When a national referendum last month defeated Prohibition by 3½ to 1 (TIME, Jan. 11), Finland's Cabinet was faced with a serious problem: to legalize liquor traffic and provide machinery to control it before spring, when reopening of navigation would make it feasible for smugglers to resume their operations. Last week the new bill was ready for Parliament to vote on. Key points:
1) In charge of Finland's liquor traffic will be a control board of seven members selected for three years by the Cabinet.
2) Right to manufacture, import and sell liquor will go to a monopoly company which, after obtaining consent of the control board, will issue manufacturing permits and licenses to retailers, hotels, restaurants.
3) Restaurants must sell liquor at cost. Instead of a profit on their liquor sales, the control board will pay them sums proportionate to their sales of commodities other than liquor.
4) Private liquor dealers will not be permitted to advertise.
5) Home-brewing (which goes on in Finland at the rate of 500,000 gallons annually) will be legal, taxfree.