The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-07-19
Even Ardent Prohibitionists Ad.
NIT That Crime, Boot
Logging Are Waning


mean increase in crime and drunken
ness, has been abundantly proved by
the little country of Finland.
Finland was dry for length of
time almost exactly contemporaneous
with the noble experiment" in the
United States and drunkenness and
crime increased as steadily as in the
United States. So did smuggling and
all its attendant evils.
Then Finland killed its prohibition
laws and now has been wet for the
past two months. The net result has
been a steady decrease in crime and
drunkenness.
In Helsingfors, the capital and
greatest city in the land, the cold
figures show decrease of so per
cent in the number Of people arrest
ed for being drunk.
If there is one man who should
know the facts 1t IL Baron Won Born,
minister for the interior in the Fin
nish cabinet. He has charge of the
police of the nation and to him
come all the reports. In a recent
letter to Finnish friend of mine
in London, he wrote:
"The change-dver from dry to
a wet regime shows that the people
have been reasonably moist. In
other words, they have been tenn
perate. There has been no increase
in the abuse of drink. On the other
hand, there has been a substantial
and very gratifying decrease. Even
men and women who were ardent
drys, have told me that they have
been agreeably disappointed.
Drink Sitting Down
For one thing, our people always
nave been horizontal drinkers,
they mainly have been perpendicular.
BY this mean that in the Anglo
Saxon countries there were public
bars where men stood at counters
and poured drink down their throats
I'm our country we never had bars
and don't have them now. Drink
is served publicly only in restaurants.
1t is not necessary to buy meal, but
the drinker sits down, gets his drink,
sips it, reads his paper, chats with
his friends.
1.-THE new experiment has been
such a success that, if the statistics
keep on telling the same cheering
tale, we probably will do away grad
ually with various restrictions. In
other words, we will lengthen the
hours during which drink may be
had and may increase the number
of days on which it may be pur-
chased"
This last Is a reference to the
drinking laws now in vogue. State
liquor shops are now open only from
10 a. m. to p. m. for the sale of
bottled goods which card holders may
take away to their homes. They are
closed every Saturday, Sunday and
Monday, as well as on days preceding
and following all holidays.
The result is that on 1873 days of
the year the liquor shops are closed.
Where there is an accumulation of
holidays and Sundays this leads to
strange results. For instance, be-
tween April % and May 10 there was
only one day on which the shops
could sell liquor.
But Thirsty Complain
That is not the only complaint of
the thirsty. The walls have been,
that in some parts of the country the
legal shops have not yet been OPEN
ed; that many restaurants were still
waiting to be given their liquor Ii
cense; that the hoped-for Finnish
manufacture of strong spirits had
not yet been begun on any extensive
scale, nor the manufacture of Ii
queurs and berry wines.
To this the government has made
the logical reply: No machinery could
be set up until the Diet actually had
passed the laws making the country
wet once more. after the referendum
of the people had voted in favor of
it. Such machinery could not be
improvised overnight and it took
time to get it going.
AS rapidly as possible, legitimate
restaurants are being duly licensed
and shops, handling the liquor sup
piled by the government monopoly,
we're being opened all over the land.
Another kick has been that light
wines cost more than whisky and
that more of the latter was being
consumed. The answer is that dur
ing the dry regime people got used
to drinking, not only bootleg liquor
but also to drinking the real thing,
which they procured through pres
criptions by their family doctor. Now
that the state monopoly has swung
into action, light French wines are
being imported and sold at figure
below what whisky costs.
Still Have Smugglers
Though Finland has swung over
from the dry to the wet column it is
still profitable to snluggle whisky,
schnapps, vodka and other spirits
into the country.
For one thing, the smugglers can
sell at lower price than is demand
ed in the state monopoly shops. For
another thing, handlers Of smuggled
goods sell at all hours, whereas the
state liquor shops only can sell from
10 in the morning till three in the
afternoon, and on 1873 days Of the
year are closed.
The Finnish government, however
expects very shortly to put full stop
to the smuggling business. Its fleet
OF four seaplanes is throttling the
racket. Before planes were brought
into action, the vast indented coast
gave high-powered motorboats the
edge on the slower and heavier gov
eminent revenue cutters. The sea-
planes can go anywhere the motor
boa.5 can and then some.
Finland, taking a leaf out OF
Americas book, also has enacted q
law permitting Finnish authorities to
search foreign vessels moving in in
Il ternational waters If suspected OF
u carrying on smuggling into Finland
&sThe 12-mile law of the United States
twas the model for Finland.