Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-05

| change that has taken place IN TINS
country during the past 10 years mas
been the coming into force OF the pro-
hibition amendment. We talk SO mucn
about this law as a great moral crusade
having as its end the defeat OF OLD
Demon Rum, or as an assault upon the
right to personal liberty, that we are
| ant to forget that this law has otner
| than q moral background.
This added prosperity has come IN
spite of bad farm conditions, through
most Of the period and depressions In
the textile and coal trades. Also we
have had in the same period bank
| failures amounting to more than a
billion and half dollals.
THE total realized income OF the
Nation, as found by the Presidents
| committee, stood at not quite $66,0OO,-
| OOO. 900 for 1919. 1t dropped to a low
point Of $50, 600, 000, 900 in 1921. Since
then It has been steadily mounting,
and for 1928 is estimated at $S9 900, :
100000. In 10 years the income OF the
country has increased at a very much
higher rate than ever before, and we
| are today. as q Nation, much wealthler
than ever before. The use Of ordinary
common sense and observation brings
one to the same conclusion. One cam
not 60 anywhere in this country and
not note changes Of staggering magnl-
tude."
Increase in Insurance Policies.
Turning to life insurance, he said the
policy holders had increased from 49,
| 600, 600 in 1919 to 100000 in 1927.
Now, how does all this come about,
he asked. What, If any, part has pro-
hibition played in it? The striking fact
to be drawn from the statistics is the
enormous consuming power OF our
people"
IF the head Of family had wages
of 500 a month and spent $40 for drink,
he would not" the witness said, going
back to pre-prohibition days, absolutely
waste his money, in so far as the pros
perity of the country Is concerned. We
shall entirely disregard, for the moment,
any possible effect of the liquor on him
| and think of it only as a way of spend
ing money. But purchase OF liquor
sets into motion a very small chain OF
| purchasers, while, If the family OF the
man has that $40 to spend, they will put
| it out into goods which require deal OF
labor and start many chains of purchas-
| ing. Or the same effect will be had II
they save part of the money. The DIFF
ference in the effect on the country OF q
man laying out $40 q month over q
bar and a wife laying out the same sum
over a store counter Is so great that
| giving the money to the wife amounts to
an increase of family buying power OF
nearly $40 q month. To all intents and
| purposes, money diverted from drink To
| goods can be counted as new money
Can Now Buy Automobile.
Crowther said the amount which a
moderate, steady drinker spent in pre-
prohibition days over the bar will now
buy an automobile on the installment
plan. very great part of the pros
| perity which the automobile has
brought is directly traceable to the
diversion Of expenditure caused by pro-
| hibition.
THE evidence is conclusive" he said,
that the workingmen are spending
less for liquor: the evidence is equally
conclusive that the people with higher
incomes are spending money for liquor.
That on the whole they are spending
more is greatly to be doubted Many
choose to regard the situation as
alarming.
"That, however, is quite aside from
the main question, which has to do with
the actual amount spent for drink to-
day as compared with prohibition
days. II only the people of larger in
comes are drinking bootleg stuff, it Is
OF course, unfortunate in way, but 1t
is best for the country that those who
| can afford 1t rather than those who
cannot afford 1t should do the drinking
II the people Of means cannot look after
themselves and their children, why then
they cannot look after them. And that
is all there is to It, am here concerned
with the mass of the population and
not with the few"
Country Was Drinking More.
Crowther asserted 1t was often said
that the consumption of alcohol was
decreasing at the time of the eighteenth
amendment, and that I'VE were Their
on our way to achieve a real temper
ance. The Government figures do not
say so. Take the three periods: 1900 tt
| The per capita consumption-which Il
the real test Of distilled spirits. wines
and beer in the first period was 1877
| gallons; In the second period it wa
1.46; and in the third, 22.43. The
largest increase was in beer, but there
were substantial increases in spirits and
in wines. The country was steadily
drinking more and not less"
THE cost to the consumer before
! prohibition can only be estimated
Prof Fisher, taking the average of the
three years 1914 to 1916, in order to
get away from the war conditions
estimates that with beer at cents q
glass and whiskey at 10 cents, the Ma.
ton spent 312 billion dollars a year fol
drink Hi estimate may be too large
The American Grocer, a magazine, cal.
culated the cost to consumers annually
for the same three years as slightly
That may be too small. The truth Il
probably somewhere between.
Figures Impossible Today.
ITO get at the actual figures of pres.
ent-day consumption of bootleg and
home brew is utterly impossible, al.
though plain common sense teache:
that 1t Is harder to get drink today
than before prohibition. Very few
speakeasies sell whisky for less than 81
cents an ounce, whereas, before prohibi.
ton q saloon of the grade of the So
cent speakeasy would have sold whisky
at 10 cents and the average customer
in such places would have helped him.
self to at least two ounces. The COM
petition among speakeasies and amonl
bootleggers is keen and II 1t were a
easy to obtain supplies Of liquor today
as it was before prohibition, there
would be some evidence Of this In the
prices charged.
1.-THE actual amount spent for liquo
today can hardly amount to more thar
half a billion dollars. but whether 1t b.
half billion or a billion, the amour
Is paid for a volume of liquor certainl!
not exceeding 20 per cent of that SOLE
in the pre-war trade.
Not Getting Much to Drink.
"The country is still paying q larg,
amount of money for drink-but it Il
not really geeting much to drink. Ever
If we are today spending billion dol
lars-and we may be paying only hal
that much-there is high saving owe
the pre-war average percentage, 70
keeping that percentage we should to-
day be spending at least around $1,000.
000, 1000, and at the most arounC