PROHIBITION AND LABOUR

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 219, 9 June 1908, Page 3

PROHIBITION AND LABOUR

ADDRESS BY MR. A. R. ATKINSON. At tho weekly gathering of the Political Labour Leaguo in the Opera House on Sunday evening, Mr. A. R. Atkinson delivered an address on the subject "Why Labour should vote No-license." The attendance was fair. Mr. M. J. Reardon occupied tho chair. Prior to tho lecture, the chairman said on the liquor question they were not committed to any party, and Mr. Atkinson was ■there to place the arguments of the Temperance -Party before them. A representative of the other sido would bo equally welcome. (Applause.) Mr. Atkinson said it was evident the Labour Leaguo was not. committed to the liquor party, otherwise he would not'bo permitted to bo there to address them. (Applause.) ■ He. to say nothing that would be objectionable to those who could not see eye to eye with the Prohibitionists. In passing, he recognised that the No-license party, or members of it, sometimes claimed that. too much would result from prohibition. 'A good deal of contention. sometimes centred round the argument: Was poverty the cause of drink, or was drink the:cause .of poverty? Personally he thought ,such arguments unprofitable. Men like General Booth and Mr. Rountree contradicted tho statement, often heard, that drunkenness increased during good times. General Booth also declared that drunkenness was a most prolific cause of poverty and a scourge of all- classes.' But the lecturer also recognised that overstrain,'overcrowding in insanitary homes, and general wretchedness, drove men frequently to strong drink. Abolish' tho , liquor traffic'' arid • there'would bo no drunkenness to', aggravate poverty. As to t State ho thought that as soon as tho State gc»i hold of the traffic it should do away with it. The liquor traffic was like, a mad dog running about the city, and-to put that dog entirely out of the way was the safest thing' to do. < The private licensing system 'must first be wiped out, and then, if the "drought" was too severe, State Control of the salo of liquor would follow; They could neyor get State Control if it was' intended' to do so by buying out the traffic as a going concern. Tho lecturer proceeded to quoto" statistics and show that .the' liquor traffic was .inimical to the interests of labour. Michael Davitt had said . tnat eleven millions per annum was the expenditure on. strong drink in -Ireland and one half .of, that, sum .would set every woollen mill in Ireland running, and be (the means of keeping people from, seeking .elsewhere for employment. American statistics showed that monoy spent, on tho woollen trade would roturn five times as much benefit as that spent on liquor manufactory. Similar figures were quoted in regard, to Britain. In New Zealand, though the figures were n..fi complete, the disparity between the liquor trade and other industries was even greater.' If the liquor traffic were abolished and no' other industry were substituted, the country would still be tho gainer by reason of the absence of -many, of its contingent evils',' such as lunacy and crime. .- Labour would get a lifj of from six jto'ten times more employment by the diversion' of capital from tho liquor traffic. Ho also sougnt to tho employment in the liquor.trade was the'least profitable of all .forms of employment for tne worker. As to Ashburtori, •if, as sbmo.said, more liquor was sold there (than in the - day of licenses, why was the Liqudr party doing all it could once more to have licenses granted? , Liquor sold illegally'' had apparently not the' same' effect in Ashburtdn as 'that sold over the bar. (A Voice;'."What' is the difference?") Mr. Atkinson.': "The, sly. grog : sold is imaginary and the other \ stuff, is very real." . (Laughter.) Proceeding,; he said that prohibition orders issued in the ■ district had been reduced to nil; and if that were so, how could sly grogselling, with disastrous results, be going on? Eight instances-of reformation in victims to drink were'also recorded, and this was interesting as pointing to the fact that tho removal of external temptation in the matter of drink found the will-power sufficient to effect reform. - From all. that could be seen, the'/cffects ;.of; No-License, in Ashburtori Were greater than the "most sanguine' No-Lice'nso advocate had ever hoped for. . In cpnclusion, ho paid. a tribute to the 'wd>king-men of •Britain : in' standing' in.thfe-forefront of''the present fight 1 against' the' liquor' trade at Home.- '; There was •no • ultimate hops; for Labour except'from the' destruction' of tho liquor, traffic . ' 1 \ v A number'of. questions were asked arid were answered by Mr. Atkinson. The chairjnari, in tendering a voto of thanks to the lecturer, said that personally ho believed that if the., working-men voted ■ "No-License" they would'remove at least one of the .obstacles which stood in the way of the realisation of . the aims pf Labour. , During 'the earlier portion of : tho evening songs were sung by Messrs, G. Watkins and Williams, and Mr. George Goodall gave 'a recitation., Mr. E. J; King's- Orchestra provided several'items.', ' - . .