"WET" FAKES & "DRY" FACTS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 101, 26 October 1925, Page 3

"WET" FAKES & "DRY" FACTS

AMERICAN REPLY TO LIQUOR

PROPAGANDA

ADDRESS BY DR. VAN DER LAS.

Under the auspices of- tlio New Zealand Alliance, there took place in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon, a big demonstration of the youth of Wellington opposed to the Liquor Traffic. Mr. G. A. Troup, president of the Presbyterian Young Men's Bible Class Union, occupied the chair. The principal speaker was Dr. R. A. Van der Las, of Seattle, U.S.A., who, as an American citizen, replied to what he described as gross misrepresentations contained in the propaganda of the liquor party in New Zealand. Dr. Van der Las / has filled, with great acceptance, the pupil of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church for some months, and returns to his own church in Seattle, where the Key. S. Robertson Orr has, under an exchange scheme, been taking charge while Dr. Van der-Las was here.

The Chairman referred to the fact that hs had visited the U.S.A. to investigate certain matters on behalf of the Government, and that while there, in spite of special efforts he had made, ho had seen during nine weeks only four cases of drunkenness, and that in spite of the fact that he was in the large cities. He had been assured by the heads of huge manufacturing concerns that since the war, and under prohibition, the factories in the U.S.A. had increased their efficiency 30 per cent. Mr. Troup referred to the more than 600,000 voters, dubbed "cranks," who were determined to end the liquor traffic, and who if prohibition was not carried this year, were prepared to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds if need be, to carry it eventually. (Applause. )

Dr. Van der Las opened by issuing a ringing challenge to any man or woman to disprove any statement he would make. He did that because he held in his hand a report issued by the United States Government this year, in which would be found corroboration for every claim he made on behalf of his country.

He had read statements made by journalists, Senators, and others, that were being used as liquor propaganda, in which it was alleged that prohibition in the U.S.A. had produced more drinking, more drunkenness, more crime, more vice, than were present in license days. He characterised those statements as absolutely false, and the Government report proved them to be false.

The people of tho U.S.A. had found the saloon to be the enemy of the home and the enemy of the working man. One hundred thousand, it was estimated, were buried yearly in drunkards' graves before National Prohibition. It was estimated that during the five prohibition years no less than one million lives had been saved.

Men who formerly wasted their wages in drink were now owners of motor cars, were buying their own lots and their own homes. Home-buildine operations had broken all records, and with this was a corresponding enormous increase, stated to be 41 per cent., in furniture production—and it was better furniture.

They had, since the adoption of Prohibition, practically eliminated the poverty problem, 74 million dollars that used to be spent dealing with drink caused poverty now being every year used for constructive welfare work. He instanced cases within his own personal knowledge where families previously constantly on tho poverty line now enjoyed good homes, better education for the children, and the pleasures of life, while also saving for a rainy day.

Allegations had been made that arrests had increased since Prohibition. Yes, but it would be found that the big factor in the increase was infractions of the traffic laws following the enormous increase in the sales of cars. As for drunkenness arrests, it had to be remembered that, whoreas ia license days only the bad cases were arrested, now, as the Government report declared: "In spite of increased severity on tho part of most Police Departments, arrests for public drunkenness have decreased about 500,000 per year."

The consumption of intoxicants in the U.S.A. to-day was not, even on a generous estimate, more than onefifth of. what it was in 1917, when it reached 20 gallons per head for every man, woman, and child in the country. The report proved this conclusively, and, therefore, Prohibition could bo said to be 80 per cent, efficient after only five years. It was not fair to expect 100 per cent, efficiency in enforcement in five years. But they were not ashamed of what had been accomplished. (Applause.)

Tho people could modify or repeal the Volstead law by a simple majority in Congress. If Prohibition had proved the awful thing the liquor people said it was, the American people would not stand for it. They would have elected a Congress to repeal it. They had not done so, they elected more and more "dry" members. President Coolidge was

a fine Christian gentleman, one who believed . that when the peoplo had adopted a law and written it into the Constitution, it should be obeyed by all, and the President was determined the Prohibition law should be obeyed. (Applause.)

It was not true to say that homes could be searched without a ■warrant. No officer of the law in the U.S.A. could search any home without a warrant. It was true they had difficulties as regards smuggling. But Canada had lately shown herself willing to help to check the smuggling from Canada, and ' the President of Mexico had formally declared his intention to help stop the smuggling from Mexico. The American navy had driven off the boats known as the Hum Fleet, and tho latest news was that tho Scottish distillers had decftted to reduce their output 25 per cent, this year, because ,of the falling-off in demand. They reported that there was no prospect of a revival of the Bum Fleet business.

It -wus false that Prohibition had been "put over" ou tho people under \v:ir-timc conditions. Thirty-three States had adopted Prohibition, of their own will before National Prohibition was introduced. it took some. of those States nearly 50 years to get. maximum enforcement. .But the brewers of. tho U.S.A. never talked of going into Kansas, i'or instance, to try to rcintroduco tho saloon. The saloon would never get back to tho U.S.A. in ten million years. Ten million women were pledged to vote against it, and when lea million women in any country decided that a thing should "stay put," it would slay put for all time. (Applause.)—• (Uxrejidci) report published by ai 1J'ttiixeuieutO