The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

t LIKELY: GORDON ' i Probably Effective in | May: Says Not Enough | Is Available for Demand t Probable rationing of beer in On--| tario May 1 or some time duringi that month was indicated by Hon.' A. St. Clair Gordon, chairman ofj the Ontario Liquor Control Board, | before the Legislature Public Ac--; counts Committee yesterday. Mr. Gordon said there would be "some | kimu of ration book" and said ration-- | ing would be necessary for reasons general in the Dominion. t Change of hours of sale in hotels | would require thorough study, Mr. Gordon told the committee, But he' didn't think hotels should continue | to close when their beer was gone.| Questioned by Opposition Leader George Drew, he admitted that absenteeism was caused by men quitting work to line up at beer warehouses, but he did not know on how great a scale it existed. "Drifting" to Beer. Because of restrictions on wine and liquor people were "drifting" to beer, he said. "There's isn't enough beer available for all the people who want it. There will be a shortage." "Dsesn't the workman feel he's entitled to his beer?" asked Col. Drew. "That's why we are consider-- ing rationing beer May 1 or in the month of May," replied Mr. Gordon. "Even then the public will have to co--cperate. If you can't get it today vou'll have to wait till next day. There'll have to be some form of ration book." He intimated hotel . patrons would not be rationed, but, ! as for hotel hours, he said: "Within | a few weeks we may have a scheme." | He told Col, Drew Ottawa had | not notified the board before beer | restrictions were enforced, . but 'added: "It will be a very difficult !thing to handle if there are very | severe restrictions on the manufac-- lture of beer." i Col. Drew pointed out that| | though Ottawa gave no advance notification of rationing of -- tea, | coffee, butter, etc., still those com-- 'moditios were not under control by a board in Ontario, as liquor is, 'and he felt the controller should |have been consulted. With the Federally--ordered _ re-- duction in alcoholic strength of all lliquor in Canada, Liquor Board stocks on hand had not been tam-- pered with, Mr. Gordon told the committee, and to a query from L. M. Frost (Prog. Con., Victoria), as to whether addition of water io spirits to weaken it should not have been accompanied by lower prices, "No, it's a very fair field of tax-- tion." Where alcoholic content was reduced, duties were increased, he added. Whether the present beer ware | house distribution system would be | changed or taken over by the board, Mr. Gordon said he couldn't say. Every Province had a different : system. Questioned on liquor prices, he | said a $2.60 bottle of rye whiskey | | cost 72 cents to manufacture, or : '38.60 a dozen, on which there was $11.65 Dominion Government tax. 'Col. Drew saw in such figures "some explanation for bootlegging from illicit stills."