Only Legal Liquor is Off

Home-Brew Is On In Apia!

Editor Dunleavy, Of The

Samoa Bulletin, home from s mid-November pub-crawl of the innumerable illegal “liquor joints" in Apia’s environs, with a dozen sample bottles from as many dif ferent brewers under his coat, sur rendered the potent cargo to the Health Department for analysis* What they found was both interest ing and disturbing.

The “legal” beer, sold and con trolled by the Government, has an average 5-6 per cent, alcoholic con tent. The illegal fa’amafu assayed] as low as 7.2 per cent, in one cases but ran up to 19.6 per cent, from one of the “better” houses —and was being sold freely to anyone.

The Bulletin estimates, conserv atively, that at least 125,000 bottles: of illegal grog are being consumed] per annum—as compared wit hi about 100,000 bottles sold through! legal channels. A boy of under 21 admitted that he drinks an average of 20 bottles per week.

Private brewers near Apia are turning out the local poison at frorm 20 to 100 bottles per day and sell ing it at 2/- per bottle. Widows and others are making a living fromn the industry.

This refutes utterly the claimn made by certain MLA’s during th© recent debate on liquor control im the Western Samoan Legislative Council, and shows that drinking§ is widespread amongst Samoans.* The Bulletin urges that, as inn Eastern Samoa, the people be givenn free access to a properly brewedb beer of low alcoholic content, thus

killing the illegal trade.-

Jps.

An Apia businessman, comment ing on Mr. Dunleavy’s discoveries** describes them as exaggerated. Hee said that there is no serious liquon problem apparent in Samoa, nor ise there any evidence of serious crimes which may be ascribed to over indulgence in home-brewed beer..: Figures supplied in the report aree wild guesses without any founda tion in fact. Court records* show a very low incidence of alco holic excesses. Police authorities ares taking energetic steps to keep thes brewing and sale of home-brew under control.