THE WEAKER BROTHER.

Evening Star, Issue 14636, 4 August 1911, Page 5

THE WEAKER BROTHER.

O'GRADY'S VIEWS ON PROHIBITION.. [Specially Eevobjed Br Babxey Qnui.] . " Did ye ivir cohsidher th' caee av th' waiter brother, Finnegan ?" asked O'Grady. " Whose waker brother ie it ye mane":" inquired Finnegan. "Well, th' waker brother who is monopolizin" attinshun at th' prisint toime is th' dhrunkard," eaid O'Grady. "No other brother wid army wakeniss has iadade th' laste chanet to git hi* case coneidhered jisJit now. Th' pro.-hoi-bishun-iehte ar-re" takin' moighty foine- c:vre about that,"

" Phwat is there spishul about th' dhrunkard's case that nadee coneidherin' ?" asked Finnegan. " Shore, thin, his case is a moighty quaro wan," eaid O'Grady. " Ye've no oidaya, Finnegan, phwat a quare case it is. Let'me thry to ixplain it to ye. Ye say, there ar-re all koinds av waker brothers. There's th' thafe, th' forger, th' chate wid cards, th' chate widout cards, th' coniidenoe-thrick man, th' fraudulent bankrupt, an' ivir so mamiy more av thim. Well, now, all thim waker brothers ar-re not slitrong enough ,to raysisht wan koind av temptayshun or anuther. Nivir-th'-less th' law av th' country hoicks that all av thim ar-re raysponsible for phwat they do thimsilves, an' if they don't raysisht th' timptayshun to indulge in th' koind av wakenies to which they ar-re prone, 'tia counted to thim alone for had-nit-s, an' no wan ilse ie called upon to answer for thim. But 'tis quoite a diffrint inatther wid th' dhrunkard. Bekaeo th' pro-hoi-bishunisht has taken up his caee he is privileged above all th' list av th' waker brothers, an' for him ivirywan in th' counthry is asked to become rayeponsible. That is to say, Finnegan, ivirywan is asked to kapo him out av th'_ way av timptayshun bo banuishin' good liquor entoirely from th' Dominyun ; an' all av us who loike a drop av woine or whisky have got to be punished bekaeo av his wakene-ss. Ye say. Finnegan. phwat a privileged individjool th' dhrunkard is. Now, conthrast his case wid that av yir waker brother, th' thafe. Phwat if annybody doin' for him to kape him out av j th' way av timptayshun ? Practically i nuthin'! All th* considherayshuu he gits | is a dhrastic law, which punishes him if | he gives way to th' timptayshun av i shtalein'. Now, if we wanted to thrate I th' thafe wid th' eamo considerayshun as ! th' pro-hoi-bkhunishts want us to thrate | th' dhrunkard we wud agitate until our i legishlavthors pawed a law rompellin' all Ishopkapers to lock up their goods, 111i ebtid av ixposhin' thim openly for sale, : so as th' thafe wud not be timpted to j shtalo thim. But as it is now th' poor I thafe can't go into army shop in anny i town in th' Pominvun widout bein' ixj poshed to th' dhreadful risk av euecunibm | to his wakeness an' beiri' run into jail bo i a polisman. Now, Finnegan. don t ye i think it is class le.gislayshun av an ab- : surd koind whin we attimpt to protict th ! dhrunkard from timptayshun, an' do i nothin' at all to protict his akoweHy day- ' sarvui' waker brother, th' thafe?" . j "Shure. thin, it nivir shtruck me in that | loight before," .said Finnegan. "Bnt ve musht admit.' observed O'Gradv, '"that it is th' cowbl loight av raison 'that O'ive thrown on th' mathcr, Finnegan, an' not a dishthoned, loight loike that which gin'rally prosades from th' muddled brain "av a hot-headed, sintimintil Pro-hoi-bishunisht. Now. tins qneshton ralev comes to this: If we ar-re goin' to thro'y an' protict this. that, an' the other waker brother from fnllin' into timptayshun be makin' ivirybedy in the. Dominyun raysponsible for thim. an' matin' out punishment to th' maioroity who don't fall '■ for th' few that <lo." whore in th' namo av ! justice ar-re we goin' to shtop? Shure. ' thin, ve may take me solemn wur'rd for it. ! Finnegan. that there's no shure shtoppin' ! place." Wo musht, indade. tbrat-e nil th' waker brot-heis wid aven-haiided justice; an' net w'ngle wan out more than anuther for epbhul confiidhorayehun. But if we ar-re to tlirate thim all a.loike, au' protict. thim all from timptayshun. wo wud iiavea. moighty big conthract on hand. Th' on'y way to attimpt to carry out a- conthract av' that sort wud be to provide a dhroy nurse or a, spiehul poliwnan to protict ivory wan wid anny wakeness that was j loikelv to lade thim into thiouhle. But jisht "look at th' cxpinsc av th' bizhiniss, I Finuegun ! Tt wud kill anny sckame ay : Unit .-»>rt roight off from th' jump. Th' ; ra!o fact ■?'- tli' matthcr is, Finnegan, that ! th' wurruM is full av timntayshun for | wake brothers; an' ye nadon't think for i a momint that ye ar-re goin' to do away wid it, ibe sich a quack rimidy as Pro-hoi-bishtin. Not a bit av it. Now. jisht i think phwafc wud happen i? th' paple av j this counthry wor insane enough to carry j Daminyun Pro-hoi-bishun. There ar-re i over 2C0.0C0 paple wh.» want liquor, an' ; they wiidnt be a-hln to git it laygally. Thin, phwat a timptayshun it wud be for ruin who have a wakene-ss for moneymakin' to become shrmigi'lers in ordhcr to gratifoy th' thastcs av th' poor souls who ar-ro shut up in a counthry from which th' liquor had bin banished. Th' very fad that there was a- risk attindin' th' occupayshun av a shmuggler wud prove a timptayshun to some naehnres, as it wud liud a "so hoi ee av advinchuie an' romance to their' callin'. How wud ye dale wid th' shmuggler;-, Finnegan? If ye wanted t-o-kap-a tfilm from inlliro-jooein.' _ whisky into th' Dominyun, it wud be niciss'vv to git Sir Josoph 'Ward to provoide a whole flate av Dhrentl-noughts to guard our shores from their approach. But aven th' Dhread noughts wud not git over th' diffukealty. Supposhin' that they shlopped | th' liquor from comin' into th' counthry, which is not at all loikelv, there wud shtiil remain th' timptayshun for intherproisiu' an' advinchureus nachures to manufactohure whisky an' sill it in th' Dominvan. Th' woilds av th' Wist Coasht Sounds wud be an oidale place for th' iricshun av whisky shtills; an' ye may dipind upon it, Finnegan, that if 'tis made illavgal to import liquor, there will always be some paple prepared to run tli' risk av makin' it in th' counthry. Th' rale throuble. about th' matther av shtoppin" th' sale av alcohol is that no wan but a Pro-hoi bishuxiisht has anny rayspict for a law which attimnts to prayvint modherat.o dhrinkin', an' before ye cud infoorce sich a shtoopid an' toyra.nnical law _ ye wud have to convart th' whole av th' Dominyun into a pavnal sittlemint. Now, th' nneshton is: Is'th' panic worth th'candle? Upon me wurrud Oi don't think _ it is. Wudn\t it bo iver sr> much aisyer an' more coramo*u-r.inse loike to make th' dhrunkard raysponsible for. his own wal-vness, an' provoide a pavnal sittlcmint for those ! who showed a tindincy to dhrink to ixciss?" ■-,,-• " It wi:<l not be a bad oidaya, said Fin- •'' Indade, it wud not, Oi m thinkin , observed O'Gradv. " But whether we lshtab-ii-oh a pavnal si'ttlemint or not, phwat wo want to "do at wanst ie to lavo off t lira tin" th' drunkard, as if ho wor not a raysponsible cravchme. When paple ar-re always makin' bad suggishtyune to him an' tillin' him that th' naughty, naughty dhrink is too shtrong for him to raysieht, that can nivir do him anny good at all, at all But if, inshtid av doin' that we touki him that he cud raysisht takin' too much liquor if he loiked to throy. an' that if he did'nt loike to throy we wad thrate him as a criminal, a disased person, or a loon-atic, that wud pat more star-rch into him, an' shtifiin his will in toimes av timptayshun. At anny rate, if we ar-re to havo .inny ixpirimint in pro-hoi-bishun, let us throy it first on those who havo a wakeniss for takin' liquor to ixciss, an' isvhtab'tlsli a- paynal colony for their spishui binifit, inshtid av convartin' th' whole Dominytii! into a paynal sittlemint, ai we wmd have to do if we attimpted to enfoorce pro-hoi-bishun all over th' counthry. Now jieht thintk av th' dishgrace av' bein' a Noo Zaylendor if eich an attimpt wor made! Why, anny wanlavin' th" Dominyun at anny toime wotdd bo looked upon as a jail bird ; an' ivirybody outsoido av th' counthry would eay: ' Yo musht be a dhrunken lot in Noo Zayland whin 'tis niciss'ry to lock yo all up in ordhor to kape ye from makin' bashtes av yirsilvea.' May be, Finnegan, ye think that that is niver loikely to happen. But jisht .look at phwat is happenm' in this counthry now. Phwat is th* pro-hoi-bishunist tillin' iviry. wan at th' prisint toime? He is tillin' ihim that if we don't

dhrdivo the currsed dhrinlc thraffic out av the it will lade to individjool en' national 160 -in. Now, phwat does that mane? If ye thranshlate it into plain langwidge that th' man in th' ehtrafce'ean undhorshtand it manes this: that unliss we enfocwee national pro-hoi-bishun, practically all th' paple av th' counthry will become But if th' paple consint to th 'inforcemmint of National Prohoibisbun, thev will be admittin' thst phwat th" pro-noi-bishnnishts ar-re tillin' thim is throo. Now, Finnegan, ye know qnoite well that anny wan in his roiglit sirif.es wud nivir admit annything av th' sort. To till th' sober min an' wimmin av. th' counthry that they ar-re moshtly all loikely to become dhriunkaixls if th' liquor is not banishod frum th' land is, indade, an insult to their intilligince. 'Tis loikewise an insult to their manhood and womanhood to tell thim that they nade to be titrated loike criminals an' obliged to live in a paynal sittlemint. Phwat silfrayspictin' man or woman is goin' to snbm.it to insults av that koind, Finnegan?" "Oi don't think anny wan who rayaloi3ed phwat th* pro-hoi-bishunishts mint would submit to thim at all, at all," replied Finnegan. " Oi shud'nt think they wud," observed O'Grady. '' But mark me wurruds, Finnegan : If pro-hoi-bishun is not infooroed, it will be a farce ; au' if it is, it will be a daygraded koind av shlavery. In the latther ivint. it will lade to a raybillyun ; an' in that day, Finnegan, in th' ranks av th' ribils, ye may ixpict to hear th' shtirrin' battle song av their ansisthers: Britons nivir, nivir, nivir shall be jhlaves!'"