The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1928-10-01
CONTROL OF LIQUOR
THE OLD LAW

THE OLD LAW
Before The present law was enacted, the
Province of Ontario was under the on
tario Temperance Act, familiarly known
as the D. 7. A This law was passed III
1916. It prohibited the retail sale of
alcoholic beverages. It did not prohibit
their manufacture, Importation or trans
portation. There were in the province
% brewelies and Z distilerie5 and large
quantities of liquor were imported. Tt
was not called a Prohibition" law, nor
REGARDED as such.
In 1926 many government officials came
out openly against the law, giving as their
reason increase OF Bookkeeping and
drunkenness. Advocates of the law
blamed the officials with conniying with
the liquor interests TO get r.d OF the law,
alleging as the main reason the increase
III revenue that would resuIt-With all
that increased revenue means to public
officials. A persis BE II g. Well-fiDanced
propaganda was maintained against the
law, with tie result that on June l, 1927,
it was supplanted by the present law,
known as the Liquor Control Act
THE LIQUOR CONTROL ACT
This Act allows the manufacture and
sale Of all kinds of alcoholic beverages.
The sale is confined to government dis
pensaries. The purchaser is required to
take out a license or permit for which
he pays $500. All purchases must be re-
corded at the dispensary. There is no
limit to the amount purchaser may buy
but II he is accused of excessive drink
ing Or Of selling, the amount purchased
may be used as l1YantG jGcic evidence
against him.
In considering how much a purchaser
may be expected to consume consider
alton is given TO whether he is single or
whether ne has q wife and children. IF
he has a family, a larger quantity is con-
sidered justified. Under the law the pur-
chaser must take his liquor home. He
cannot drink it on the premises. There
is no place in the Province where he can
purchase liquor legally by the drink.
HOW THE LIQUOR CONTROL ACT
WORKS
As in the case Of prohibition in the
United States. SO in Ontario the ques-
ton Of how the liquor law works is
much mooted question, the advocates Of
the law contending that conditions are
improved under it and the opponents Of
it contending that the conditions are far
worse. The writer personally interviewed
about twenty people and they were about
equally divided for and against.
The editor of paper in Perry Sound
stated there was far more drunkenness,
especially among young men, under the
present law than under the so-called Pro-
hibition Law.
A police magistrate in the same town
stated there was probably more drink
ing but less bootlegging although he said
bootlegging was on the increase. He gave
as the reason for the increase of boot
Logging that whisky in the government
Oh d pr
have the $4 Bootleggers supplied this de-
mand for smaller amounts and frequently
sold an inferior quality of liquor
The testimony of this police magistrate
may be regarded as official That VIII, ch
is given below comes either from magis-
trates and other authorities or from the
reports in the daily press taken from the
same source.
We NAV present this testimony under
three heads:
Quantity of Liquor Drunk