TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 208, 27 May 1908, Page 2

TEMPERANCE COLUMN.

0[The matter in this column is supplied by a representative of the New Zealand Alliance, and The' Dominion is in no way responsible for the opinions expressed therein.] LIQUOR A WASTER, No one can deny that alcohol is a waster. The drink trade has a gigantic capital, makes very large profits, and has an extremely small-wages fund; therefore money spent in it is, from the workers' standpoint, absolutely wasted. The year's turnover of a large brewer i 3 twenty "times the amount of his yearly wages account, whilst the ordinary manufacturer will pay to his wage earners a year's turnover in three and a half to four years. A Scotch whisky firm, making an average profit of £120,000 yoarly, pays £600 aweek in wages, but ten times that amount, viz., £6000 weekly, would be paid in wages to' make such a profit in most of the manufacturing industries of. the kingdom. Consider theso facts and then recollect that, "A wise man works and' earns wages, and spends his wages so that ho may work again.' How do we: spend our wage's? An average' of ten years shows an expenditure of £180,000,000 per annum upon this "waster," or about £20 per family. Each family, which spends this money finds one week's work yearly at 255. per week for. one man, but _if the same sum were spent ,in useful articles, such as'clothing and furniture, it would find four and a half weeks' .work. A moderate estimate places £100,000,000 out of the £180,000,000 as the expenditure of the working classes.' If they spent only at the same rate as the same classes in. America and Germany, £50,000,000 would bo saved from'tho drink traffic and be transferred to useful branches of-industry, .finding full employment for at least two millions extra people, and thus give occupation to all capable of working, and remove depression and consequent idleness from many of our industries.—Alderman G. White, M.P. ' . LIQUOR DRINKING INCONSISTENT WITH GOOD WORK. Tho man who does his work on alcohol — ovon a very moderate amount—is not at his best. Alcohol is certainly inconsiste.it with what rai>ht be called fine work. It" is absolutely inconsistent with a, surgeon's work, and with anything' that, requires a quick, acute, and alert judgment. I am very much struck with ' the fact' that very many professional men who work hard all day have discontinued tho uso of stimulants in the middle of tho day. Why ? For no other reason, probably in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, than that they cannot work after it._ That', fact speaks more for this broad point than any amount of abstract arguments. —Sir Frederick Treves. " LIQUOR AND REVENUE. Here are some : striking utterances ' that may well be considered, by those who fear the'loss of revenue from tho carrying of 'No License:— . ' > The late Lord Iddesleigli, when Chancellor of the Exchequer in tho British Government, said: "If the reduction of the revenue should be due to a material and considerable change in the habits of the people, and to increasing habits of' temperance and abstinence from the uso of ardent spirits, I venture to say that the amount of wealth such a change would bring to 'the nation would utterly throw into the shade the amount of revenue that is now derived from the spirit duty, and: ire should not only see with satisfaction a diminution of the rovenuo from .such a cause, but we should find in various ways that the exchequer would notV suffer from: the losses which it might sustain .in that .direction."—Budget Speech, House, .of Commons, April 16 ; 1874.' The' London "Times" was of the same opinionVfA.. r.dimiiiution,.,",iri i they salq 'of ' drink' nieans\ a ' diminution' "in ' the publicans' profits, 'arid, at: the same time, in tlie Excise ' Thdro " can . 'be little doubt, howover, that it will bo restored to the nation by tho" improved industry, and economy "which will be fostered:" —January' 1^1872.' Withthis'agrees the ' London "Daily Telegraph," which has never posed as a Temperance paper:—"Our 'revenue' may ' derive some linholy benefit from the sale of alcohol, but the entire trade is, nevertheless, ' a covenant_ with sin and death." , To which may be added the declaration of the United States .National : Supreme Court:—"lf' a loss, of revenue should accrue to -tho United States (because of prohibition) from a" diminished consumption of ardent spirits she will be a gainer a thousandfold in the health, wealth, and happiness of tho people. of U.S. National Supreme Court. . BRITISH : LABOUR PARTY UNITED . ; : AGAINST THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC. ■ Mr. Philip Snowden, M.P., one of the foremost members of'the Labour party in the British House of Commons, speaking at Sout-hport, on March 28 of this year, made the following strong pronouncement in tho name of his party against tho liquor traffic: "I believe that- the drink traffic is one of the greatest evils - which curse our land to-j day. -Every, week that I live I am more and more convinced that the political power of the liquor traffic and the drinking habits of our people are almost the greatest—if not the greatest—hindrances in the way of everything that makes for national righteousness and the betterment of the condition of the people, and I am engaged in this fight now because I believe it to b 1 ? ronsistent with the political work -in which I have been engaged for many years past. • "It has already been said that the party with which I. am politically associated i 3 united' in this fight. They, like myself, are appreciating what a, hindrance the power of the drink traffic is to the realisa--tion of'the objects ,that we are seeking to obtain. Tho Labour party in Parliament is composed of men' nearly all of whom recognise what 1 are the , obstacles ' from drink. Every chairman of the Labour party has been a total abstainer." ' _ PHYSICAL DETERIORATION. LIQUOR LARGELY RESPONSIBLE. <In 1903, aroused by the startling revelations of the South African War, official attention was centred on tho fact that "60 per cent, of recruits were, through physical deterioration, unfit for army service.!' A special Intor-Departmental Committeo : was appointed to inquire into the causes of this physical deterioration. Fifty-seven out .of the sixty-eight witnesses examined referred to alcohol as one of the main causes of the mischief! In its report the Commission declared: — "Next to the urbanisation of the people ... tho question of drink occupies. a prominent place among the causes of degeneration., The close connection between the craving for drink and. bad housing, bad feeding, a polluted and depressing atmosphere, long hours of work in over-heated and often ill-ventilated rooms . . . is too self-evident to need demonstration; nor unfortunately is the extent of the evil open to dispute . . Drinking habits among women of the working classes are certainly growing, with consequences extremely prejudicial to the care of their offspring, not to speak of tho possibility of their children being born permanently disabled . . Evidence was placed beforo the Committee 'showing tliat in abstinence is to bo sought tho source of muscular vigour and activity." It is noteworthy that over 100 cities "and borougliß, with a population of above 12,000,000, have issued tho findings of tho Committeo respecting tho disastrous effects of alcohol in tho form of posters for the public warning and advantage.