PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LV, Issue 16978, 11 October 1918, Page 7

PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN.

-■ ti'm -'" : "— "**" '-iEublished By ■'-' j,

| OTTKOL BY THE STAT! CASE AGAINST PROPOSAL. .'••- ADDRESS BY MR. J. SIMPSON "NATION AND INDIVIDUALS An address on " State Control of th< Liquor Traffic" by Mr. James Simpson the Canadian Labour leader and temper ance advocate', was delivered at the Tom Hall last night as part of the campaigr now in progress under the auspices of tin New Zealand Alliance in favour of th< • ! ~" adoption of the proposals of the Nationa Efficiency Board for tho extinction of the liquor traffic in the Dominion. Tho audi' .■ '-■ ence filled the floor portion and mair gallery of the hall. The Mayor of Auck land, Mr. J. H. Gunson, presided, and in " ,,s " introducing the speaker of the evening expressed the opinion that if a substantial portion of the public of New Zea, {and asked for, a poll on tho question ol jbe adoption of the Efficiency Board's pro. •. • bosal, it was difficult to see on what ■."*' grounds Parliament could refuso to grant ft jsU Probable Effects of System. •''iv-'. '" ! ' "■--■■>! Mr. Simpson stated at. the outeet that ■i 'he proposed to speak upon the probable •. »V effects that State • control of the liquor ;y traffic would have upon New Zealand and •• <•-•' its people. ' There were four distinct groups of.men and women who talked about State control- One believed in it as a .revenue- ' producing department of the Government. Another sectiom believed in it because • they expected it to minimise the evils of the liquor traffic. Yet another group looked upon it as a short cut to prohibi--1 - tion. 1 The fourth section- held that Stat* control should go no further than curtailing tie hours within which the traffic should be carried on, and so reducing the • evils of the trade. The' issue was one of tremendous importance to the future of ... ■, the Dominion, and it should not be mot .with'soft gloves. He proposed to examine -•*>•' tie''functions and activities ' of the Gov- ■:., ernment, with a view to discovering •.•..:' »whether tho addition of a department for - h the manufacture and 6ale of liquor- would ■V >. interfere with the effective operation and ;■.*' administration of the affairs 'of the State. The Government was responsible for protecting the rights of the people and promoting their health and happiness. As he ... understood, the .ramifications of the New. Zealand Government,.he realised "that, no •. ■ Government 'and., no people could.tolerate « :r that * the • Government should; include '/-,-, among. its activities one for the manufait- % • lure -and; o'ale' of intoxicants. The tend-'' ■"}.\, sney, of air democratic governments such '•/as ours was progressive rather than re- :;■- * actionary, ' ■ -, .■•■■-. ■-. >. "■"■■£V-v '--i. '-■ - H .';■!.■.""• ■ * : ■ ■•>. jf ". ■d *:;'■; Interference With Education.-. :"-'•# .. ;.;' Would - State interference in the liquor "'_ ■ / .'trade, interfere with the work of , other : Departments? First he would ■ .■ take the r*. education system. That system made the '": State .responsible for the training, of all ■■'■;-■■'-. the children '■■. of the country; and it: would " alsO/have to .train those, children to pro"'V' properly their health ; and develop all •""''• their faculties.; The 1 EducationZDeparty;: .",'■• ment had thought it necessary to teach its : v scholars the effects of alcohol on the body ■ "aim -'the rnind".": In. instructing them" on . the scientific"'-' side of the question--or.i '; the ..< effeht'of alcohol on the brain, 1 the nerve ',>' centres, - and' the organo of. the "botlyf-it <)(':, showed them the importance of the liquor •;.: pro Hem. When children were "'• taught < -•■ , these' fundamental*'fabtsjfand^undeisloodi si-v 'thi; deadly, influence of alcohol, upon the human -system, was it any wonder that l the.;'public realised ■ that.*-alcohol was a . menace ;to,the -life -of the- children,, the '■"''■ -menVaiid the women of the country!. It ' c had been shown by : investigation, in Birmingham that' feeple-mindedness' was ; most common among the children of people gr?:%f given; to alcoholic indulgence, ;V and.; also ": - that feeble-mindedness, was ,five' times. as ■ ■ coimnoh' where both' parents were' given'-t» ■':-;"&*; alcoholism than among other children. ..i :-Similar results' had been ascertained .by : ;„ . Investigations 'in.-Boston; U.S.A;, showing ■ ■;. th'r*. the.''intelligence - of; the children sulertdui proportion . to their, parents' "V.'.' pre aeness to .habitual - and' even.to model'ate chinking. Would any Government be :• :: -sensible or reasonable if, while acknow- <■'- le'djing. the .-importance of- teaching tho ;■:■.■:":jj. children scientific knowledge of this kind, .;.-. ft-would undertake also the manufacture and sale of a commodity which' was shown , -to'have such an effect on the minds of .:- school children? ' •'.;", : .^•■ ; : '■"...: Liquor Health. -./., - ' ''•'-• ;- , , , . ■ ■ -J, : j- ' ,Then the tendency of the Government .nV: was;.to' aim'at the production of the"' best '? *. ; type; of health in., the ■ community. ■ < ■ This ' was'shown : by the creation, and mairiteri- ;■ aace- of..Health '' Departments. -.'Further, .■ we were realising -, that it was not neces- \'>".. sary'to. wait till people re! sick before ... ; ; taking care of them— the environment '' .was a matter of supreme- importance. ■■■■■■■: •■ Everywhere we ■ saw operations afoot to ..'.." control i the mosquito i and the- fly, as-, a, ; meansof preventing the"; spread of disease, 1 '-. and'the State, and municipal, bodies in*kM sisted upon cleanliness in the surroundings --">• of' dwellings' 'and in" the streets-of -the •. . cities." The medical officer of the City of I, ■$ Toronto;, some years ago, warned citizens ... ;: that'they should abstain from the use. of 'U4i • intoxicants in the interests, of the" health .\i.'' : .-' conditions. of _ the . city, because alcohol "■'■■.-..•■■ lowered the resistance power of the body •' against disease. There was • testimony •:"'.'. from leading scientists in England and §&f!America in. the same direction, and.also ; .' -,a resolution of a'great American medical * v ' congress to the effect that alcohol was not ■"'■'"' necessary for medicinal purposes. If Che ", '.\ tendency of the Government is to educate ..'■ people to preventive,: instead of curative .;• methods, and among them abstention '"" -from the use of alcohol, would any sane 'k« ■'■ citizen say that the State should undertake M■'■'. the manufacture and sale of a commodity ; ,• which its h'ealth officers were advising pp.' people to abstain from, in the interests 111*- of their health? '•}■'/. The responsibility of the' Department of >' , Justice was to, minimise crime. Official ■'£•* showed that 10,000 convictions ".',}.,. for drunkenness were recorded in New M .-'Zealand in 1916, while about 2000 prohibi- ■ tion orders .'were issued in the same year. '■".- " • When to this were added the cases of fU, I assault and indecent language, it would be isL.' eeen that the liquor traffic had an impor- ,'; ; .t£mt part in the criminal records of; the "', Dominion. Further, he found that the '' liquor trade contributed very materially to ..'- • the number of divorce cases that came 5- before our Courts. Was it wise that the , '■':'<■' Government consider the manufacture ■ff and sale of an article which brought '% about so much of the crime of the nation ? :'* ( Cries of "Nc") Certainly, no Govei'nj/s.. ment, of New Zealand or elsewhere, should \; think of.such a thing. fk .. A Hindrance to the Military. W The operations of our Defence law K showed the necessity for curtailing the in- ■'•"■•■' fluenco upon the troops of the sale of inh*.? . toxicating liquor. The United States had s.v' made it a criminal offence to offer liquor K to a soldier under training, and it also Pv forbade any newspaper to be carried by M* mail into a prohibited area if it had in P"' it"! a liquor-trade advertisement. Canada pa, had taken similar steps to restrict the Br supply of liquor to its soldiers. When he M, v?as in England there were hundreds of W& cases in which men returning from active I -" service found their wive 3 depraved by in- .''' ,■ dulgence in drink. No ca6e of that kind i^ ; ' will be found in prohibition Canada. On iJ the contrary, the soldiers who returned lilt' there from the front would find, that their &&!' wives had rather'improved their , homes 'Xy- arid their own comforts during- their absence. Mr. Simpson related several anec- '"'■ dotes illustrating the dire effects that befell Canadian soldiers through, the temptation | '•' • to-drink with which they were faced while -" in camp in Erielarid.v v , There was .plenty of evidence, he WW,-,.the liquor traffic '-"■■"-• Interfered with "military; efficiency < in • New .■.Zealand. Did. not the ' Government itself prohibit thesale of liquet' in r «ort"on the iif'-'. :."/-.iay. when soldiers landed on- 'return Mmmmmmmmmm

I —'"■"''■.■.- " ~-UKtv '■' '''-■ " from En^an«^;Would'anyone .'take the responsibility/of asking' the New Zealand •""• Government to carry on a department rto , supply the very article it saw tho necessity for thus restricting! ~i'.; , ,: ' ...,..-; . h Take also the effect. of ,'alcohol-upon industrial efficiency. The'liquorltrafflc inter- * fered with the proper administration of the • public works of a nation, and. with the operation of its railways. In the United States; and •,Canada, 98 per cent, of the transportation .compnriiea, 88 per cent, of the skilled trades, 79 per cent, of the manufacturers of all commodities, 72 per cent, of the agriculturalists, and 56 per cent, of the mining employers, made it a rule to inquire as to the extent' of-a man's, indulgence in liquor before engaging him. So that' a State Department that produced and sold liquor would be offering a commodity which was found to be prejudicial to industry. The Financial Aspect. As to the questioji of' insurance, statistics proved that'the consumption of alcoholic liquor shortened life by 11 por cent. At 30 years of age total abstainers could expect to live for a further, 38.8 years, and ii drinker for 35 years. At 40 years of age a total abstainer could expect to livo for 30.3 years longer, and; a drinker for 27.3 years, Members of friendly societies who were total abstainers indirectly provided more than their share of the sick benefits. Regarding , tjnance, Mr. Simpson expressed the opinion that a growing public debt was not' so serious a matter to the people of Now Zealand as it would be to those in older countries, ■ because over onehalf of tho. Consolidated Debt of the' Dominion was. revenue-producing, and people must : not;lose t - the ; fact ■ that . the Dominion was growing more prosperous -as. production increased. New Zealand could face the future with optimism. The annual expenditure.on education was £1,700,000. J That meant that every woman and j child paid £1 10a toward the education J bill, and ever}' pupil in the elementary and I secondly schools and the universities cost £7 53 each year. Boys and girls were educated so that in ..time they would become valuable members of society. TJjey were tremendous assets to the country and nation.} '■' .'. v Economic Value o! Lives, No Minister' for Finance could ignore the fact that, if. the, nation bore the cost of educating each boy and girl and then permitted an ; industry to exist that Would tend, to shorten life, as.the' liquor trade would shorten ( life, it would •be a direct economic loss to' the' country. ' Lives were being sacrificed each year by indulgence in alcoholic liquor.... He estimated the sacrifice of life in' this ' manner in New Zealand , at 850. each year. In Canada each worker ww reckoned to be.' of an economic value of £750 per''annum. If this: ; figure ; was- made the basis' of th* economic value of a man in the economic 1 loss, if 850 lives were sacrificed, would be. a tremendous item. .; In New Zealand the drink bill was £5,600,000, and for four and ii-half years— -period ■ in which the-liquor trade would, Under the present law, be abolished if 60 per cent. of * the., votes, favoured -that, course—the drink bill would total £22,500,000. ; It ; was infinitely" better that "this' : sum • should Jbe thrown'into the ocean rather^'-than 'be spent.in liquor. If it went oyer the. liquor; bars it. would entail a tremendous; amount of' drunkenness); xirime, and .domestic infelicity. It had been proved in ' Canada and , the United' States that .the abolition of liquor greatjfc' reduced crime, and the same thing:would; result in New .Zealand. ' • Speaking in favour of the : National EAR ciency Board's; proposal to. abolish- the} liquor traffic'andpay compensatiohfor the loss of -trade'-for four years and ' a-hfllf;. which was the ; period , the trade would continue if" national • prohibition "was carried urderthe-'present law, Simpsoni th'a*. on'the estimate:made-by;him•.during the four years' and a-half the sacrifice;of life - /would be ' 3825 and . the resultant; economic; loss to the country £26\500,000. ,'it was 'estimated- that; there, was; - one' drunker' \ man to .'every.' 100 men and ttat. every,*; drunken ','man; lost on ■;this}. average on? week's, work during tie;, year. ''.That was' an economic loss to the country of £174,00), arid ; mnst.be: added to. the'other. direct <>coribmicloss} caused by the liquor, trade. ' ■;' } ,}-. l } ■'} ' , St&tß Control in? Other Countries. • Some people}' argued that under : Govern-' ment, control there- would be an elimination of rjx6fits,'}and consequently the evil results of strong drink would be removed.} Medical science, proved 'that alcoholic liquor was good neither : in ; excess : nor in moderation?* :It was not even:on tho list of necessary, commodities. ;If alcohol was of no use why advocate its sale on a basis of no 'profits? State' control in" otier countries, notably -in Canada, had proved an absolute ' failure. In Canada it had been tested,.and at the, first opportunity the people had abolished \ the trade.altogether. .■ j'ln"' Russia: tHe . State ; control of- vodka had proved to be. a, menace to "the country.- It- 'had caused debaochery 'and degeneration. • .Sonie.'people believed in the form of State control present in force in so.me parts J of, England; where boards v .were established ,t6 restrict the output' and govern the shortenihg of hours of; the sale of liquor.' Supporters of}this system argued that it resuited; in drunkenness and crime being reduced.' v: Mr:-Simpson contended .that this argument was a substantial, argument; Hi favour- of absolute prohibition, because if crime were reduced ;by .the shortening- m .hours and the. restriction' of : output,, it would- be still more reduced by .total prohibition. . If the Government' adopted the sale}of} liquor.a&Va part of•„its business it.would create a.menace to the 'other departments. V- " <.''■■ ; ' . .-. { 42;•"' : The ' Counter-proposals.. •The speaker'; commended the straightout nature of the issue proposed by the Prohibition party,' arid said the proposal of the liquor trade to take a vote on the issue of State' control in 'the particular manner set: out in the " trade", 'petition was undemocratic. The Labour party had issued a petition containing ', a fourth issue, "prohibition without 'compensation."- This was quite satisfactory if' the Government adopted- the . principle.:of preferential voting; r The two issues-for the true lovers of the country-and- .all true patriots would be "Prohibition with compensation," arid : prohibition without .. compensation." By the payment of compensation : the "trade" would be abolished at once, instead of "waiting for four and a-half years. The present fight- on this great question was a crisis in the history of the Dominion, but with the magnificent precedent" set by Canada and America i he believed New Zealand would wipe the "trade" out'of existence. _No great reform' was ever achieved without sacrifice on the.part of the individual. It was human nature,to appreciate and value things- for which 'sacrifices had been made. No man or woman was.worthy to be a citizen of New Zealand unless he or she did .something to; help it. on 'the ■ way to great - and . democratic reform... (Applause.) The meeting closed with the singing of a verse of the National Anthem and'eheers for tho Allies. ~ -.