent weeks there have been
meetings devoted to the temperance agi-
tation in such widely separated places
as st. Nazaire, Besancop, Cherbourg and
sBrest. Some of these places have been
attended by as many as 800 persons,
drawn by free motion pictures, comedy
sketches and other entertainment fea-
lures, and at number of these the
audiences have voted favorably on the
Ligue's resolution ca ling for the prohi-
bition of distilled liquors
"The French anti-alcoholists assert
that, although their efforts in a legis-
lative direction have met with dis
couraging reception in comparison to
such efforts across the Atlantic, there
is reason to believe that their campaign
Is bearing practical fruit. They point
particularly to marked decline in the
use of spirituous liquors and to reports
published by the Ministry of Labor
showing great increase in the sobriety
of the working classes.
Receipts of the French Treasury in
nightly since before the war, but the
consumption of alcohol has been cut in
Zone attempt has been made to pro-
hibit by law the sale of distilled bever-
ages. That was in March, 1918, when
Deputy Jules Siegfried introduced bill
to this end in Parliament, under the aus
pices of the Ligue. Only forty-seven
Deputies voted for it. After that the
temperance workers of France adopted
compromise legislative program.
"Since the war the Ligue has been
taking more blows in the legislative field
= than it has given. 1t has been deprived
of small State subsidy of 10000 francs
year in recognition of its educational
work, and now finds itself confronted
with a bill providing that the Govern
ment indemnify the persons who have
suffered financial loss by the suppression
of absinthe, a measure which the Ligue
says would cost the Government more
than 100000 francs.
Meanwhile the Ligue is watching the
experiment of America in prohibition
and is using America as proof OF the
benefits of dry regime, at the same
time that the wine growers of France
and similar interests are using America
as horrible example.
m Meteil, guiding spirit of the
Ligue, who has recentlv visited America