276 The Diary of a Drug Fiend
evils would immediately arise? Remember the food
restrictions during the war.”
“ By Jove, I never thought of that,” I said, as a
hundred half-forgotten incidents bounced into my
mind. There were all sorts of stratagems for dodging
the regulations, on the part of people who in the
ordinary way were plain straightforward law-abiding
citizens.
“Of course, we must have restrictions about love
and drink and drugs. It is quite obvious how frightfully
people would abuse their liberty if they had it.”
“I’m sorry to have to disagree,’ said Lamus. “ And
as you know, I’ve got into endless trouble of one sort
or another for holding the views I do. But I’m afraid
I do honestly think that most of the troubles spring
directly from the unnatural conditions set up by the
attempts to regulate the business. And in any case,
the state of mind brought about by them is so harmful
indirectly to the sense of moral responsibility that I
am really not sure whether it would not be wiser in the
long run to do away with the Blue laws and the Lizzie
laws altogether. Legislative interference with the
habits of the people produces the sneak, the spy, the
fanatic, and the artful dodger. Take finance! Swindling
has become a fine art, and is practised on a gigantic
scale in ways which would have been impossible when
there were no laws intended to protect the public.”
' It was a very strange view to take. I could hardly
believe that Lamus was serious; and yet it did seem
to me that the modern criminal millionaire was actually
assisted by the complexity of the Company laws. It is
impossible for the plain man to understand them, so
that an unscrupulous man armed with expert knowledge
is much more likely to get the better of his unwary
fellows than in the old days when his activities were
confined to thimble-rigging and pulling favourites.
“Oh, Basil,’ put in Maisie, ‘‘ do tell our friends what
you were saying the other day about the South Sea
Islands.”