DRINK CONTROL.

Otago Witness, Issue 3400, 14 May 1919, Page 59

DRINK CONTROL.

THE CARLISLE EXPERIMENT. HOW IT WORKED IN 1918. The Carlisle experiment in liquor administration, as conducted during the year 1918, and" affecting an area of 300 square miles, with a population of 115,000, is dealt with in their report, just issued. As compared with 1916, there has been a net reduction of 50 in the number of licenses in Carlisle, or 42 per cent. In the country districts it has been the aim of the Control Board to leave at least one licensed house where there were formerly two or more in a village, together with a reasonable number of wayside houses on the main roads. At the end of the year the board were carrying on the retail sale of intoxicants in Carlisle and district in 164 managed houses, while 57 of their houses were still under tenants, more than half of these being outside the controlled area. Restrictions and Rations.—

The prohibition of the sale of spirits on Saturdays continued during the year to have excellent results, but, along ■with (Sunday closing, this restriction had recently been removed, because differentiation from the rest of England was no longer necessary, owing to the cessation of hostilities and the partial closing of the Gretna factory.

The drastic restriction of supplies of beer and spirits made necessary a system of rationing. More successful, however, had been the board's experiments with their food

taverns such as the Gretna and London, while their dining rooms in five- remodelled houses had met a real demand. Reduction of Drunkenness. — The rise and fall jn the number of convictions for drunkenness in Carlisle for the past four years are shown bv the following record":—l9l4, 275; 1915, 277; 1916, 953; 1917, 320; and 1918, 80. The rise followed the coming of the navvies. During the second half of 1916 the number of navvies remained practically stationary, but the convictions dropped by 31 per cent. Reviewing the experiment as a whole, Sir Edgar Sanders claims that it has been a success, not only financially but also by attaining its main object, which was to increase the economic efficiency of the Gretna workers. The policy of the board had been "fewer and better houses." Sir Edgar adds his own . criticism i " Whatever be its fate, the 'Carlisle experiment' will have left its mark on the social history of this country. It has shown that the liquor trade can be carried on, subject to reasonable regulations, without detriment to the well-being of the community, and without undue interference with the liberty, tastes, and preferences of the large mass of the adult population. It has shown that the transfer from private ownership to public control can be carried through without undue friction and without loss to the national exchequer. Above all, it has offered a new solution of the problem of intemperance." !