Evening star., 1926-12-07
LIQUOR SPREADING
0vERCANADAAGA|N
Dominion, Once With Only
One Wet Province, Now Has
But Three Dry Ones.
By Consolidated Press.

BY ConsoH0ateu Fress.
TORONTO, Ontario, December T.
All of the Dominion of Canada, with
the exception of the three maritime
provinces-New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia and Prince Edward Island-now
is wet At one time all of Canada,
with the exception of Quebec, was
under prohibition. One after another
the provinces have. discarded prohi-
bition and reverted to the controlled
system of liquor sales.
Ontario, once the greatest source OF
prohibition strength in Canada, Joined
the wet brigade by an overwhelming
majority this week. With 80 of the
100 members in the new Legislature
pledged to support their cause, the
government control forces hold the
whip hand in this province, and the
Ontario temperance act, after 10
years experiment will be placed in the
discard.
Ontario thus follows in the wake Of
the four western provinces. British
Columbia, on the Pacific Coast, went
dry in 1916. Introduced as a war
measure. the law was adopted by a
vote of 42,736 to 38,S62, In 1920, four
years later, the act was repealed by a
majority exceeding $4,000, more than
six times that by which 1t was
adopted.
Manitoba Next In Line.
Manitoba was next to break into
the wet column. After adopting a
prohibition act in 1916 by majority
of "a 600. it returned in 1928 by ma
jority of 10000 to a system of sale in
government liquor stores.
Alberta went dry in 1915 by q ma
1ority of $1,000 and became wet again
by a majority of 80 900 in 1923. Sas-
lot fnh
do the first act and then reverted in
1924.
Ontario's dry law was put into effect
in 1916
Difficulty of enforcement, increase
In bootlegging and lack Of popular
support have been the difficulties en-
countered in all the provinces.
The only way liquor could be OBJ
tained legally was through use of doc
tors prescriptions. Abuses of these
were rampant. Drug stores as well
as government venders were allowed
to fill the prescriptions.
Big BootIegging Field.
In Winnipeg, the largest city in
Manitoba, very strong feeling on this
phase had much to do with the repeal
in that province.
Another bad situation in Canada has
been that while sale, purchase and
possession of liquor, except under the
provisions, was banned, distilleries
and breWerieS were permitted to op-
crate. Their products when destined
for export to wet countries could not
be interfered with either at the plant
or in transit, and a remarkable op-
portuni'v was given for wholesale
bootlegging.
Along lakes Erie and Ontario and
the Niagara frontier in Ontario boats
have been clearing with cargoeS of
wet goods for Cuba and returning to
their home port the same day. The
same situation has existed on the Pa
cific and Atlantic coasts, where ships
load up their cargoes of the Canadian
product and go down to take their
places in rum row off the United
States coast.
Quebec, the only province that has
not been numbered in the prohibition
fold, came the closest to entering in
1919, when such a measure had actu
ally been adopted by the Legislature
but the citizens rose in force before
the law was put into effect and b
178,000 votes to $4,000 decided they
would keep their beer and light wines
They subsequently adopted hard liquor
sales two years later
Rejection Is Emphatic.
Ontario has had plenty or ballot1ng
on the liquor question.
Before 1917 it was. under what is
known as the local option system.
In 1917 the Ontario temperance act, |
which has just been repealed, was
put into force as war measure with
out a vote being taken. At the close |
of the war it was submitted to the
people and upheld by a majority o
more than two to one. In 1924 it wa
again sustained, but by much small
er maiority. It's rejection this weel
has been emphatic. Toronto alone
with its suburbs gave a wet surplu
of over $4,000 ballots, over three Il
one.
The spotlight now turns to the three
maritime provinces still under the pro
hibition, where it is expected a cam
paign soon will be on to secure the
change already adopted by the other