Prohibition in Canada

Prohibition in Canada I'.V E. PINGREE TANNER July 1, 1916, marked the beginning of a new era in the history of Alberta, from a moral standpoint, at least the night pre- ; vious, at ten o'clock, every bar in the Province was closed permanently, and the right to traffic in the liquor trade, passed from the individual to the Government, which operates only two dispensaries, located at Calgary and Edmondton. This splendid condition was brought about through the energetic efforts of the Alberta Temperance and Moral Reform League, after spending thousands of dollars in getting the required number of signatures attached to a petition, to the Provincial Government. The legislators at Edmondton immediately passed what is known as the Liquor Act, which was referred to the people for their approval or rejection. A heated contest at the polls followed, and all the liquor interests made a frantic endeavor to sustain their ill-begotten business an overwhelming de- ; feat was meted out to them, the majority of the people realizing that through the proper exercise of their suffrage a deadly blowcould be delivered to the monstrous demon. The Liquor Act, while not entirely prohibitory, has such powers for the curtailment of rum, that it is impossible to obtain intoxicants unless shipped in from outside the Province. During the month of July, the first month that the Act went into effect, not a single arrest for drunkenness was recorded in the city of Lethbridge, with its 12,000 population although previous to this each day brought its usual quota of drunks before the police magistrate. Business men, especially owners of clothing stores, testify of greatly increased sales, one instance is recorded of where a man, not being able to purchase intoxicants with his pay check, went to a clothing store with his family and outfitted them entirely with needed clothing. The Latter-day Saints in Alberta are watching with keen interest the great awakening that is taking place in regard to prohibition in LTtah, and believe that the pledging of the prospective law makers, to sustain the people's wants will be the means of striking at the root of the tree, and that our Mother State, will be relieved of being the dumping ground of criminals, through no longer countenancing the saloon with its attendant evil elements. MAGRATH, CANADA