METHYLATED SPIRIT.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16532, 26 May 1919, Page 8

METHYLATED SPIRIT.

POLICE STATEMENTS IN

ENGLAND,

Tlie drinking of methylated spirit by women, described as "an increasing vice," was discussed recently by the Liverpool Licensing Committee, with a view to the Government taking action. It was stated that the practice was mainly prevalent amongst women in the poorer districts, and that the conditions of things was deplorable. A resolution was unanimously passed in favour of a memorial being sent to the Home Office on the subject. Enquiries subsequently made in Liverpool showed that the evil complained of is not a new one in Liverpool, nor for the matter of that, in other large centres of population in Great Britain. During the last ten years there have been cases reported in several places. The practice was originally confined to furniture polishers, who use the spirit in their business, and it has spread a little in other directions. Apparently, however, there has been no outbreak of' such magnitude as the present one in Liverpool. In October last the Head Constable reported that the drinking of methylated spirit by women had greatly increased. The matter had been previously referred to the Liquor Control Board by the police, but the Board was advised that it had no potver to impose restrictions on the sale and supply of the spirit. The Licensing Commit tee then passed a resolution calling the attention of the Home Office to "the terrible effect" of the drinking of such spirit, asking for drastic action, and suggesting that a regulation bo made under the Defence of the Realm Act affecting the sale, distribution, and consumption of the spirit, similar in principle to the orders of the Liquor Control Board relating to ordinary spirits. Practically nothing camo of the resolution. The Liverpool police report an increase in the numlber of cases since October, and are disposed to look upon the matter as one of some gravity. It can scarcely be gauged by the number of cases which come into the open, for most of it is believed to be secret drinking. The vice appears to be prevalent in a number of particularly in Scotland road, Vauxhall, Everton,and about the docks, and it is the opinion of experienced police officers that the drinking is not confined exclusively to the poorer classes. In the eight months ending October some twenty women were arrested in the in one division alone for this

form of drunkenness. The women ranged in age from eighteen to forty-five. , and many of'them were married ana had young children. In one case the arrested woman had six children. THE SALE AND PURCHASE. Insanity is one of the results of drinking methylated spirit, but before noting the general effect something must be said of the composition and sale of the spirit. There are two kinds, mineral and • industrial. Both are sold under an excise license, which gives powers of inspection, but the industrial variety can only be sold wholesale, and this particular branch of the business is entirely outside tho drinking range. •The mineral spirit is sold by chemists and by oil and paint dealers. No complaint has been made of the sale by chemists, for people who buy methylated spirit from chemists are rigorously examined, and have to produce evidence that the spirit is required for a legitimate purpose. According io the evidence brought before the Licensing Committee, the oil and paint dealers appear to be mainly responsible. Although under'the Spirits Act of 1880 they are liable to a fine of £100 if they sell methylated snirit as a beverage, the complaint is that they do not take proper precautions. * The shopkeepers say they are told by purchasers that the stuff is required for paint, and that they do not know it is for drinking. As a beverage the spirit. Js a drcaiTful concoction. Ninety per cent, consists of alcohol, from 5 to 10 per cent, of crude wood naphtha, and the remainder is nauseous colouring matter. The effect of drinking it can be imagined. "For four or five hours," said one police officer, "I watched three women arrested for drunkenness caused by this spirit writhing in agony in the cells, and trying to tear themselves and their clothes to bits. The doctor was there, but he could no nothing." Some of the victims have been sent to inebriates' homes for a term of years, and several others have made attempts at suicid. i STRENGTH OP ALCOHOL.

Why women should adopt this form of drinking is a debatable point. The popular opinion ascribes it to the high price of whisky and ordinary spirits. A Liverpool authority says: "The reason methylated spirit is drunk is because of the degree of alcohol. Methylated spirit contains 60 to 64 per cent, over-proof alcohol: the alcohol in whisky is 30 per cent, under-proof-. Methylated spirit :s sold at 9s 7d a gallon; whisky at a retailer's costs 9s a bottle, and when sold in small quantities bv a licensed victualler it realises los Gel a bottle. This seems conclusive enough."