DRINKING BY WOMEN

Greymouth Evening Star, 27 March 1930, Page 7

DRINKING BY WOMEN

AUCKLAND EXPERIENCES ALLEGATION EXAGGERATED [special to “stab.”] AUCKLAND, March 26. A warning that the drinking of intoxicating liquor by young women was increasing so alarmingly that it was in danger of “sapping the very foun- ' dations of the country,” was issued by Mrs. J. Phillips, a delegate from the Albanv Women’s Institute, at the bi-annual meeting of the Auckland provincial federation of the Women’s Institute yesterday. The meeting carried a remit for the Albany Institute to the effect that women and girls should be prohibited from drinking intoxicating liquor in public places. Opinions expressed by Auckland women, prominent in public affairs and social work, are definite in stating that if there is foundation for the allegations made by Mrs. Phillips an immediate remedy is required. “We are fully alive to the fact that there is a good deal of drinkng by women and girls going on, and we are doing our best to combat the evil,” said Miss Jean Begg, general secretary of the Y.W.C.A., when asked to express an opinion. She did not think the drinking habit was so prevalent as Mrs. Phillips suggested, nor did she think that there were signs of its decrease. She was convinced that the average young woman did not want the drinking life and the best thing was to provide young women with an environment where they could improve themselves. She claimed that that enviroment was provided by the Y.W.C.A. which in the best interests of young women should be given every possible support.” “If the public are apathetic and condone drinking among women, things will go from bad- to worse,” said Miss Begg, “but if public opinion is. against it then there will be an uplifting tendency. The real danger is that a habit once developed is hard tp break from. , Miss Blanche Carnachan, president of the Auckland branch of the National Council of Women said that if such conditions exist it was certainly time something was done. To her knowledge, Mr. T. M. Wilford. when he was Minister of Justice, was approached some time ago and he pi omised to investigate the matter. Also there was a society in Wellington which had written to her and was much concerned about the evils of drinking among women. This showed that there was a general feeling throughout the Dominion to remedy the state of affairs. If drinking went on in private homes, Miss Cornachan continued, it was purely a personal matter, but if it became public, juiisdiction should certainly be exercised, and a police woman could do very .fine work in this direction. The only wav to really combat the difficulty was to create a healthy public atmosphere about it. “I have not personally seen much evidence of drinking to excess by women and girls, as I do not frequent places where such conduct would occur,” said Miss Melville. “From time to time, however, I receive very definite information which I am afraid is authentic, that the practice is increasing. The obvious method of dealing with. the trouble other than the force of public opinion is that already adopted in most progressive countries, the appointment of women police with full powers. As regards the suggestion of the Women’s institutes that women and girls should be prohibited from drinking intoxicat:ng liquors in public places there should not be one law for men and another for women.”

“Whether the habit of drinking intoxicating liquor is increasing among young women is a matter upon which I cannot speak so definitely as social workers,” said Miss Alice Bastbri. “I know it is exceedingly prevalent, but I do not think it obtains to the . same extent as three or four years ago. I regret the resolution carried confines itself to the prohibition from drinking intoxicating liquor in public places, for as a public woman I know that the time has arrived when local bodies throughout the Dominion must tackle the position as it obtains today in regard to the thoroughfares and reserves under their control. No member of a local body is ignorant of what is going on and we must face up to it. Very serious, too is the fact that local authorities have not absolute control ovei’ the beaches. Actions in this direction however are only deterrents and not preventatives. The remedy is with the young people themselves, but how to get home to them is the problem.” | Major Gordon of the Salvation Army, said that she could not make such a sweeping statement as to say that girls were drunk on the beaches. She went about a great deal and had never seen drink on the beaches. There was certainly a tremendous amount of drinking among the young womanhood and manhood of the town and she herself had handled girls as young as 15 years, w r ho were the worse for drink. It was not fair to put the blame entirely on the girls. The ‘hip pocket’ young escort had a great deal to do with it. The whole state of affairs was the outcome of the standard of living. The young people were ‘mad for pleasure.” U.S.A.-CANADIAN TREATY. OTTAWA, March 25. The Canadian opposition to the Prime Minister’s announced negotiations for a liquor smuggling treaty with the United States threatens serious political dissension. Premier MacKenzie King says that it is better to co-operate with the American Government than to make matters easy for the criminal element. The Opposition Party declare that the United States threatens to line the Canadian Border with 10,000 armed men unless it secures a treaty, which would be hypocritical, as rum-running would continue.

PROHIBITION DEFENDED. (Received March 27, Noon). WASHINGTON, March 26. At the conclusion of the House “Dry" hearings, Mr Lentz, President of the American Insurance Union, testified that prohibition had cut down the nation’s death rate. He said that

during the five years prior to prohibition, 1914 to 1919, a survey of seventyseven insurance companies showed in relation to expenditure the mortality was from sixty to sixty-three per cent, but the average for 1921 to 1927, was only from fifty-three to fifty-four per cent. Doctor Mcßride, General Superintendent of the Anti-Saloon League, stated: “Prohibition is a success. It is popular and can be enforced.” He added: “An answer to this wet frenzy is speedy enactment by Congress into the law of the President’s programme with such appropriations as will give prohibition a chance.” Mr Drury, ex-Premier of Ontario, stated that the Government control bad failed to reduce drinking, crime or bootlegging in Canada. Government control is not a remedy. Effective control is indeed impossible. The Anglo Saxon temperament will not stand for the inquisition necessary into private affairs to establish any effective control.” He gave extensive statistics purporting to show the increase of lawlessness in Ontario.