From ‘Food and Drink’, The Spectator, 26 June 1915:
The Government have been completely beaten by the trade in their attempts at prohibition. But are they justified at the present time in allowing this great waste of food to continue ? Even if in this the trade is strong enough to beat them, as it probably is, the people of the country can do what the Government cannot do to check this abuse. They are unable to face the question of compensation, but if every loyal citizen followed the example of the King and refrained from alcohol during the progress of the war, the compensation question would be answered in a way eminently satisfactory to the nation, however unsatisfactory to the trade. The writer has never been an advocate of prohibition. He does not believe that people can be made virtuous by legislation. But there is no doubt that the present is not the time for converting the necessaries of life into a mere luxury, and certainly more work could be got out of our workers were they saved from the temptation to drink. Nor does giving up the use of alcohol mean any sacrifice. Those who, like the writer, have been accustomed to take it daily for many years may fear some evil effect from its discontinuance. But they may rest assured that they will experience no inconvenience. It is a most trivial act of self-denial. The well-to-do have talked much about the virtue of self-denial. Will they practise it in this, and thus help the country in its life-and-death struggle?
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