“Tube Of Toothpaste, A Book, And Quart Of Whisky For 26/6”

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1934, Page 3 (Supplement)

“Tube Of Toothpaste, A Book, And Quart Of Whisky For 26/6”

TOO MUCH LIQUOR IN UNITED STATES

SPECULATORS in whisky, gin, and other imported “antidotes” to prohibition are facing heavy losses owing to the rapid accumulation of stocks which cannot be unloaded on the public (writes the San Francisco correspondent of the “Daily Mail”).

It is estimated that in San Francisco alone 200,000 cases of wellknown brands of Scotch whisky are lying in warehouses awaiting purchasers.

They are likely to remain there, to the discomfiture of distillers and their shipping agents in Great Britain, because the retailers are expecting lower prices and also a reduction in the present import duty of 35/- a gallon. Not So Thirsty. Therefore, they refuse to take over stocks bonded at the prevailing rates. Ships are arriving weekly with additional cargoes and storage space is at a premium. The truth is that America’s historic thirst is being assuaged—at least so far as this coast in concerned—by a much smaller consumption of spirits than was believed possible. . Off-licence shops stocked from floor to ceiling with every kind of liquor have sprung up in San Francisco in such profusion that almost every other building in the shopping and theatre centre seems to be a “museum” for the display of strange and exotic exhibits marked “Old Scotch,” with here and there a familiar trade mark of undoubted authenticity, all with price tabs attached and backed by alluring slogans calculated to break down the sales resistance of suspicious customers. Crowds collect at the show windows and stare curiously at the lofty, pyramids of bottles of all sizes bearing fancy names born of a lively imagination that has drawn upon the beauties of Scotland the flowers of England, and even distinguished names in “Lloyd’s Register.” But the majority of window-gazers remain outside while the counters within are patrolled by idle salesmen.

At midnight, when the cinemas are emptying, homeward-bound patrons pause only long enough to admire the labels with their pledges of “Fifteen /years in the wood” and “Guaranteed genuine old.” Chemists’ shops have been transformed beyond recognition. A Scotsman gazed in stupefaction at this mixture of whisky, face lotions, books, and drugs. He asked the price of a bottle of his favourite brand and found his reason tottering when the chemist said, “You can have the quart size with a large tube of/ ’s toothpaste and a new copy of Roget’s Thesaurus for 26/6.” Grocers with off-licences will quote

you a combination price for Scotch whisky and new potatoes or a certain internationally known gin, bloaters, and a choice of cheeses. It seems that whisky is so plentiful that its acquisition in bulk is no longer a popular feat. Drinking is now a fairly sober pastime. No Heavy Drinking.

A tour of the new bars at cocktail time proves this. They are elaborately fitted in the conventional way, but many have cafe lounges attached, which clients prefer to standing at the rail as in the old days. The hotels are trying with indifferent success to revive the lost art of

dining out. Under Prohibition this form of hospitality dwindled away, the hotels’ only revenue from this source being week-end parties engaged in the serious and continuous absorption of bootleg alcohol. Comparatively few private cellars have teen restocked, which is one reason for the glut of imports. There seems no prospect of the distillers or their agents in Britain making the huge profits they anticipated until the market is readjusted to meet the current demand. Job No One Wanted.

A British resident told me that he had received a request from a wellknown Leith firm to try to get them an agent to market their products here.

After canvassing the city he had to reply that he was unable to find anyone willing to lose time and money in such an effort. The Federal Government will permit the unlimited importation of liquor until September l>by which time, according to members of the trade here, there will be more than enough Scotch in America to last the country for years to come.