NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

Evening Star, Issue 13099, 4 November 1908, Page 7

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN.

PASTOR EDMONDS. The Alhambra Theatre was crowded last night to hear Pastor Edmonds, from Arkansas. U.S., give his lecture entitled ‘ Prohibition in America.’ The chair was occupied by Mr W. J. Haetie, and the lecture was given under The auspices of the U.T.R.C. Mr Edmonds, who on rising to speak was received with prolonged applause, said that when ho left Dunedin for America over twenty-nine years ;tgo he never dreamt that he Would ever return and address them on the No-licen'se question. Great questions must be considered in all their bearings arid in all their relations. Tho genius of an artist was seen in the skill with which he brought out the background of his picture. The Liquor question was part of a world movement, and was one of tho great questions in the world to-day. In Russia,' whore the Government had the monopoly of the drink traffic, they had recently changed the seal of a vodka bottle from the double eagle to the skull and cross-boi icg, so that the peasant might see in the sypibol of death tho danger that lurked in the bottle. Switzerland had prohibited the sale , or' manufacture of absinthe, arid in Franco the inmates of the gaols wore lectured upon the evils of drink. In China every effort was being made to prohibit the use of opium, and this showed that China was awakening with the world’s awakening. In Australia, Victoria was- eliminating the public-houses, arid in New (■South Vyales, where; ‘they have, almost in toto copied New Zealand legislation, they had ’ reduced the public-houses. by 10 -per cent. In, the .Motherland the question was riot. Liberal,or Ccoo'eirvative, but the eliminating v ;jj;4,'glutting' under proper’ Control th,e .British pablip-hpuse. Jn spite-' • of the gre:.4 bppcrition received, the British Government had, embodied a Bill to bring the, .public-house under ;preper control, and, had staked, ite cxis-ton-ce upon it,. The Church and the Trade waJkpd arm-in-.aim in the Old Land, but despite of this he was confident that reform would come. 1 he question was pari of a great question marking the social of the race, and indicated tho World's conscious progress towards a bettor life. The great mistake that the Church had made was to, consider the individual and net man in the mass. To save thi man they must save society, and- tho redemption of the individual was dependent on the redemption of society. (Here the speaker had to pause owing to the persistent interruptions trom an individual at the back.) On resuming. Mr Edmonds said a true environment must be created, in which it Would he possible for not''only the strong but also for tho weak to live. Ihe third point was that the question Was also an economic one. The railway authorities in America insisted that every man on the operating staff must bo perfectly sober, and any man seen entering a saloon was instantly dismissed. Thus, there were three mid a-half millions pledged to a sober life through the action of tho Americanirailroad authorities. Railway work required men of nerve, and for this work the drinker was totally unfitted. That, was the cold argument of dividends, not of sentiment. Let them take the great steamship companies. They would never find the captain of a Cunarder drinking with hie passengers. Ihe captain who did so crossed the gang pla.nk for tho last frme. No grog was over served out in the American Navy in war or in peace. In the navy it was* the clear eye and the steady nerve of the man behind the gim that -gained tho victory. There had been a great change in view towards this question; The sodal glass and the social cup no longer held a. place. There were now sixty-five benefit societies in America that would allow no saloonkeeper or bartender to enter their rank* He had been asked if there were bar in a.os in He replied with indignation “No!” No American father would allow his daughter to stand behind a bar, no American brother would permit his sister to go behind a ban, and no American would stand before a bar and allow a woman to serve him.- ’lhe Presidential elections wore now oh in America. Mr Taft, one of the candidates, had said: ‘ The yomig man who)drinks imperils his future. I never drink.” The other candidate, Mr Bryan, on the occasion of receiving a. loving cup from his friends, had said: “You will never, at mv home in Lincoln, Nebraska, see anything in this cup stronger than cold water." Mr Brvan frequently sat down to banquets where 1 hero was -milling stronger to drink than water. This showed that the world was advancing and improving. These wonderful efforts for rcforntfceedcd a background. In America to-day there were forty millions living in the No-Hcense arm. A bird iculd now ily from the Atlantic to the Pocky Mountains and not pass over a. licensed saloon. In thoAnti-saloon Leagues in America they would;’find banded together all these engaged in purifying nolitics, lo listen to the Liquor party’they suppose that Maine was the onlV Prohibitum State in ' America, arid ' that Prohibition had been sifeh a failure there that Americans were ashamed to speak of it. Maine had had prohibition for over . 1 he law had been first passed in 1851. It had been .repealed in 1856 but a year's e.\porience;of License showed such abominations that' there arose an irresistible demand for Prohibition, which was again made law in 1858. What did ihe liquor ’secretary take; the people of

Maine for? Maine tvas Avhero the YTinkees lived, and they Avero the cutest people in the American continent. Why did the liquor 'secretary not go to Ylaine and try and show tho people there their appalling j blindness? It had also been said that j Prohibition had emptied the cradles of j the State of Maine. The decrease in the ‘ birth-rate was everywhere the concomitant of a rise in affluence and prosperity, aaid the fact simply showed that Maine had ; prospered under No-license. The fact that ! the States bordering on Ylaine had adopter! Prohibition Avas a sufficient proof of its success. He read a statement from the Governor of Maine showing that where under License tAventy dollars per head had been spent in drink, under No-license only fifteen cents had been spent. The lecturer then went on to speak of his experiences in Invercargill. He had spent a month there, and during that time he had not seen a single drunken man. The Avomen of Invercargill could to-day walk the streets without fear of insult, Avhich Avas never- the case during License. If they Avatched the trail of the liquor traffic, they would find it marked Avith bones and aa recks, and it led to a Oalvary AA'here children were crucified on the cross, of gold. Ylr Edmonds concluded' a brilliant , oration Avith a picture of the new dawn that he ,-,aw rising—the daAvn of a da*’ Aylien the ; air land would lie sAvept clean of every \ T estige of the great evil of drink. He sarv the over-arching heax r ens, euclcsing a glad AAorid, and one of the brightest gems in its diadem aaois Noav Zealand ; freed from the curse of liquor. Ylns Don, Avho said she Avas proud to be the daughter of an American, but a New > Zealand girl, moved—“ That, this audience, ; after hearing the address of Pastor Ed- I monds, desire to express their profound ' conviction that, seeing that the three ! neighboring Canadian provinces have A-otcd ' 71,000 to 16.000 in favor of Prohibition, I and that the three neighboring States on the American side are more than twothirds No-License by their oaati vote, it is absurxl to say that Prohibition in Ylaine is not a success. The opinion of the neighbors is good enough for us, and tJiis opinion overwhelmingly supports Nolicense.” - The resolution avos seconded by Ylr A.Y r . Mozengarb, and carried unaniirlotisly. WOMEN’S- MEETING- AT ROSLYN. An audience of. about .150 -women assembled at Washer’s Hall, Roslyn, last night, the occasion being a No-license meeting of Avomen electors,. “Campaign hymns” were sung, and a temperance solo given by Ylrs Thomson, after which two addresses were given. , Ylrs H. H. Driver said- that Amman's opportunity had come to effect a great moral reform. “If the Avomen of this i City liked to rouse themselves on polling day by striking out the top line,” she continued, “ Ave should have the honoi* of closing cA'cry piibUc-housc in this Citv.”— (Applause.) “We have before ns pne of! the grandest pppoftunitfes ever pretioritta to any body of Avotneri. There are many Avomen in Dunedin at ho are indifferent on this question. God, pity them! for they have: no pity, for tho drunkard. A Avoman of tlus disHict said to me to-day, Avhen I asked her Jo pome to the Avotnen’s meeting: 'Am Imy brother's keeper? I '' We have the power to put .aAvaV this deadly pojson. If we'don’t do it we are morally'gfiilty .concerning’oiii’ .brother'.” • Ylrs Driver went on 'to quote from the .song of, Detb¥:(h bn the Israel ‘ ites’ deliverance from,tjlie I C ? ana,anitgs (.Athcu •Tael. Ijifl wife,,of Hrib'er,; slew‘Sisera, t'te fleeing Cajjpanile.. 'in Jhis' sleep,', after .offering' liim ’ refuge .and liospilality in her. tent)| r and dfbw_. special- attention to the cursing of, -Yletbz: .. “.Curse, ye Yleroz, said the arigel of, the Lord, curse ye . bitterly the inhabitants, thereofV because they came not to the help, of .the Lord, to the help of the )foid aga,ihs(;’ the. mighty” “"God forbid,”,raid the speaker, " that It should rest' on llie Avonicn, of; Dunedin.” After quoting, the good 'results of .No-license.iri Balclutfia, thq'speaker. declared : "It is coming surely, .’coming iri Dunedin. YVe khpw ft, because we iTavo God on our side. YVe'know the evil effects of drink on every hand. We Iciioav the havoc it is Averting—wrecked homes and ruined lives.” Kister Annie, a Avorker among Jlie poor in Dunedin, said that she Avas always talking No-lieense. It Avould be found written on her heart Avhen she reached the heavenly home. “There will be no license there,’ she declared, “because it is written plainly in God's YYford that no di unkard shall etitcr. there, and because tliere is no drunkard there, therefore there will be no liquor there. 1 vote No-liccnse because I ani a Avoman.”—(Applause.) "I can t understand that anv being calling herself a Avomnn could do 'anything else I have been going into the hdnies of the people for the' lust seven vears. and i* seems lome the Avomen suffer far more than the men from this curse. The men suffer from sore heads, but the women trom sore hearts.” The speaker Avent on to give instances of " drink-Avrecked homes encountered by her in the course ot her work. The following resolution was carried unanimously In view of the appallino statement that every year over 5,000 in New Zealand are convicted for drunkenness, avc wish ns a body of Avomen, to affirm our belief that No-license is the only available remedy for this great evil.” i At the conclusion of the meeting Mrs Driver invited all Avomen interested .in the reform to join a monster procession ot Avonieri and children to bo held in the City on the Saturday before the polling Miss W. Isitt presided at the meeting, j