THE CAUSE OF TEMPER ANCE.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 30, 30 October 1907, Page 11

THE CAUSE OF TEMPER ANCE.

AND COMMENTS. [The; matter in this column is supplied by a • representative ,of tho : New Zealand Alliance j and The Dominion is in no way responsible for the opinions expressed therein.]

GOTHENBURG SYSTEM CONDEMNED.

Herr Ar'vid Ulrich, Burgomastor of Sater, who. took part in the International Tomporarico'Congress at Stockholm, and who is neither'a teetotaler nor a prohibitionist, puts his views:more fully hva Swedish serial subsidised, by the .Government., ■.'..,■'. ~ . .'.

He says : "The Gothenburg system started as,.aphilanthropic to .work in tho interests^of •humanity .and;-morality, : has become'a merely, financial scheme, backed by . well-to-do people,, for. bringingliquor revenue into the.municipal.treasury! ;.,iTho greed of private :gairi which 'characterised the .former syStom; of 'private'.;pwriorship now, similarly. possesses, the, a'clministratiOn' of .tho .Gothenburg system,:.the .collective, interest in which is ■■ not 'restrained by the claims of .humanity, rior. by the; restrictions of the law,'which are infringed for'the sake of the profits accruing. Tlie'' lawbreakers''have 'been. favoured' and local, authorities ,have. been ( ' restrained by the immense 'influence of/this liquor monopoly, which has proved potent. oven.' when. the aid of.,the higher authorities has been, invoked to'require that.they .shall uphold the. laws. -MWith the State,' and the locaT: administration thus financially connected with tlioi liquor traffio; it la-no .wonder that the authorities are'lacking 'in! the.onforcemeht of the law, or that no. really radical' reform "can be effected. Endowed ivith', ; the'se'mblahc'e' of .official justice,.; morality,-arid temperance, land wearing _a glamourfof:saintliness,;'the Gothenburg'system lias degenerated into,an,unheard of humbug.' The .greed; of gain'.among.the well-to-do is their real' interest in' 1 the .Gothenburg system, with morality, as the'stalking-horse.' The'Gothenburg system, is the; kiss of Judas. It 'creates'a erne) lust' for which it/gathers in''iifidor'the ; insolent, pretence of morality'.'| Th'is : ; pry;,of inorality.Jn connection with this! liquor system has 'a, spurious, ring about it, .though; It-,makes niore-noise than anything else-in-our day... <'...: r,'>.•••_ ' : '•'Anyone hearing!the splendid theories of the Gothenburg system described would think well' of'it,-' until '.made \a'cquaftted'with,the actual state of things!;. The Gptnonburg sy'sr tem.. was'!' to 'promoted morality,; but.'the! oppqsitei is 'tho];r6sult?';' .Disorder,.confusion-, dopra-., vity,and ; lawlessness aro'engendereU under the shelter., oF!,that system. ; Where the local administration is financially linked with the ii-: quor .traffic there grows, :as: a consequence,: a dangerous disposition to disregard 'the laws! of tneiland.' 'Tho great; though questionable,' profits allocated' under : this . system hinder tho reforms which the !people'deoni necessary for their own social progress. The temperance, people are solidifying in respect to these matters, and.a revolution is taking pjaco in public opinion. Many now, realise that it is shameful beyond expression to uphold a system which ;■ sucks' the' 'blop'd 1 of the working' classes, for' the sake 'of ,'the .monetary: profit's.. ,s"The Gothenburg .'system' is..a,,sejf-righte-ous, Jselfrlovihg; .system,,; whjch .'stains .and : spoils authorities.,as well, as .individuals. It. has awoiiderful.power, of silencing the voice of .conscience,, and* of /casting a rosy glamour oyer. itsVoynical Egotism:;'-It. loudly, proclaims that it 'is in the. interests ; of morality, 'but'its honour and morality are of • such'a kind as disregards both justice aridhumanity. Of the Gothenburg system,can only.'be said,fas has beenjsaid of, other, profitable egotisms, .that 'It ! has' God '.in.thci eyej ~but. the.Deyir.in, the fiiigers!'."!:!".'. ,",,.' ',!.■,!,'„ '",'.-.'■:■,',■.?.■■,: ,' ',' i •"'.

.'■' ;.h6w«to' LENGTHEN, YOTJB'-DAYS.- 1 ■' Figures/which; go to .show; th'atV.men/ who dfink'alconol.livelonger/thahjthosa Who don't may ;be,,regarded as .'Wmic,",but these: are seriously'quoted byi.the brewers' as /'commonsense'! ; -reason; Jf 6. ril7. ,'J'ho . explanation is, briefly, this: A niiuiberi ' ofijjEnglishniphysicians,.sonie'l7 years/ago,, reported upon the drinking habits and .ages of their male, adult ; patients " who 'died. ''Reports ' wero ' received ' on;-4,234 'deatts.>„rOf; this,: number, only. 122 were abstainers.'. Very; few teetotalers .died..' Of the others/ I,sß3:'were,temperate drinkers, and 2,529 wereantemperate,. Very many intemperate died. The temporaries movement is a|. hiodern! one." It wasjrecruited chiefly/from the yoring. The average ago of abstainers; was low. Hence the explanation of the low average age of. the,few abstainers-who died. Tho conductor of the investigation, Dr; Owen, and.the "Lancet," have-protested against the inference; sought to be ;drawh by J the liquor traders: 5 - It :• is absolutely, false,. .and tho falsehood: has been exposed hundreds of time 3. ' 'Whenever, the true tdst' is applied ,it is found that abstainers' live' longer-■ on • the average' - than, even moderate drinkers.V: For example: The Registrar-General of/England states that ■ of: every.; 61,215 men between "the, ages aVM and 65,;lQ00 : 'die 'iri' / tho.,year. .Of .this number,:, of .Itechabites' (members .'of -the teetotal benefit society) os3:dio,':and of the same number/of liquor dealers; 1,639. ~'■ Hire is the -comparison :—Reehabite:': deaths • 558.;'■:': average doaths,---1000: "liquor i dealers'-deaths, 1)63:). Thcmon in the liquor trade ard there'to; get a "living, arid often thoy kill thomselves in "getting a'living!".: "" '":': ".' ! . :! '■■•' .

' -•"TEMPERANCE;ANDSfGIENE. .''".' > .During, the- sitting,'of the I International Congress..on (School Hygiene, 'Professor.: ii.' Sims Woodliead l (Cambridge University) drew attention .to the question:of "temperance, and' flv S?? n .?"' in regard to'ihygieho,ih : the teaching profession.; He-spoke of: a ! course of lectures which ho haddelivored on, hygione and .:««'• peranc'o,; to v teacliers:..of,,.thb....,boroiigh , and. county;,of Cambridge.'. The number which attended greatly exceeded his expectations, and he was!.satisfied as a, result that these' sub-jects;.-especially-in connection withi'naturo study, should,be'at'once popular' and useful subjects in a .primary-school curriculum. He was much v struck'by, the',keen personal interest whicli teachers /took' in their. pupils, 'in the,.,interost'.of,'whomi they evidently desired to apply .tho.:knowledge they; applied on temporanco sand, hygiene..:. He/was-also struck by the presence, o: strong .'convictions in tho minds;of the,teachers that 'tobacco was injurious to .young lads,"and that alcohol was an- : Bwerable:'for much - and many' of the unfavourable 'conditions under which many school children suffer. ' The teacher, more than anyone; elsdj- seemed to realise what a part alc'o-l hoi played in tho production of many of the objectionable features of our. modern'life-that' interfered ;with; the development,' physical and moral,: of the rising: genoration. Instruction in hygiene:; and temperance, ;for. this reason, might; m' the hands of teachers bo'a yourablo'iristrumeruVifor' raising the habits and' tho ideals of tho child, the man or woman of the future, without causing it to bring unkindly criticism to b.wr or. tho habits and ideals of its elders. ".'.'•■■

LORD KITCHENER ON TEMPERANCE ::'-.in-.itce:abmy; . :-y-v ./ bpeakmg at the' annual meeting of the Army lemneranco Association, held recently in bimla, the Coinmand6r-in-Chief'(Lord Kitchener) paid a high tribute to the usefulness oft the Association's work. He thanked the Viceroy, in tho name of the Army, for presiding; foe-one of the main factors in the proficiency of.thp Army was'that its ranks should be ulled-with sober, temperate men : . His' Excellency, on to. refer to the temptations of a ..soldier s life, and to the dutv which was laid upon.a I to help hjm to 'resist them, by making his life in India as cheerful and helrjful as possible. Lord Kitchener approved the system that is being pursued of giving the direction of the Army Temperance Association's rooms into the hands of soldiers' committees)' and spoko with appreciation of the support which regimental officers wore affording.tp tho .movement.,. Sir Power Palmer had montionod at,a previous. meeting of the Association that the annual consumption of beer per non-abstaining British soldier was two quarts per day, and he was glad to be able to say that now that average had boon reduced to something more like'two. pints. In 1901 tho total number of courts-martial in India, consequent upon intemperance, had been 545, whereas last year it was 217. He recognised the need' of additional accommodation for Army Temperance Institutes', ;i and described measures that' wcro Doing taken to meet this. He also spoke of the. absolute necessity ,■ of temperance as a 'qualification'of the good soldier, and referred to tho practical advantage at which tho soldior who is a member of tho Tmpcranco AsEociation finds himself in obtaining civil em-

ploymont, after leaving the colours, oyer him who cannot show a similar record of sobriety. NEW ZEALAND'S LIQUOR HILL. What could ]So\v Zealand do with £3,056,590, tho sum spent last year in intoxicating liquor? With that sum it would bo possible to supply:— 25,000 with comple'to outfit, costing o : £ 6 10s. ~. ... ...£165,300 /0,000 Women with complete outfit, costing £6.105. ... 165,500 100,000 children with complete outfit costing £3 10s. ... . . ~.£350,000 1,000. houses, costing per house, £350 350,(100 l'urnish same, £150 ... ' ...150,000 20,000 'people, over 60 years, with 10s. per-week for one .year ... ...520,000 100 reading; and recreation rooms, at £5,000 each ... 500,000 Advanced education ... ■ '.. ; 500,000' 100,000 sacks of flour, at 20s. sack... 100,000 50,000 tons of, coal, at 30s. per ton ... 75,(100 15,000 people at £10 each for holiday 150,000 Cash for litcratureiand amusement..*. 30,590 £3,056,590 Saving hundred of lives, unto.ld misery, wretchedness, poverty, and crime.' Merchants,' storekeepers, workers! Watch your own interests'! >