Advertisement. PROHIBITION AND ITS DEMORALISING EFFECT.

Evening Post, Volume XLVI, Issue 25, 29 July 1893, Page 3

Advertisement. PROHIBITION AND ITS DEMORALISING EFFECT.

/in— I have always been in sympathy wlili organisations for the promotion of Temperance by moral suasion, and Btrict supervision of the trade under onr licensing system, and believing that Temperance is a holy cause, I sympathised wiih tho-^e wellmuamusr organisations allied " Proliibitioniets," as no dou' t the vaet majority of 1 s members honestly believe it to be thy proper and ouly leuiedy for the mjurv caused to so many families through the vice of intemperance. Bnt, Bir, I never eoiiM join such organisations, because I h.id a firm conviction that you cannot make a nation sober by Aot of Parliament. That conviction is unmistakably confirmed and borne out by the testimony of so many officials— many of them Prohibitionists in practice - obtained by Mr. Gilbert Stringer, and published yesterday : all of them from the hot-bed of the Prohibition States of America, aud the identical Stito that the enthusiastic advocates of Prohibition are never tired of roforring us to. What impression does a perusal of this report leave on the mind ? Why, that Prohibition does not prevent drinking, but drives it from the open into back places and alleys, that it makes drunkards of people who would otherwise be temperate, that it fosters gambling, that it leads to wholosalo porjury, and, while it completely demoralises the community, it adds very largely to the administration of the law, and destroys the value of property to an enormous extent. I will conclnde this letter by quoting the President of Police for the City oi Wichita. " 1 am President of the Metropolitan Police CommiEßion for the City of Wichita, in my opinion Prohibition has proved to be a most dismal failure so far as this city is concerned. Tbe reason for this has been that almost unanimous publio sentiment has been expressed against the law. Thoro was an honest attempt to enforce it after its passage by tho Legislature, bnt it utterly failed. I think it is impossible to enforce it. In this ei'y a man can now get a drink with as much impunity as in St. Louis, and only have to pay the sane price. By our working under the present s} stem a largo saving in the matter of maintaining a police force is effected, and public safety and order is better provided for. If we have to look after bottle leggers nnd jug people, who can gain no foothold under onr present Bystem, because no one need go behind holes nnd corners to get a drink, we require a larger force. This was tbe case when we endeavoured to enforce Prohibition. There was more trouble and more crime dnring the time we were endeavouring to carry tho law into effect than has ever been the case since. Nearly double tho number ot police were requisite then, with less satisfactory results. The crime shoets showed an increase of drunkenness, petty theftß, and quarrelsomeness. Doubtless much of this was traceable to the bad quality of the liquor illicitly obtained. The snpply obtainable from men who were knowu as ' bottle-lesr<;er3 ' was of the vilest quality, and consisted chiefly of rednced alcohol, and a man who took but a small quantity of it would bring on delirium tremens in its worst forms. Another feature is that tho law engenders an antagonistic spirit in men who do not as a rule drink. It seems to bo a pervading characteristic of the whole human race that the momentjyou say, ' You shall not have a certain thing,' to a man, that particnlar article becomes at onoe tho most coveted, and get it he will if any possibility exists. Then, too, with Prohibition as_ strictly enforced as possible, there is nothing that can prevent a man procuring a supply and surfeiting himself, whereas in the case of a restricted saloon business he would only take a single drink. If a jointkeepor in this city permitted drnnken men on his premises, he would be foroed to immediately close his place. Secondly, the jointkecpers here, instead of merely having littlo hole nnd corner bars of no value, have all expended largo sum 3in adequately furnishing their saloons. We have saloons here that cost between 2000 and 3000 dollars for fittings, exclusive of the large stock of liquors, and the loss of these, because all would be forfeited, would be a seriou3 item. We compel them to close rigidly at midnight on Saturday and to remain closed throughout Sunday. This rule, I believe, iB faithfully observed. In Wichita 1 think we have one of the best-govprncd cities of its size in the United States. Our records show that we aro pretty free from criminals. The report of tho Commission for the year 18S9, made to the Attorney-General, shows that during- the year ended 30th April, 1599, thcro was a feeling existed that tbo Connty Attorney was not enforcing tho law, and the Prohibitionists obtained the appointment of an Assistant Attorney-General (Mr. G. Coffin), who was appointed solely for the pnrpose of pushing matters to extreme? in tho enforcement of the law. Mr. Coffin was an out atd out Prohibitionist, yet when the returns for the year were complete it wag found that prosecutions had been instituted by the County Attorney numbering 115, and by the Assistant AttorneyGeneral numbering 90, a total of 205. The County Attorney secured 2t convictions, tho Prohibitionist representative and Conncil only 10. It is most difficult to obtain testimony regarding a liqnor-selling case. Men whose word might be taken in the smallest particular aside from this, yet seem to attach no weight to their testimony and the truthful nature thereof in a case of this kind. For these reasons I am of opinion Prohibition cannot be successfully appliod." Sir, — Tho accuracy of this report is so self-evident, I consider it wonld be a national calamity to have such a law inflicted on this fino conntry, notwithstanding tbo well-meaning efforts of theorists, of whatever standing or inttnouco. Apologising for thus trespassing on your valuable space, I am, &c. Temperance.