| Show I Finland Liquor Situation Better Since Lifting Ban State Shops Sell Under Restrictions That May lay Be Modified Mod Mod- as Improvement Sets In Prohibition Given Trial for Twelve Years and Then Abandoned S S S By MILTON BRONNER European Manager NEA Service LONDON July 20 That 20 That liberty does not mean license and abuse that jumping from a dry regime of 12 years to o controlled wetness does docs not mean Increase in crime and drunkenness has las been abundantly proved by the little ittle country of Finland Finland was dry for a length of ot time almost exactly contemporaneous with the he noble experiment in the United States Then Finland kil killed ed its prohibition 4 tion lon laws and now has been wet for forthe thC he the past two months The net result has las been steady decrease in crime and drunkenness If there is one man who should know the facts it is Baron Von Born minister for the interior in the Finnish Fin Fin- nish cabinet He has charge of the police of the nation In a recent leter letter letter let- let ter er he wrote The over change change from a dry to a wet regime shows that the people have lave been reasonably moist In other words they have been temperate There has been no increase In the abuse of drink On the other hand there here has been a substantial and very gratifying decrease Even men and women who were ardent drys have told old me that they have been agreeably agreeably agreeably agree agree- ably disappointed DRINK 5 SITTING G DOWN DOWNTon Ton For one thing our people always have been horizontal drinkers whereas where as asia in America and England they main- main y have been perpendicular In our country we never had bars and dont don't have them now Drink is served publicly only in restaurants Itis t is not necessary to buy a meal but buthe the he drinker sits down gets his drink sips it reads his paper chats with his friends The new experiment has been such sucha a success that if it the statistics keep on telling the same slime cheering tale we probably will do away gradually with various restrictions State liquor shops are now open only from 10 a. a m. m to 3 p. p m. m for the sale of bottled goods which card card- holders may t take ke away to their homes They are closed every Saturday Sunday Sunday Sun Sup day and Monday as well as on days preceding and following all aU holidays STILL HAVE DAVE SMUGGLERS Though Finland has swung over over from the dry to the wet column it Is still profitable to smuggle whisky schnapps vodka and other spirits into the country For one thing the smugglers can CaD sell at a lower price than is demanded demand demand- ed in the state monopoly shops Tor For another thing handlers of smuggled goods sell at all hours I The Finnish government however expects very shortly to put a fu full full stop to the smuggling business Its fleet of four tour seaplanes Is throttling the racket Before planes were brought into action the vast indented coast gave powered high motorboats motor the edge on the slower and heavier government revenue cutters The seaplanes seaplanes sea sea- planes can go anywhere the motorboats motorboats motorboats motor- motor boats cap and then some Finland taking a leaf out of Amer Amex AmerIcas AmerIca's Americas America's ica's leas book also has enacted a law permitting Finnish authorities to search foreign vessels moving in international in international international in- in waters if suspected of carrying on smuggling Into Finland The 12 mile 12 mile law of ot the United States was the model for tor Finland nother kind of illegal liquor traffic trat tic fie has sprung up since Finland went wet which has annoyed the authorities author ties but which they expect soon t tc to J squelch Many persons knowing that the monopoly liquor shops are aretO to be closed on cn Sundays and holidays holiday's and on the days ays preceding and following them go to the state shops and buy all the liquor that their cards entitle them to Then on holidays they sell the intaCt intact intact in in- tact bottles of at spirits to the thirsty for about twice what they paid for forit forit it As fast as these men are uncovered uncovered ered their liquor cards are confiscated conta- conta and they are no longer able to buy stuff either for themselves or to sell secretly |
