TEMPERANCE COLUMN

Evening Star, Issue 21632, 30 January 1934, Page 3

TEMPERANCE COLUMN

(Published by arrangement with the United Temperance lieform Council.) In the good old days the horse and buggy both kept sober, however drunk the driver might be. But an automobile is always as drunk as its driver. TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES INCREASE. [By W. G. Calderwood.] The Chicago ‘ Daily News ’ of September 20 views with alarm the increase in serious and fatal traffic accidents anil points out that in the majority of cases tipsy or drunken drivers are the cause. Since beer has become easily ■accessible through new national and State legislation, there has been a very sharp increase in traffic accidents and facilities, in spite of the fact that registrations of automobiles in 1933 have been substantially reduced on account of the depression. The first State to repeal its State Prohibition laws was California. The ‘ Los Angeles Times ’ made a survey covering the record for the first two weeks after repeal and found that Raffle deaths increased from nine to tventy-nine, or 222 per cent., and the number of persons injured in traffic accidents jumped 41 per cent. In Minneapolis traffic deaths have increased 21 per cent, in beery 1933, as compared vith the same months in 1932. An interesting and significant sidelight is found in the experience in Britain, where traffic fatalities in proportion to the number of cars registered are three times more frequent than in the United States. This is tbe norc striking when it is remembered that the number of automobiles per population is nearly five times greater h. the United States than in Britain. THE CHURCH AND THE DRINK EVIL. i An important conference of representatives of the denominational temperance executives, convened by the Temperance Council of the Christian Guirches, was held at the Diocesan Conference House, Haywards Heath, mder the chairmanship of the Rev. Canon Sewell, M.A. : Reports were received from the derominational representatives surveyhg the experience and activities of (heir own churches. The conference registered the deep conviction that the time has now arrived when special emjhasis should be laid on the necessity hr a spiritual and moral appeal to the Conscience of Christian people, to recognise their responsibility for the continuance of the drink evil, and to accept the obligation of total abstinence js “ a splendid privilege of Christian service.” ONTARIO MILK v. ONTARIO BEER. I A local speaker, holding forth at a neeting in West Toronto, ventured very foolishly to compare the food values of nilk and beer with a flourish that bullied that beer is. in the matter of iood values, a worthy competitor of bilk. The editor of the ‘ Lake Shore jCews,’ the local community organ, lonmicnts in part as follows: i “ Everyone knows that milk is the inest food for humans ; Mother Nature

starts us on our way up life’s ladder of days with a good milk supply; never once has Nature even slipped up in that direction as she does occasionally in other ways and given us a supply of beer to start life with. It is always milk. But, some of our friends who are anxious to make more profits for their brewery shares at our expense, in their anxiety to put beer on the map, would have us believe that really old Mother Nature does know her business, for, if she did not, she would start us off with a good supply of “ Bass by the glass!” Thus they tell us “ that a glass of beer is every bit as good and us nourishing as a glass of milk.” How very false this statement is can be left to the sound judgment of our readers.. We have, however, gone further than just leaving it to opinion: we have sought the assistance of one whose hobby it is to compare by analysis. “ The 1 Lake Shore News ’ took, for the purpose of analysis, one pint bottle of a local dairy’s milk, and one pint bottle of beer purchased from the Government Liquor Store. The milk was just • the regular _ supply left on our doorstep by the milkman; the beer was bought in the regular way. We requested the Rev. A. H. Ferry, who previous to entering the ministry was in business as an analytical and pharmaceutical chemist, a graduate of Great Britain, fully qualified; and who still as a hobby and as a respite from the more pressing work of preaching indulges in the analysis of waters, foods, and chemicals, to give ns a report on the two samples submitted as to their likeness in constituency and food value. “Mr Ferry’s report is as follows: — “‘I find that the samples of milk and beer were both up to the usual standards for these items. The milk is a particularly good sample; the beer contains more alcohol than is found in English beer since the war. From analysis 1 am satisfied that it would take some fifteen glasses of beer as per sample produced to furnish the protein structure food provided by one glass of the milk analysed. In other words, the milk is fifteen times better for providing the valuable proteins than the beer; and the milk has not the disadvantage of the poison alcohol in its composition. Beer. Milk.

*“ ‘ Tt should be stated that this is not added water, but is natural to both articles. “ ‘ Jt will be readily seen from this analysis that by the time you have had enough beer to catch up with the foodyalue of one glass of milk you will be

pretty well 1 soused” and not much good to yourself or anybody else.’ “ Moral: Drink milk, when you can get it, by the glass, by the jug, or straight from the ‘ source of supply.’ ”

Alcohol present ... 6.38 0 Fats ... 0 4.26 Proteins ' ... .23 3.83 Carbohydrates ... 3.08 5.03 Mineral matters ... .26 .60 Phosphorus * Water 0 .22 ... 90.60 86.08 100.00 100.00