The Haslingden Gazette. — 1913-01-11 (Haslingden, Lancashire, England)

THE EDITOR OF THE "GAZETTE."  Sir,—lt very often happens that when a mails ure reaches our legislators at Westminster a considerable confusion of thought and speech is in evidence. The debate on the Amendment to the Temperance (Scotland) Bill in the House of Lords recently was no exception in this respect. More than one noble Lord felt tolerably assured that the additional option in- a local veto poll gave the electors that opportunity of voting for the form of "disinterested management" advocated so consistently and well by the true Temperance Association. As a matter of fact, the "additional option" gives nothing of the kind. The Disinterested Management in the Temperance (Scotland) Bill is that advocated ..by the Temperance Legislation League, Whereas the True Temperance Association desires the impteiement of the public, house on the lines (with certain modifications) of the Continental_ cafe, the Teinperance Legislation- League propose to hand over the licensed trade to a local body of amateurs who would extract four per cent per annum out of the pockets of the consumers, whatever the conditions. Not only is such a proposal condemned in facts, but the whole of the other temperance" bodies are opposed to it. Mr. Smith, ,the eeoretary of the British Temperance League, says:—" My objections to the system are, in the main, two: (14 It produees much drunkenness; (2) it tends to municipal and social corruption." -By comparison . . we find that in Gottenburg, the home of 'Disinterested Management,' the convictions for drunkenness are, in proportion to the population, nine times as numerous as they are in England' and Wales; seven times as numerous as they are in our County Boroughs; twelve times what we have in such great cities as Leeds and Sheffield, and three and a half times as many as we have in the similar seaport of Liverpool." On their own admission 23.2 per cent. of persons convicted for drunkenness secured their last drink in a. "disinterested" establishment. These figures and facts condemn with a deadly quality the "system" and the management of it. Further, whilst in this country there has been a steady, decrease in drunkenness throughout this country during the years 1900 to 1910, in Sweden there has been an equally steady increase in drunkenness. We have ample evidence in this country of the disadvantages of -Municipal Management, and Mr. Arthur Chamberlain in a letter to the U.K.A. meeting at Birmingham in 1906, said: "A licensing justice's experience had shown him that many of the municipally managed houses were amongst the worst in the town, whilst the protection that the name and influence of the Corporation provided made them more difficult to control than thoke of private owners." If any change be needed it must be made in the direction of making the publie house a place fit for all people, where under sanitary conditions food as well as drink may be obtained. If the amiable persons, who, under the delusion that they are helping forward social reform" (very often another term, for humbugging the people) support a Bill or part of it, containing proposals against which there is abundant and accessible evidence, condemnatory in charts& ter, have not been informed previously that they have no right to interfere in public affairs, I, for one, have the pleasure to tell them so now. "Disinterested Management" is the proposal of a few persons who desire to interest themselves in taking a legitimate trade out of the hands of the expert and to place it into the hands of those who least know anything about it. I commend in the place of these demoralising  . - proposals the Public House Improvement Bill which is planned on the lines of the objects ad.vocatccli by the True Tern  Yours, &c.,  476, Chester-road, Manchester, S.W  Fr - the murder of Mabel girl of Wadburst, Sussex, A ecuted at Lewes on Tuesday.