COST OF ENFORCING PROHIBITION.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17103, 26 March 1921, Page 10

COST OF ENFORCING PROHIBITION.

Sir —Your editorial comment on my last letter seems to make a response from me due, and I hope yoft will accord me space for the needful reply. . T£ou say mv figures do not agree wita the official figures given by t)he ' JSiew York Herald." My. figurei is token' from a. special article in the Christian Science Monitor,' - dated October 11th, last, in which a statement issued by William M. Williams, Commissioner of Internal Revenue, was given. _ rhei actual figure "for enforcing provisions of the prohibition law" was stated to 1m 2,100,000 dollars, which, roughly converted at five dollars to tihe pound, gives my figure, £420,000. . An important point is that while the actual deficit from revenue previously, obtained by duties on spirits, and fermented liquors was, roundly, some £63,635,000, the total revenue showed an increase of, roundly, £311,555,000.. Over £270,000,000 of this increase was derived from income and excess profits of course, are not .paid unless the income and the profits are first pocketed.' . _ . The National Association of Distillers and Wholesale Dealers, in their offici.ili handbook published in 1918, said the revenue losses would lie, roundly ; £115,000,000, .a total .compiled from losses on war revenue,, revenue to tna various States, revenue to the, various counties, revenue to the municipalities. As this figure was published t6 scare tile folks, we may safely accept it.. As will be seen above, the nation easily, found oVer £311,000,000 extra during the first, dry year, 1919-20. Ab Sir Kramer, Chief Enforcement, Officer, has observed, "We have proved that , the State does not need the revenue it formerly derived from the manufacture and sale of liquor." ' Roger W. Babson, statistician, lecturing before the New York Advertising Club, was reported -in the "New York Herald," December 10th to the effect that "Billions of dollars which, 'hitherto were spent for drink, now go into the building of homes and the buying of comforts and general merchandise." And the president of the Association of Life Insurance Presidents was reported in the "New York Tribune" as Baying that the people had bought £2,000,000,009 more insurance in 1920 than in 1919. Then the savings banks increases and economies in criminal .idministration may fairly be offset agains* any increased public expenditure on enforcement.—Yours, etc., J.M.M.