Evening star., 1926-04-17

| healthy and moral. Prostitution it.
j self. commerce in human flesh in its
| most shameful form and most degrad-
| ing effect. operates and tiourishes in
| Montreal like a perfectly organized
commercial enterprise
The magistrate, Recorder Geof-
frion, testified that there We're 5000
bad women in the city. He said that
to shut down on the bad houses would
only increase the number of street
walkers.
Next TO British Columbia Quebec
province has the largest dope traffic
| in Canada. In 1924, out of a total of
$50 convictions in Canada for viola
tionS Of the narcotics act, 5Sl We're in
| British Columbia, government-con-
| troll province, and 225 in Quebec, an
other government-control province,
whereas there We're only 100 in On
| tar1o, which is under prohibition. 1t
is fair to say that coast provinces are
naturally prone to have more cases.
Sees Bootlegging Still
"One of the daily papers recently
quoted an unnamed official of the
| ilquor commission as saying that the
menace OF the Illicit liquor still is one
or the main problems that faces the
city OF Montreal; that it was increas
ing and that the commission estimated
that there were more than 900 illicit
stlllS in full operation in and about the
city
PerhapS an even more convincing
indication of conditions is the fact thar
at the annual meeting of the Licensed
Elctualers' Association of Montreal.
which was held early in January. il
was decided to ash the Quebec LIQUOR
compassion authorities to solicit the
help cl the municipal police in order
TO put Il stop to the clandestine and
Illicit sale of intoxicants in different
parts OF Montreal.
Ihe Montreal Star, at Christmas
tllne, said: Scenes OF boisterous
drunkenness are common, licentious-
ness which brings blush of shame
10 even the least fastidious, is every
where observable, the amenities of So
clal relations by which our healthy
ethical concepts are maintained and
, relaXed, and men and women of their
own desire deliberately step back into
the habits of primitive savagery with.
out primitive mans excuse
My impression is that Quebec has
| the system of government control
that is most acceptable to the brew
ers and distillers as we'll as to the ex-
treme vets. The dissatisfaction that
a wing of the vets expresses against
every government control system
west of Ontario is not heard in this
province. And the government here
appears to be more open than else
| where to the charge of fostering the
drinking habits of the people rather
than dlscouraging them, and of con-
Quoting the government control sys.
tenn for the revenue it brings to the
state.
Mayors Charges Cited.
Concerning the failure of govern.
, ment control in Manitoba, Mr. Raney
said:
The bombshell Mayor Webb of
Manitoba launched in October last at
| the Manitoba United Church Confer
ence, where he unexpectedly appear
ed. startled Winnepeg. The mayor is
hotel man. He said conditions in
Winnepeg, due to the government
control law. were undermining the
whole social structure.
The lawyers who helped draft the
law, declared his worship, are now
defending the criminals who violated
it. In the bOotlegging business a man
IS fined 5000 and the next day is in
the business again. The law should
either be enforced or repealed
Attorney General Craig appeared be.
fore it and gave his side of the dis
pute. Though not admitting the
mayor to be right in saying that con-
ditions We're a thousand times worse
than under prohibition, the attorney
general agreed that there was an in
creasing sale of liquor by the glass in
the city and all over the province, and
to a far greater degree than existed I'M
der prohibition.
Figures i'm Conclusion.
'The figures for crime are not con-
elusive. In 1915, before prohibition,
the Jail population was ,591. In 1920.
under prohibition, it was down to 964
The number increased from that time
on until 1923 when government con-
troll went into effect. That year the
number OF inmates in the prisons
reached 1907. Last year the Jail
population showed the biggest in
crease in 10 years, growing from 1896
to l 1850, a record figure for the period.
THE first complete year of govern
ment control showed 793 convictions
for violations of the temperance act
Last year the number grew to 855. a
figure larger than that for all but one
year under prohibition.
Premier Brackin and Liquor Con-
troller Waugh and Chief Inspector
Maclean, who has charge of prosecu-
tons under the Manitoba temperance
act, all told me that six or seven
breweries in Manitoba or their agents
had been convicted of law-breaking
during the month of January of this
year"
s.Examined by Reed.
Mr.. Raney was cross-examined at
considerable length by Senator Reed
of Missouri. who finally put into the
record a letter under date of April 6,
1926. from the prime minister of
Quebec, declaring that the Quebec law
providing for government control and
handling of the liquor traffic had been
IAN unqualified success" and that
drunkenness had been on the decrease
in the province since it's adoption.
At the same time Senator Reed read
from q report issued by the Quebec
liquor commission. which is charged
with the sales OF all liquor in the
province under the law, which also
spoke in glowing terms of the opera
ton of the law.
Senator Harreld of Oklahoma sug-
gested that the Quebec liquor law was
a particular policy of the prime
minister, and Mr.. Raney said it was.
Come Here at Wheeler's Request,
well" said Senator Reed, "you
have quoted from gentlemen on the
other side of the, liquor question. re-
garding the situation in the province
of Quebec, haven't you? AS 1 under
stand, you have not given all these
facts as first-hand information"
Mr.. Raney said that was correct.
The witness in reply to questions
by Senator Reed said he had come
here as a witness at the request of
Wayne b. Wheeler, general counsel
of the Anti-Saloon League, whom he
had met only recently, but with whom