Page:EB1911 - Volume 26.djvu/612

Rh anti-intemperance.

its objects are (1) the promotion of habits of temperance, (2) the reformation of the intemperate; (3) the removal of the causes which lead to intemperance. Thus it embraces both the moral and the legislative spheres, but the former takes first place; and this was emphasized in 1909 by the inauguration of a forward movement ” in spiritual activity. On the legislative side the society supports measures of reform rather than prohibition, and particularly reduction of licences and popular control of the traffic. Its activity is many-sided; it carries on an extensive publication department and educational courses, police court and prison gate missions, missions to seamen, travelling vans, and inebriate homes, of which there are 4 for women and 1 for men. It works locally through 36 diocesan branches, of which the aggregate expenditure in 1909 was £41,353, exclusive of the central office. It has Church temperance societies in Scotland and Ireland afhliated to it, as are the missions to seamen, and it has given birth to a temperance mission for railway workers and a Churc benefit society. Its comparative moderation contrasts strongly with the extreme views of many temperance bodies. One of its departments is a semi-teetotal association, which was founded separately in 1903, but came under the society in 1904; the members pledge themselves to abstain from alcoholic liquor between meals. This department, which revives an old form of ledge, has been very successful; it is found that members frequently)y go on to take the full pledge. The total membership of the Church of England Temperance Society in 1909 was 636,233, thus distributed:-General section, 35,901; total abstainers, 114,444; juvenile members, 485,888. The enormous number of juvenile members is significant. The numerical strength of the temperance societies in general, which is often greatly exaggerated, seems to be largely made up by the juvenile contingents, so far as information is available. Other noteworthy British societies are the Royal Army Temperance Association and the Royal Naval Temperance Society. The special liability of soldiers and sailors to intemperance makes the work of these bodies particularly valuable, and it is strongly supported by the king and many officers of the greatest distinction. Very strikin results have been obtained in the army. Twenty-five per cent of the Home Forces and 42 per cent. of the Indian army belong to the association; and the movement is growing. In the navy 25,000 men have joined the Temperance Society.

Like other propagandist causes of the day the temperance movement is supported by an enormous output of literature, including books, pamphlets, leaflets and periodicals. The Alliance Yea-r Book gives a list of the latter. It names over 40 in the United Kingdom; the great majority are penny monthly magazines, but three societies conduct weekly journals-namely, the Church of England Temperance Society (Temperance Chronicle), United Kingdom Alliance (Alliance News) and the International Order of Good Templars (Good Templars' ll/titchzvord). Several Nonconformist churches have weekly papers in which temperance work is specially noted, as in the War Cry, the journal of the Salvation Army. For other countries the number of journals is iven as follows:-Australasia, I0 (one weekly): Canada, 7 (3 weekiy); India, 5; South Africa, 2; U S A 15 (2 weekly); Austria, 2; Belgium, 2; Denmark, I; France, 2; Germany, 8; Holland, 2; Italy, I; Norway, 2; Russia, 1; Sweden, 7; Switzerland, 3. The list is no doubt imperfect. In the United States newspapers of all kinds are many times more numerous than in the United Kingdom, and the American Prohibition Year Book names 21 “ leading " prohibition papers, of which 16 are weekly and 1 daily. There are probably hundreds of temperance journals in the United States.

E ect of the Tem erance Movement.-The organized agitation against the abuse an even the use of alcoholic liquors thus briefly described is a very interesting feature of social life in the present state of civilization; but when a serious attempt is made to ascertain its results the inquiry is found to be beset with difficulty. It has no doubt been largely instrumental in procuring the varied mass of legislation described in the article on LIQUOR LAWS, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom and Scandinavia; and these laws are in a sense results. Ardent advocates of legislation, who are always apt to substitute the means for the end, point to them with satisfaction. Those who demand (prohibition regard its adoption by this or that community as an en in itself and a proof of " progress”; more moderate reformers view the reduction of public-houses in the same light. Facts of this kind can be stated with precision, but they go a very little way. The real point is not the law or the number of houses, but the habits of the people, and what we want to know is the effect on them of legislation, of organization, moral persuasion and the other influences that go to make up the Temperance Movement. To this question no clear or general answer can be given. There is a good deal of information about the United Kingdom, where the subject has been much more fully studied than anywhere else, and about Norway and Sweden, but for other countnes valid data are lacking to show whether intemperance has increased or diminished. The fullest statistical evidence available relates to the consumption of drink. Consumption of Drink.

International Statistics.-In 1906 a return was (published by the British Board of Trade giving the production an consumption of alcoholic beverages in different countries for the years 1891-1905. The table on p. 581 is compiled from it. Information is also given in the returns for Spain, Portugal, the Balkan States. and South Africa, but it is very imperfect and has therefore been omitted. The only considerable movement during the 15 years covered by the table is a marked increase in the consumption of beer. It has occurred in some measure in the following countries:-Russia, Sweden, Denmark, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. The rise is notably large in Sweden, France, Switzerland, United States and Canada; and the upward movement has been particularly steady since 1898 in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Exceptions are the United Kingdom and Norway, in both of which the consumption has fallen largely and steadily since 1899. In Germany it has also fallen somewhat since 1900, but not so steadily, and over the whole period it has risen in that country. It is impossible to connect these various movements either with legislation or with temperance organization. If the fall in Norway is ascribed to them, it must be pointed out that they are much more directed against spirits than against beer in that country, and the consumption of spirits shows no such movement, having risen since 1897. No one who has studied the subject in the different countries affected can doubt that the general rise is due to the introduction and growing popularity of the light beers originally brewed in Germany and Austria, and commonly called “ lager.” This is notably the case in France, Belgium, Sweden and North America. It is an instance of the force of popular taste. The increase in beer has not been accompanied by a corresponding reduction of other alcoholic liquor. Wine might be left out of account in this connexion It is largely consumed only in countries where it is extensively grown, namely, in France, Italy and Switzerland, out of the countries enumerated. The consumption is very irregular and dependent mainly on the abundance of the crop. But the tendency of wine has also been to rise; it has risen in France, Belgium, Italy, Austria, the United States and Australia. With regard to spirits, the only general movement is that consumption has fallen in most European countries since 1900. But this does not appear to be compensatory to the rise of beer, which extends over the whole period and went on when spirits were rising too. Exceptions to the downward movement of spirits since 1900 are offered by the United States and Canada, and to a less extent by Russia, Italy and Norway. The only country in which all classes of drink have steadily fallen is the United Kingdom; this singular fact will be discussed presently, but its peculiarity should be noted here in connexion with other countries. Attempts have been made to express the total consumption of each country in terms of alcohol by allowing a certain percentage of spirit for wine and beer and reducing all three to a common denominator. The calculation yields a simple and uniform measure of comparison and permits the classification of the countries in the order of their alcoholic consumption; but it must be regarded as a somewhat arbitrary estimate, because the strength of both wine and beer varies considerably. The Brewers' Almanack gives the following table based on the returns quoted above:- Consumption of Alcohol at Proof Strength in Gallons. Annual Average per Head, 1901-5.

Wine. Beer. Spirits. Total

France 7-70 0-63 1 36 9-69

Italy. 6-27 . 0°26 6-53

Belgium. . 0-25 3-84 1 35 5-44

Switzerland. 3-35 1 - 1 1 0-96 5-42

Spain  4-62     4-62

Portugal. 4-27  4-27

Austria  0-97 I'23 2-06 4-26

Germany  0-36 2-08 1-75 4-19

Denmar    I~64 2-54 4-18

United Kingdom 0-08 2-35 0-99 3-42

Hungary '  0-97 0-12 1-89 2-98

United States 0-11 1-23 1-21 2-55

Sweden    I'O0 1-46 2-46

Australia 0-32 0-94 0-88 2-14

Holland   0-09   1-50 1- 59

New Zealand   0-74 0-69 I°43

Canada    0-40 0-85 1-25

Russia   0195 0-95

Cape. 0-12 0-75 0-87

Norway  0-25 0-60 0-85

Natal   o-05 o-37 0-42

Newfoundland  0-02 0-34 0-36

A art from the gaps in the information, which speak for themselves, allowance must be made for other defects. In no case is the nominal consumption per head a valid index to the relative temperateness of different peoples unless other conditions are fairly equal. The distribution of the drinking has to be taken into account, and this is conditioned by the age and sex constitution of the population and by the habits of the people. A country in