| 59. "The French drink too much." The French think we do. You very rarely see a Frenchman drunk. They don't go in for whiskey. They have never liked cocktails. They are a wine-drinking people: they have a right to be - French grapes and wines are among the best in the world. In 1942, $1,130,000,000 was spent in the U.S. in retail liquor establishments. In 1939, there were 135,934 drinking places doing an annual business of $1,385,032,000. The Economic Almanac of 1944-45 states that in 1937, 5.1% of our per capita outlay was spent on alcoholic beverages. |