The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-07-20
!. BY MILToN BRoNNER

mean license and abuse, that
| jumping from a dry regime of IL
years to controlled wetness does not
mean increase in crime and drunk
enness, has been abundtantly
proved by the little country Of Fin
land.
Finland was dry for a length
of time almost exactly contem-
| poraneous with the noble expert
ment" in the United States and
drunkenness and crime increased
as steadily as in the United States.
So did smuggling and all its at
tendant evils.
Then Finland killed its prohi-
bition laws and now has been wet
for the past two months. The net
result has been 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 ar
rested for being drunk.
If there is one man who should
know the facts it is Baron Won
Born, minister for the interior in
1.-THE Finnish cabinet. He has
charge of the police Of the nation
and to him come all the reports.
| In a recent letter to a Finish
| friend of mine in London, he
wrote:
1.-THE change lover from a dry to
a wet regime shows that the peo-
pie have been reasonably moist.
In other words they have been
temperate. 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 al
ways have been horizontal drink
ers, whereas in America and Eng
land they mainly have been per-
pendicular. By this / mean that in
the Anglo Saxon countries there
were public bars where men stood
at counters and poured drink town
their Threats.
"In 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 a meal, but the drinker
4 sits down, gets his drink, sips it,
reads his paper, chats with his
friends.
'tThe new experiment has been
such a success that, if the statis-
tics keep on telling the same
cheering tale, we probably will
do away gradually 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 purchased"
This last is reference to the
drinking laws as now in vogue.
State liquor shops are now. open
only from 10 a. m. to p. m. for
the sale TO bottled goods which
card holders may take away to
their homes. They are closed
every Saturday, Sunday and Mon
day, 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 c.
emulation of holidays and Sum-
days this leads to strange results.
For instance, between April 20
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 opened; that many res
taurants were still waiting to be
be given their liquor license, that
the hoped-for Finnish manufac-
ture of strong spirits had not yet
been begun on any extensive scale,
nor the manufacture of liquors
and berry wines.
To this the government has
made the logical reply: NO ma
chinery 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 1t.
Such machinery could not be i'm
provised overnight and 1t took
time to get 1t going.
AS rapidly as possible. iegitl-
mate restaurants are heing duly
licensed and shops, handling the
liquor supplied by the govern
ment monopoly, were being
opened all over the land.
j Another kick has been that
light wines cost more than whis-
keey and that more OF the lat
ter was being consumed. The an
swer is that during the dry re-
gime people got used to drinking,
not only bootleg liquor. but also
to drinking the real thing. which
they procured through prescrip-
lions by their family doctor. Now
that the state monopoly hass wung
into action. light French wines
arc being imported and sold &C
figure below what whiskey costs.
lt
stiIi Have smuggiers
Though Finland has swung over
from tho dry 10 the wet column
IL In still profitable TO smuEsIe
Iwhialsey, schnapps. vodka and other
spirits into tho country.
For ono thing. the sniKglers
enn soil ut o lower price than u
demanded u the state monopoly
Iahops. For another thing. han.
diera o. smugsiod goods sell At
az hours whereas the state Iiqlief