On the New York Times, 29 July 97, "op-ed" page William J. Bennett is the
author of "Face the Facts about Alcohol and Crime: Can Liquor Avoid Tobacco's
Fate."  Bennett, former director of national drug policy and a prominent
conservative political figure, argues that alcohol acts as a "multiplier" of
crime, suggests experiments in poor, high-crime neighborhoods to reduce the
concentration of places that sell liquor, and reports that the beer industry
cancelled a paid convention speech by Bennett in retaliation against his book
(with John J. Dilulio, Jr., and John P. Walters, Body Count: Moral Poverty and
How to Win America's War against Crime and Drugs."  in his next-to-the-last
paragraph Bennett says: "I have a reputation for being a conservative.  And I
am.  But conservatives need to go where the facts, not ideology, lead.  And the
facts tell usthat there is a very strong link between alcohol availability,
consumption and crime.