Page 1 Advertisements Column 4

Feilding Star, Volume II, Issue 533, 28 March 1908, Page 1

) CORRESPONDENCE. ~«» ( NO-LICENSE ADVOCATES AND , 'IHE PRESS. ', TO THE EDITOR ! SLi 1 , — Being interested in tlio No- • Licenso question, I went to the Drill , Hall to hear Miss Roberts, and my j objeob in writing is to deal with her . a opening remarks, to the effect that "tlhe greatest difficulty in the ot _ no-license is a 'cc-nspiracy of silence' j! on tlio part of the press of the colony." In common with many other 9 close observers, I havo becomo so used to glaring manifestations of the lack of foresight, knowledge, discretion and commonsen.se on the part of a certain v class of temperance advocates that the . impeachment aimed by the lady in ,' question at the press of the colony ' (with which I have been associated ,\ for some years) did not occasion me c the slightest surprise, though I must [_ confess that the thought struck me that if that was to be tho new line of attack on tho enemy it would inevitably deprive the caaiso of its most . effective weapon. I am not a new.spaper proprietor, but I am a firm believer in "publicity" — publicity of tlie , newspaper order. Any one of the city or provinical dailies— quite regardless • of its attitudo towards no-license — a does consider a Wly more good for the ) causo of reform than all tho paid agitators in tlhe colony put together, for tho simple reason that it reaches every section of the community— friends and foes, drinkers and non-drinkers alike; wliilo only "friends" are reached by ■the average temperance lecturer, wli<> ; meets only the same old familiar faces wherever ho goes. One word in an "editorial" or ordinary paragraph exerts an influence with the masses that no j orator could ever hope to approach ; ■and every newspaper in the land, in every issue, publishes cablegrams (from distant parts of the earbh), telegrams (from all parts of the domin- ' ion), "locals," reports of court oases, etc., etc., concerning driuk-induccd crimes and misery, and is continually i drawing public attention to same, both { editorially and otherwise. And sucti j reports and comments exercise much j moro influence with certain sections of j tho community than would studied articles on "No-License," because nrmy would .not read tho latter at all. In fact, tho Press is the principal source of tlio lecturer's facts and figures. Newspaper publicity of tiro kind iuc'.i- --• cated has the additionay advantago j that it costs nothing — at least, tlie cost (t-he price of the paper) is boui.; equailly by friend and foe alike. Fur- j » ther than this, press ■reports of sv.th . matters are generally impartial, ma+- ' ter-of-fact narratives, whioh fact lends I additional weight to tho statements ; made. I have bundles of most Tv-'trt-i ed and convincing editorial and oilier ! extracts from alleged pro-liquor p.iipers; and though I 'have for \eavs been a frequent contributor (en tl:(s (1 no -licenso question) to the press • " the *> colony, I have never- onco had a line ■refused •insertion, even by *ie most rabid anti-110-licenso paper. 'V'n'.c is moro than I can say of tho ail eg ri of iicial organ of tho party to which Misc Roberta belongs. Sir, I do not pose as a moralist, tor I am but a wicked "sinner," conscious of my own shortcomi|gs, buc I iMnnot help making comparisons when I hear the impartial secular press 'f this c-o'-ony accused of a "conspiracy c t silonco" agaihist reform. Tho fa-t is, Hir, the self-appointed ol i'io Na-licenso Party expect far tco ;;uuli, wlule ttho rank and file, vt:o piofrss to bo friends of reform, do far too little. '!'loy are continually praying for -"be abolition of the liquor traffic, ignoring ilio fact that prayers nat avo not: backed up with plenty of jrolu nr-d lalo'ir are of previous lit/« value n\ ] this world. It is a paiu'ul fart, per- j haps, but it is none = c less tiJ' 1 - 1 History reveals no ref.nn of (:i;ii i t- I (jUenco that has been achiced witli.-ut • personal effort and gok- — .'..xi bloiv- ! shed! And tlio fact that liv I.oi.<a.j- i t<l influential "liquor traffic ' which . Jias dominated tlio Christian world ' for centuries, is being reformed right j out of existence without the latter, is . a grand tribute— chiefly to "The j Press!" , , . I Lot Miss Roberts, and thoso avlio think with her, remember that newspaper proprietors are not charitable institutions— that a newspaper is a "•commercial enterprise," and that the , space in it is the owners' "stock in : trado" and represents his "capital j (or bread and butter), with which j business people the world over are not j too ready to part— for nothing— 1 though, from my experience, I should . say that pressmen are the most hbe- | ral class on the faco of tihe earth, j Every newspaper gratuitously gives up more or less of its space for the discussion of public matter and for the "public good, which is more than can be said of any other commercial institution. Does the temperance storekeeper placard 'his shop window with | "no-license" matter? No! Why not f Because "business is business! There is ao room for argument. Education is all that is required to accomplish the various pressing reforms of the day, and the newspaper is the true and most •effective .educator the people. I, therefore, say to^riends of reform don't abuse the press, but use it— and pay for a reasonable portion of the space you demand. Thanking you, Sir, for your efforts m tlie cause of reform, and apologising ior the unavoidable length of this letter. — Yours, etc., Alp. C. Mohton. TWO SIGNALS. — ♦ There are two serious signals of kidney ills. The first signal comes from the back with numerous aches and pains. The second signal comes in the kidney secretions. The urine is thin : and pale, or too highly coloured and showing brick-dust-like deposit. , Urination is infrequent, too frequent, or excessive. You should heed these danger signals before chrpnic complications set in — diabetes, dropsy, Blight's disease. Take Doan's Back- ! ache Kidney Pills in time and the cure is simple. I Mrs S. J. Spencer, Church street, Palmerston North, says:— "For years my husband has been a terrible sufferer with backache. He could never fet anything to do him good, though c tried a great number of remedies. Nobody could be a greater martyr to bad health than he was ; he could not . work. The pains used to almost cripple him, and ht used to walk bent on one side, and c en then he could scarcely walk at all. I procured Doan's Backache Kidney Pills, but had very little hope that they would do him good, for we had so many failures with medicines. However, ho felt better after taking a few doses, and he steadily improved until he was quite free of pain, and could get about auite freely. Now he is in first-class health. We think the world of these pills and have good cause to." Six years later Mrs Spencer says: • "My husband has been free of backache ever since Doan's Backache Kidney Pills cured him six yeara ago. It is not possible for a remedy to do more than Doan's Backache Kidney Pills did for him— to completely and permanently cure." The kidneys never rest, twenty-four hours to the day is the time they put in, then look after? your kidneys and keep them well by taking the great kidney and bladder remedy— Doan's , Backache Kidney Pills. \ For sale by all chemists and store- 1 • keepers, at 8s per box (six boxes 16s t 6d), or will be posted on receipt of £ price bj Foster-MeClellan Co., 76 Pitt . street, Sydney. t ' But, be sure you get DOAN'S.