A STUDY OF MASSACHUSETTS NO-LICENCE.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVI, Issue 43082, 16 April 1907, Page 1

A STUDY OF MASSACHUSETTS NO-LICENCE.

* -.» —~ -m —" bT chasT hJ. Roberts, m.p. r| , “When, however, the policy §1 .of a given oity or town is | changed twelve months, a comparison of arrests under Cadh be made with- 3; oiit the misleading element, io— ail#d” In| 1895, AWbf the changed <$ theirlibelifhgjpolicy, and the yhUtifflfHg'ffigures are given || by this Report! (p* 259'hshowing the arrests per month olties during the > period Cf' LiCedce and~~the NoLicehotfie'speefively Average number of arrests v|§ for drunkennes during,^

cities .. 600’50 223*76 ; Again, if complete Licence | years are compared with preeed- | mg"oiTsuccessive" No-Liceiice | years in thp the same | result is The follow- | iug offioiajHable shows for the Jj mamiflctuVe city of Waltham i (populatioS.'• 26,282 in 1905) the arrests month ! by i-mdhth | under the 'different regimes:— ; - (l)Ft6m ? 26 < teport of the. . Bureau of' Statistics of - , Labour foK,- v l£96\ i DocumentNo... 4o, p 4ob. | Oity of" Waltham Arrests fob -1 ria Month. I No-licence N ;?l -YeAr* Year Year . -m

Proportion . per4,ooo of r.V# population 9'4 27*0 7 6 | Nor is thisTthe'experience of a iikgfe * year in .the city o Waltham has had five License f ? yeaf¥ l:i aiid : nine u " No-Licence. I The average arrests for drunken- % nessiiTthe Licensed' years are y i; 833; arifi."Jfi tlm ! No-Licence i years 230^3 : per : annum. The '■§ licensedyears were.from 1891 to ! The‘ increased 35.8 per cent in the tea’y&ltS L bdtweeifjl§9s ; and -t 1905, put the average drunkenness fell 72 percent under the No.-Licence system. Seeing" that • thfere is much confirmatory, evidence to thS w- “ same effect from Salem, ‘ Brocks ton, Chelsea, and; .other cities, M it may be said without hesitat ion that the "police ' arrests for 3 drunkenness are reduced. by • No-Licence to one-ibird of their former totals. The majority |J report of our Licensing I Commission laid it down in anj often quoted sentence that in | England, in spite of all improve* i mapt, “there remained a gigant © .evJH, and hardly 'any sacrifice would «be too great ; that would '% result In a marked diminution of a .national degradation.” The report, did not ,regard the | complete abolHloh 'of the evil . as in Npaware of | the facts would ei&jm that No-, || Licence could- - abolish them .1 entirely. But there seems little doubt that; if it were sefiouslv amarked diminutioh ,, would follower' in England, as in Massachusetts, from the adoption of the No-Licence Y The growth in wealth is a remarkable 'as the diminution intemperance. It is, of course ?| Hat would be on paper * ecterd. A ' lessened !f drink bill i mplies the diversion of large sums 1 into other 5 channels of trade in, d productive industry. ;r some port*’ oll of theße mone y s might be e. : *° find its' . way into, be, 'tor'houseb; some ; portion o» f *th' 1 appear in the inoreased: deposit* 9 «f &» savings banEs.*’" ' > J4SS PJd bo continued,) ___

the period' of • ui Licence No-licence sjl Haverhill 81-63-20-50 -.;m Lynn .. 315-00 117-63 ' s?| Medford 2012 13-25 Pittsfield 93-25 36 75 Salem! ' 140 50 29 63 Total for five ’’ 1

V„, 1899-1000. 190Q-I.; 1901-2. June,, t .. 16 34 9 * 27 / f *A 24;?.. 78 ' 65 14, - 18 • .4 September 17 1 48 14 >v 23. 66 19 November 0 *' 15 . 49 ° 30 ; January' -m ' 49 / . 41 12 ‘ • 9 ; February 16 i , 41 11 March .. 12.4: 59..: 12 April < 25 g 50 . 17 • May 22 111 * . 57, 14 • <-§ Total for year 221 634 - 179