The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-08
PROHIBITION TAKING WORLD

Americans are apt to think that prohibition is purely an institution of their own and has not made appre- ciable progress in other nations in which the use of alcohol is habit of long standing. In the January Gen. tury, however, MT. Charles Edward Russell, the eminent sociologist, as sures us that the question is not a national but an economic one, and that European nations are tending irresistibly towards prohibition as ab- solute as that contemplated in our statutes. It is brought out by. this writer that, after all, the forces of the prohibitionists and of the Anti Saloon League would not yet have prevailed had it not been for the back ing of industrial leaders.
 The importance of sobriety in pro- duction was emphatically attested by England's experiences during the war when her mills and factories had to move at top capacity in order that England might save herself from de- feat. It has been said that the war time liquor and beer restrictions in England were for the purpose of con- serving grains to food uses. That was secondary to the-much more important purpose of working the munitions and supply plants at top speed. It was then admitted without quibble or spe- cious argument that drinking had re- duced the working capacity of the plants almost one-third. Necessity de- manded that this loss in efficiency be sternly checked, and England did it, both by prohibiting the production of distilled liquors and by reducing the amount of grain available for malt. The brewers reacted in the way the British government intended they should react, and kept reducing the alcoholic content in beer, unbeknownst to the consumer, until it was finally little stronger than our near beer.
 Since the war, England has taxed alcoholic and malt liquors so heavily that the consumption has been greatly curtailed, while the fixed hours within which saloons may be open have been adroitly so arranged that the workman cannot get his drink on the way to work, nor at his noon lunch hour. The drinking he does must be after work ing hours when. it least impairs his service. Early closing at night has also operated to prevent advanced drunkenness and consequent loss of work time the following day or days. There Is liquor selling now for only eight and half hours daily as com pared with nineteen or twenty before the war. England is sober and is steadily consuming less liquor and beer. In the entire United Kingdom in 1918 there were only 71,306 cases of drunkenness as compared with 374,- 749 in 1913. In 1922 the ratio of drunkenness and drink consumption was still declining in all the big in- dustrial centers.
 In other nations similar results are discovered. Italy, like England, has heavily taxed her wines and liquors and reduced the hours during which drinking places may be kept open. Ulster in Ireland, according to MT. Russell, has closed her grog-shops on Sunday, shortened their hours on weekdays, reduced their number, and Hooks but loweringly on those that are left" Ulster is a center of spin ming and weaving. European indus trial leaders are discovering that, &C., cording to manufacturer of Leeds, England, "the American worker was producing, man for man, three times as much as the British worker" be- cause of the formers greater eff ciency due to his abstinence. Prohi- bitionists have been making "notable gains in Germany" France is con- sidering other ways of handling her grapes than making them into wine. Norway and Denmark are committed to prohibition. Sweden defeated 1t by only thirty thousand votes. It will carry next time. Austria, Poland and Czecho-Slovakia are inclining to pro- hibition, the two last named having already inaugurated local option. Bel gium has prohibited the sale of spir- ituous liquors. Japan prohibits the sale of liquor to persons under twenty