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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (Sept. 10, 1919)
PAHE fiTGTTT DATLY BAST OftttftONtAK rftNiUKTOtt, ftttECdti,' WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 1919 TWELVE PAGES it ': f "I M U i GREAT BRITAIN'S WA Y IS REGULATION, NOT PROHIBITION There U no prohibition In England and. In Ik opinion of competent observers, there will be no prohibition In England. Why T Tlecause through common sense scien tific: regulation of the liquor traffic evils of drunkenness, extravagance and disease liarr been all but eliminated In a highly successful trial period of five years, but without depriving the sensible ninety-five per cent of the population of personal lib erty. Too ask. What has this regulation of the liquor traffic accomplished In Eng land? , Briefly tola: For the last five years, aa result of these restrictions, drunkenness, deaths from alcohollsn and the diseases caused by drinking to excess, as well aa all other evils attending the unrestrained traffic have been enormously and aston ishingly reduced. Charts upon the sub ject, prepared by government depart ments, reveal the undesirable and unfortu nate phases and results of drinking, rep resented In directional lines, trailing a, way precipitately toward aero. As a rough average the exact figures I will present later the evils present In "wide open" England before the war have been reduteJ aeventy-flre per cent, which even the niot hopeful reformers must admit Is tremen dous. What, you ask. Is the modus operandi of this great curative campaign? It Is the most obvious, plain plan In tha world, but. like many other great and ef fective ideas of today. It required a world war with Its necessities and dire exigen cies to bring it Into being. The Idea long antedates 1914, but the pressure of war forced its acceptance. When coutrasted . with the ends this scheme attains the ' means seem almost ridiculously simple. I want to tell yon about It While America ta pondering just what t to about the liquor problem, and. more pacifically, what to do about prohibition. It might be well to turn to England at least or reference and perhaps for advice, for a finer example of how to handle effi ciently this vital question In a fashion sat isfying virtually every faction could not be found. Upon me as aa America j not long in England the surface Indications of the success of government direction of the ale of liquor and official regulation of the aaloon early made a profound Impression. Day or night an Intoxicated person is Hie streets of London Is very rare, despite the great number of Idle. undemobilized aoldiers and the great temptation of sol- . Vers and civilians alike to celebrate peace. Even before making the, casual inquiry as to the whys and wherefores of war and post-war restriction I observed the "pubs" to be closed morning and after noon working hours and late In the evening, when an men, working or other wise, should be abed. It did not take long to ascertain that through the wisdom of a guiding governmental band the sale of all liquor was restricted to the two principal eating boors, luncheon and dinner. It seemed to me to be a happy coincidence that one might purchase what drinks the government permits one to purchase only at meal time. ' Bat it is far mora than a coincidence. It is the whole secret. Drinking only at meal time is the satire backbone and structure of England's masterly method. By permitting the sale ef liquor only from noon until three 'dock in the afternoon and from six to ten o'clock In the evening the Central Con trol Board for the Liquor Traffic has done two basic thingai First, It has placed within these short periods a necessarily limited amount of liquor before those who want It and enjoy it, and perhaps need It, but who above all know what to do with liquor and what not to do with it. . Second, it baa removed, by the three and ten o'clock bans, the opportunity to drink to excess from those who think they want more but do not need it, and who above all do not know what to do with liquor and do know what not to do with it but don't doit! Following a study of the existing regu lations and the autistic for the last few years I appealed, to Lord D'Abernon. the directing genius of this plain but enlight ened policy, for an expression of opinion aa to the merits of prohibition versus regu lation, also his views on the everywhere apparent success of the , present English scheme and the prospects for further and future Improvement. Lord D'Abernon is chairman of the Cen tral Control Board for the Liquor Traffic, a position which be has filled to the vir tually unanimous satisfaction of official dom and the people, with the possible and plausible exception of the reform extrem iftts, whose Idea of the millennium, it seems to me. Is a sort of heavenly belt The real proof of Lord .D'Abemon's popularity Is the fact that be has won and maintained the respect and admiration of practically all aides In the controversy the working classes, who at first thought they saw their beer and other liquor being taken from them; the liquor trade, which for a time laiafUied U busbies and its great inveet- Lord D'Abernon, Who Has Made a Full and Complete Study of the Question of Drink and Its Effects, Tells Truman H. Talley Just How the All-Important Matter Must Be Settled and Can Be with Satis faction to All Interview of High Value to America at Present Regulation the Keynote. ments were going crash: officialdom, which feared Its own shadow In the mat ter of a too drastic deprivation and what it might lead to, and lastly, the diversified elements of the great so-called mldiile group of enlightened. constructively thoughtful people Intellectual, clerical, professional who have weighed and ap proved the logic, the science and the sense of this policy. Lord D'Abernon" views on the relation between consumption of alcohol ntid na tional efficiency constitute the last woid on the subject In Knglnnd. His opinions, which be has painstakingly prepared for expression through this uewspaper. should carry great weight In America, 'or there probably Is not a man In the world who has bad his experience lu handling the liquor problem, nor the publicly acknowl edged success at It. The day I called upon Lord D'.VIiernon in bis busy offices In I'lccadllly I found him working over a report, all about him charts and sheets of statistics which told lu concise fashion Just what his :il-nl methods are daily accomplishing. Tables of tabulated sheets, walls of plotting und diagrams of percentages and drifts re minded mc of Don Martin's office in the Herald at election time, except that In this Instance the lower the figures and the more precipitately downward the drifts the greater the acclaim due the man whose name, though not visible, should bare been stamped on each "poll" sheet. For Lord D'Abernon Is conduetfng one of the greatest "polls" ever undertaken a "poll" of reform along modern, scientific, sensible lines. Lord D'Abemon's great cam paign la one of Inverse majorities and plu ralities, so to speak, for when be a id his method batter those figures down to zero and they are diminishing rapidly the vic tory will be complete. Tall, powerful, dignified, a robust picture of vigor at sixty-one. L6rd D'Abernon Is a man whose appearance Immediately stamps him as one who practises what he preaches, a man of equal firmness In convlttljn and Shorter saloon tours lessen drinking. , Good beer is good food for workman. Beverages are better food with your meals. Broken saloon hours prevent drunkenness. In action. His very presence speaks vol umes for bis views. . Lord' D'Abernon was first of all Inter ested to know the absolute "latest" from America concerning the battle over prohibi tion. .Naturally he did not care to express an opinion as to what America should or should not do, but be Is following minutely every mtne In the controversy. Anyway, Lord D'Abernon has some opinions con cerning the pros and cons of prohibition In his own country which are strong enough and logical enongh to serve almost as an opinion on the American situation. "What actually are the chances of pro hibition In England?" I asked. ' "Complete prohibition does not appear to have much chance in England now," be re plied. "Public opinion Is in a condition of reaction, which is quite natural after the war. The public of England has behaved admirably In conforming to the severe regulations which were necessary through out the war. They now think that with the advent of peace greater freedom should be enjoyed. I do not think any sensible persons quarrel with the people's attitude, providing the liquor business does not re lapse Into the atrocious conditions existing before 1914. "These figures which I will give yon show an enormous decrease not only in drunkenness but In disease connected with alcohol which has been apparent here since regulation of the liquor traffic was taken scientifically and aeriously in hand. "No such progress has been achieved in any part of the world in any like period. So far as figures are available, this improve ment is better than the results obtained in any similar area under prohibition. "Of course, extreme reformers will say these results were only possible in war time. They say that as long as you leave the liquor trade In being It will overwhelm you directly war pressure Is relaxed. They contend yon hare to get rid of the trade either by purchaser or by prohibition before there can be any safety. "The future, of course, will show whether this set of theories is really correct. But, personally, I believe the only right and prac tical solution in England is moderate and reasonable control. The temperance party has got te be temperate if it desires to achieve big results and maintain the level already achieved." Then be allowed me the most convincing statistic one could ask for. The more Im portant on U a-, uced with till article .-, 'i",:it ' LORD D'AEERNON ON DRINKING. : , . Lijht wines are better than tpiriU. Regulation has achieved better results in England than prohibition Light beer ia healthier than heavy beer. . in any similar period and area. Drink that cockta'l after or daring dinner, not bcfor. The evils of excess drinking are disappearing in Eng'and. Regulation is physiological rd scientific and satisfactory. England does not went prohibition, nor will there be prohibition. In tabulated and chart form, hut all are so important I want to refer briefly.. to' them here For Knglnnd and Wales convictions for drunkenness unirng males decreased from lo.-i.ll2 In 1!H3 to 21.'-:17 lu WIS SO per cent. In the same urea conviction for drunkenness aniont; femal.-s 'decreased from 3T).7(io in 11)13 to 7.222 in l!)!8,' or about SO la-r cent. 1 , ' Deaths from Hlcobolism arao::g males In England and Wales decren-cil from 1.112 hi 1013 to 222 lu 11118, or about SO percent. Deaths from alcoholism among females lu the same five years decreased from 71U to 74. or about 00 per cent. , Cirrhosis and" Its decrease .constitute a convincing study, but it must be. renifiii: bercd that It is a more itaidlons and more i slowly moving result of ; driiikihjr; which necessarily requires a greater length of time to show an improvement of coui X parative dimensions. Xevertheleks. deaths from cirrhosis among nuilns. In England' . and Wales decreased from 2,215 In 1UU to 1,092 in 1018, or ubout 50 per cent, while; deaths among females lu the same period . fell from 1.6U5 to 57!), or about 05 per cent. Attempted suicides, which are; blamed (. by prohibitionists largely upon the use of DRINK FIGURES THAT TELL THE TALE. ENGLAND AND WALES (MALES). ! i 1913. .1914. 1915. 1916. ,1917. 1918. Convictions for Drunkenness . .. .153,112 146,517 102,600 62,946 ' 34,103 '21,797 Deaths from Alcoholism ...... 1,112 1,136 867 620 . 353 - 222 Deaths from . Cirrhosis ....... 2,215 2,226 2,107 1,823 1,473 1,092 Attempted Not Suicides ........ 1,458 1,336 792 5C9 483 Available Control Board, Years 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17. 17-18 18-19 Cases of Delirium r :'''' ' - Tremens in Poor , , v : p)0( Law Infirmaries . . 572 . . . 457 233 r 123 28. Available ENGLAND AND WALES (FEMALES). " ' , 1913. 1914. 1915. 1916. 1917. 1918. Convictions for , Drunkenness .... 35,765 37,311 33,211 21,248 12,307 7,222 Deaths from Alcoholism 719 680 584 333 222 74 Deaths from Cirrhosis 1,665 1,773 1,525 1,163. 808 579 Attempted , iot - Suicides 968 1,049 816 436 452 Available Suffocation of Infants 1,226 1,233 1,021 . 744 704 557 Control Board, Years ;.. 13-14 14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18 18-19 C e a e s of Delirium Tremens in Poor . Not - Law Infirmaries .. "' 214 ' . 239 123 45 6 Available liquor, dropped in four years In England ami Wales among males from 1.4."8 to 4fc8, or about ti."i per cent, while ninou? females the decrease was from Otis to 432. or nb iut 50 per cent. ' Suffocation of infants, shown In the Eng land and Wales table for females, fell from 1 2i iu 11)13 to 557 in 1D13. or more than EO per cent. .: j Most striking of all are !ths figures for de lirium tremens, which only tfca infirmaries could ' aceurate!y , give. 'In the five year period cases' of deKrium tremens among -w.alcs in poor law infirmaries decreased from. 72 to 26. or about 95 per cent, white an:ong fer.".a!s3 ll.e decreare was frcm 214 to 6, or about 7 percent. Ihe Ktaticlics tor Scotland emphatically tell the same story, 'iiow have tlra statistics affected the wholesale and retail trade;';" I asked. "The brewing and license trade." he re plied.' "have never done well before. They have found they can, sell In shortened hours enough to make a profit greater than they made In the longer ieriod of seveuteeu hours dally which prevailed before the war. The scientific limitation of hours for the drinking public' means' a concentration of the liquor trade's efforts. This concentra tion enables them to mukc a greater pro portionate profit, due to the lightening of expenses. They much prefer the six or seven hour day it was six hours during the war and only recently has Increased to seven to the seventeen hour day. Also they have much less trouble with drunken ness aiuoug their customers. "They possibly dissemble their love for the Central Control Board, but It hardly can be doubted tliut lore must he ut the bottom of their hearts for conillt.'ons which give the in au easier life and a better profit. Of course, the organization of the trade Is still lnierfect and could be Im proved further." . "What," I asked, "are the central and guiding principles of the restrictions!" "They are largely physiological and scientific," be replied, and then para phrased the findings of science In the plain language of the street. "Less liquor means less drunkenness and disease. Lessening the number of hours one may drink lessens drinking. Breaking the hours, or. as we say, 'broken hours,' means less likelihood of one becoming Intoxicated, because the saloon Is closed and the drinker Is In .the street or bock at his work or on hta way homo, as nothing can le obtained after three o'clock ,lu the afternoon or ten o'clock at nlgbt." "; Lord D'Abenion'a position on, drinking with meals la this: Drinking spirits Is never good for one. hut it does less harm If taken with food. He does not quarrel with ' those who prefer beer and light wines, par ticularly If they partake only with meals. He does not uphold the so-called "strong drink," which ragea, or "demon rum." He la trying to educate the people of England to forego the heavy and more harmful drinks for the lighter and less alcoholic, convinced by science a nil physiology that the milder beverages are near akin to food. "Drinking at meal time Is much the bet ter way," he said.. "Take the cocktail. It seems to me that the cocktail is the most injurious alcoholic drink one can take, for two reasons. First. It Is too strong. Then, It strikes for the stomach and nervous sys- tem at the worst possible moment, before one has taken food. But If people luslst upon their cocktail, then by all means why not take It after or even during the meal? It would be much less harmful than before, and on au empty stomach." 1 think Lord D'Abemon's views on the cocktail epitomize In a way his views on the stronger drinks. He is going at this re form business In a practical way, and a way more likely to succeed without antago nizing people by drastic prohibition. He believes education and systematic warning will lesacu the evils of drink, whereas aud deu und complete prohibition would make countless enemies of those who, though not Scaring particularly for liquor, object to the principle of coercion. Then he explained that the necessary time every one requires for eating cutji dhwn Just that much the time left for drink ing, so that If one eats a normal meal und drinks a little with It there remains neither much of a desire nor much of an opportu nity to Indulge In only liquor. "Is tbnre any considerable pressure," I asked, "to return to the pre-war arrange ment of longer hours and unrestricted drin klug?" "There is none whatever." he emphati cally replied. "Those who enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages in moderation and those who take such drinks as a "part of tbelr food realize that restricting the sale and purchase of liquor to meal time enables the vast majority of people to obtain all they need and . yet prevents those who should not have It at all times getting it. They have absolutely no fault to find. Those who sell liquor In the restricted hours, as I have said, make better money for their effort, so Ibey have no objec tion." Thus it would appear that the English method, while scrupulously trying to keep) liquor from those who should not have it, and apparently succeeding in that purpose, takes into account with commendable far sif htedness and fairness the personal liber ties snd likes of the overwhelmingly great majority of people upon whom such drastic remedial measures as prohibition would con stitute a grave injustice. Furthermore, the British authoritlea recognize In beer, for Instance, a food qual ity which no one has .bad the temerity here to say la not good for the laborer, the shipbuilder and the coal miner. The study of beer and labor In Englauu baa been deep, thorough and convincing one, ant any movement which endanger the beet .supply of the great working class I taV . nounccd with equal vehemence popularly and scientifically. Only a few day ago the barrelnge was raised from 20,000,000 to 2H.0n0.0fK annually. True It Is that It re quired a few scenes of disorder to lead the Food Administration to quick 1 action, but no oue seriously doubted that the increase from war time barrelnge was only a mat ter of a few week. . Knglnnd bas her liquor troubles, despite the satisfactory general principles guiding regulation. Those troubles generally centre about adequate supply and quality. Both those subjects have been satisfactorily dis posed of now, but some of the factor present In the settlement show which way the wind blows In England ou the subject of liquor. And the wind blow at a stiff, almost hurricane, velocity. ' '" ' The new beer ia weaker than the pre-war stuff, but heavier than that brewed during ' the war. As with moat of the other regula tions on the subject, the quality of the beer was compromised. The government ba auctioned a gravity, or, a w might say In America, an alcobolje percentage, which seems to be generally satisfactory. Any way, the sensation of tasting better beer than was had during the war has dimmed the recollection of still heavier beer In 1013, so every one Is happy, and the beer 1 lighter and scientifically better. On the question of barrelage the delay In Increasing It brought forth several na ' toward Incidents. Despite the short hours many '"pubs" used up their beer supplies long before closing time. Such tactic did not suit some of the laboring and manu facturing centres, so there resulted a series of "over-the-bar" episodes, In which men leaped the mahogany furniture and con . flscated whatever seemed fit to drink. It 1 remarked that It requlrea at leaat three readings In the House of Commons to get action on government business, but tbat three requests In the House are not nearly so effective as jumping over the bar and getting what you deatre. After the press reported several such Incidents Messrs. Clynes and Roberts, of the Food Admin istration, favored the House and the nation with the announcement of the barrelage Increase. So the beer flow and content- ' nient reigns. Frankly, England fears to take away the ' working man's beer, a wholesome fear that etber nations may learn to respect before this prohibition issue is settled. - England has no fault to find with the character and Intent of the principles upon which the restrictions are baaed, but It doe not at all tlmea like the way the legislative branch of the government put those prin ciples Into effect When yon hear of an Issue In Englnnd over liquor you ran safely , put It down as an argument over decree of Interpretation of the general method, not over the scheme Itself. In conclusion I would like to present an extract from an editorial In the Times which succinctly summarize what Lord D'Abernon and bis cohort are trying to do. and also expresses that great nowa paper's frank commendation of the man and his work: . "The principles of Lord D'Abernon' de crees, which bare undoubtedly tuned up national efficiency In these year of crisis, would a piiea r to be these:- . "First To encourage the taste for the less alcoholic drlnka. for light beers In pref erence to the heavy and for light wine over spirituous drinks. . . "Second To discourage drinking except at meals or In connection with some legiti mate social occasion. "Third To rob drinking of Its grossncss by associating It a far as possible with rational pleasures and relaxations. H "These principles will take ua a very long way If they are carried out lu a liberal aud enlightened fashion." ; " Antiquated Transports. The buffalo of th East, ah ls a domestlo animal, is used in transport service equally with the familiar ox, rrom which he la easily distinguishable by his low set, down curving ward l mU"1 c,rr, almost stralgli.t for- People who are obliged to travel by buffalo cart : are deserving of sympathy, tor the buflalo is the slowest of all draught beasts. It is his great strength that glvee him the advantaae over the ox. The load that a single yoke ef buffaloes will pull is astonishing. In India they are always riven the kind of load whlck Isi eseigned to drayhorses bare, ordinary borse work, except passenger traffic, jslsj per formed by the humped oxen, known ess I s aai s as snbus- Indla. indeed. Is the native home ef th aaaV falo, and It still exists there aa a wild anlaasu. Very wild indeed It Is, too, and an old wan I Very apt to attack, unprovoked, contrary js the usual custom of almost all wild animal. Even Its tame descendants retain plenty ot spirit. It la said that when in a herd they d not fear the tiger, and a recognised method of ceUlns "atrlps" to bolt when he bas taken to cover Is to drive In a herd of buffaloes to rout htm out, which they will do to a certainty if they et on hla scent. Even tame buffaloes can make themselves very unpleaaant to people they do not know, and they are not at all safe for a Westerner to approach In India, but, and here appears the moat attractive side ot their characte-. they display toward their owners a faithful, neas one usually associates rather with dors than with cattle. , The true Indian buffalo la to a (Teat extent an aquatic animal and when off duty likes nothing so much as to Us up to Its ears ia water, but, like tha duck. It can If necenry resign Itself to existence wlthput a batii. That an animal so nearly naked of protect oj hair as It Is should thrive In so oold a ctmnte aa that of Eastern Europe la a remarkable fact of acclimatisation. tta preaence In Italy la less surprising, but even there Its Introduction seems to he merely of medieval date. Scientifically, th tame buf falo Is of Interest as having. Ilka the ass. varied so little from th wild type. .