METHYLATED SPIRIT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 205, 24 May 1919, Page 2

METHYLATED SPIRIT

DRINKING HABIT ON THE INCREASE

\ POLICE STATEMENTS IN. - ENGLAND

Tho drinking of methylated spirit by women, described . as. "an- increasingvice,'' was di6cussr.d recently by'tlio Liv-' erpo<»L Licensing Committee,-with a'view to the Government taking, action. It was stated tlfat the practice was mainly prevalent umongst women in tlio poorer districts,. and that tile.. conditions of things was deplorable. A resolution- was unanimously passed .in favour of a memorial being sent to-the Homo-.'Offioo oil the subjeot. - ' -:

Inquiries .subsequently .niado"iii! Livoi'-' ; pool showed that tlio evil complained of. is not a new ond in Liverpool, nor, for the matter of that, in other largo centres of population iu Great Britain. During tho last teir years there have -been cases -reported in several pliwes. ' The practice was originally confined lo furnituro polishers, who uso tho spirit in tiieiibusiness. and it has sprea'd a little iu other directions; Apparently, however," there has'been no outbreak of suclrpiagnitudo at the' present, one "in' 'Liverpool.' In October last tho Head -Constable reported that tho drinking of methylated" spirit- by : women had : greatly- increased. Die matter had been previously referred 1 to the Liquor" Control Board '' by "the police, but. the board was advised -that it had no power to impose restrictions on the sale and supply of the spirit. . The Licensing Committee then : passed a resolution calling'the attention of' tho Home OHice to "the tcrriblo effect? of tlio drinking of such epirit,' asking for drastic action, and suggesting -tliat a regulation bo made under tho Defence of' the liealm Act affecting tho sale, distribution. and consumption of tho spirit, similar in principle to the'orders of the Liquor Control Board relating to ordinary spirits. Practically ' nothing' came of the resolution. The Liverpool police report an increase in tho number of cases since. October, ijnd are disposed to look upon'tlin matter as one of some, gravity It can scarcely bo gauged by the number of cases which come into the open, ! for most, of it is bolieved to lie secret drinking. 'Ilie vice appeal's to bo prevalent in a number of districts,particularly in Scotland lioad, Everton, and about tlio docks, and it is the opinion of experienced police officers that the drinking is not confined exclusively to ' tho poorer classes. In the ; eight mouths ending October soino twenty women- wero arrested in the streets in' one division alone for this form of drunkenness; Tho women ranged in age-from eighteen to forty-five, and many of them'wero married and had young-children. In one case tho arrested woman had six children. The Sale and Purchase, : Insanity is on© of tho results of. drinking methylated spirit, but before noting tho general effect something must , hs said of tho composition and sale Of .thn spirit, There are .two i; kinds, mineral and industrial. Both are.sold, under an excise license, which gives powers of- in-, speotion, but the iiidystriiii variety can only be sold wholesale, ami this particu. lar branch of the.business is entirely outside tho drinking range. Tho mineral spirit is sold by chcmists and by oil nud paint dealers. No complaint has been made of the sale by chemists, for peoplo who buy methylated spirit from chemists are rigorously examined .and have to produco evidence that the spirit is lequired fur a legitimate purpose. .'According to the evidence brought-before thoLicensing Committee, .tho oil and 'plaintdealers appear to be mainly responsible. Although under tlio Spirits Act of 1880 they aro liable to a fine Lof .£11)0 if they sell methylated ,spirit as a-beverage, tho complaint is that they do not tako proper precautions. Tho shopkeepers say they aro told by purchascis that tlio stuff is .required for paint, and. that .they.' do not know it is for drinking. As ii.beverage tho spirit-is a dreadful concoction.; Ninety per cent.' consists of alcohol, from o to 10 per cent, of crudo wood llaptha, and the remainder is nauseous colouring, matter.

The effect of drinking it can be imagin-. ed. "For four or five hours," said one police officer, ''I watcbed three women arrested for drunkenness caused li.v this spirit-writhing in agony in the cells nnd trying to {ear themselves' and! their, clothes Ho bits. The doctor- was- there, but ho could do nothing." Sonio of tho victims have been sent to inebriates' homes for a term of years, and several others havo made attempts ,at suicide.. Strength of Alcohol. Why women should adopt this form of drinking is a debatable, point. The popular opinion ascribes it to. tho high price of whiskv and ordinary spirits. A Liverpool authority says': "The methylated snirit is drtiiik is beeanso of' the degree "of alcohol. . "Methylated spirit contains fiO to Gt per cent, -over-proof alcohol; the alcohol in whisky 'is 30' per cent, under-proof. Methylated - spirit is sold at 9s. 7d. a gallon; whisky at" a retailer's costs 9s. a bottle, "aild when sold in small quantities by a licensed victualler it' realises 15s. 6d. a bottle. This seems conclusive enough."-