is being
dried up in the sands of government mismanagement will flow into the
hands of private industry like a river of gold.

And incidentally, when the profiteer has finished his work, we can
always put him back into the penitentiary if we like. But we need him
just now.

VIII. Is Prohibition Coming to England?

IN the United States and Canada the principal topic of polite
conversation is now prohibition. At every dinner party the serving of
the cocktails immediately introduces the subject: the rest of the dinner
is enlivened throughout with the discussion of rum-runners, bootleggers,
storage of liquor and the State constitution of New Jersey. Under
this influence all social and conversational values are shifted and
rearranged. A "scholarly" man no longer means a man who can talk well on
literary subjects but a man who understands the eighteenth amendment and
can explain the legal difference between implementing statutes such as
the Volstead Act and the underlying state legislation. A "scientist"
(invaluable in these conversations) is a man who can make clear the
distinction between alcoholic percentages by bulk and by weight. And
a "brilliant engineer" means a man who explains how to make homebrewed
beer with a kick in it. Similarly, a "raconteur" means a man who has
a fund of amusing stories about "bootleggers" and an "interesting
traveller" means a man who has been to Havana and can explain how wet
it is. Indeed, the whole conception of travel and of interest in foreign
countries is now altered: as soon as any one mentions that he has been
in a foreign country, all the company ask in one breath, "Is it dry?"
The question "How is Samoa?" or "How is Turkey?" or "How is British
Columbia?" no longer refers to the climate or natural resources: it
means "Is the place dry?" When such a question is asked and the answer
is "It's wet," there is a deep groan all around the table.

I understand that when the recent disarmament conference met at
Washington just as the members were going to sit down at the table
Monsieur Briand said to President Harding, "How dry is the United
States, anyway?" And the whole assembly talked about it for half
an hour. That was why the first newspaper bulletins merely said,
"Conference exchanges credentials."

As a discoverer of England I therefore made it one of my chief cares to
try to obtain accurate information of this topic. I was well aware that
immediately on my return to Canada