THE LIQUOR TRADE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVI, Issue 17111, 17 March 1919, Page 7

THE LIQUOR TRADE.

(Published bj Arrangement.)

PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN. ADDRESSES BY VISITOR. nOMnTTTDNfi TO AMERICA.

UUINm 11 VINO UN iilvilMViun. The prohibition campaign was contbuoc yesterday, when two meetings, both undei ,ho auspices of the New Zealand Alliance 'or the Abolition of the Liquor Traffic were held, one in the Town Hall in th< ifternoon and the other in the Stranc Hieatre in the evening. There were largi ittendances at both meetings, which were iddresscd by Professor John A. Nicholls ate of Boston University, and at present ictbg as foreign field secretary to th< International Reform Bureau. Profeasoi S'ioholls is an interesting platfora speaker, and he was given an excellent learing at both meetings. \ Mr. W. E. Bush presided at the after loon meeting, lie said that Professco Nicholls had a long and eminent recorc >f work in the prohibition movement ii the United States of America. Ho hac i fame which was world-wide in ten) jerance returm. On rising to speak, Professor Nicholls ivas greeted with hearty applause. Hi said he had brought a message of greeting lo the people of New Zealand from tb< amperaiice workers in the United States. The latter were heart and soul with the prohibition workers in this Dominion ii iheir endeavours to rid themselves of thai ;reat obstacle in the march of reformatio liquor traffic They were commor wldiers in the army of humanity, battling ;or the uplifting of mankind and the ronoval of one of tho great obstructions k Mb advance of progress and democraoy, He had given the best years of his life tc ;ho cause of prohibition and he was more ;han ever sure in the belief that soon the iwakened conscience of the civilised work would drive the liquor traffio out ol existence. (Applause.) The American people were among tn< foremost in the great march of reform The modern temperance reform movemem was not very old. The first modern tern perance organisation in the United States came into existence 110 years ago, and at the centenary conference advocates oi prohibition from all parts of the work had gathered. Notes and experience: were compared, and it was found that im tnense strides had been made during the 100 years. The first temperance societj in America, to which he had referred was not a very radical organisation. Tota abstinence from alcoholic liquor was no! insisted upon. A member was allowed t< get drunk four times in one year, upor certain occasions, and if that number wai eiceeded a fine of 50 cents was imposed. Old Ideas Undergo a Change. All the old ideas were changed, how. aver, when those present at the Centenarj Conference met. They found that ale* holic liquor shortened life, that it was £ dangerous narcotic, that it was one of thf best things in the world to keep a mar in after he was dead, but a dangerous thing to give a man when he was alive. It was proved to be not only the enemj of the individual, but also of the State. A man could not drink and injure him self without hurting someone else. H' could not live unto himself alone, h< could not build a wall round his own life so high that the influence of his hf< would not affect somebody else. The speaker instanced' the case of a man who might go into a Boston dran shop and, as a result of excessive imbibing, become intoxicated. It was ther supposed that he lost control—the hlghei powers were always affected first _ by alcohol-and that he committed a crime ind, as a result, was sent to gaol for 1C ream. He had to be taken care of and ■ed and clothed whilo in the penitentiary. Some would say that the Government Hronid find the cost, but the Government had first to secure the revenue from the taxpayers. Thus the actions of the drunkird became the business and the concern of his fellow men. It was necessary, therefore, to protect society from the effects of the drink traffic. Methods of Dealing With Trade. The conference ho had referred to found that there were only three general methods of dealing with the liquor tradebo have free trade in- drink, and allow »very person who wished to sell; to have j system of regulating Che trade, by the I-ot'henberg system, or by State control; >nd thirdly, by total prohibition- thou Otalt not "-by putting the powers oi iovernment against it. The principle of free trade or free sale was out, of the question. Nobody advocated it, not even •he licensees, because they wanted a monopoly. Professor Nicholls said that this objection to the liquor trade-that it x-uld not be carried on in the same way is the boot trade or the grocery tradepas one of the gravest indictment against In regard to the regulation of the liquor ;rade, in his own State of Massachusetts, nore' plans and experiments had been ried than in any other part of the world. It was agreed that it was essential to lave a " goo'd " man to sell liquor. Thereore, a clause was inserted in the regulations stipulating that no one should be illowed to sell alcoholic liquor unless he was of good moral character. This did wt decrease drunkenness, however. Next t was decided that no liquor should bo sold over the bare, that it should he ,old just the same as other refreshments, ,o that a man could go and order liquor ust as he would a meal. But the conrictions for drunkenness still increased, md it was found that the regulations in •ecard to the sale of liquor over bare were jeing broken. It was then considered by ;ome that the fact that men were allowed 0 sit down in liquor saloons tended to in:rease drunkenness, as drinking was a iocial habit. The chairs were banished rom the saloons, but still drunkenness ontinued to an alarming extent. Various Experiments Described. • The next experiment was to remove the creens from the windows of liquor saloons, it was contended that if the men could M 3 seen frequenting hotels, and could bo seen drinking there, they would be less ikely to linger in the bars. Tliero was 10 diminution of drunkenness, however. Various other remedies were tried in Massachusetts, the speaker making brief reference to them, and adding quaint touches of humour to his descriptions of the experiments. He said that another of the latter was to close tho back doors of -otels, so that men could not " sneak out." Later, it was suggested that a high license system should be tried, but the speaker had never believed in the system. Liquor-selling was a commercial proposition. A licensee did not sell liquor to make men drunk; he sold it to make money. But the high license was eventually tried, and in Massachusetts the highest license fees in tho world had at one time been charged. The minimum license fee was £200, and some licenseesit all depended on the number of hours during which liquor might be sold— as much as £600 for the privilege of selling liquor. lit was found, however, that tho State collected more than ever before from the liquor trade, but that more men were getting drunk. The high license system was therefore condemned as a failure, as had been the various other exI eriments for regulating tho trado. They could not " get the devil out of liquor by charging a high price for it. Voting in American Centres. It was then considered that the. people themselves should settle the question, and bo the most expensive system of local option in the world was put into operation in Massachusetts, A local option vote was taken every year, and only the men voted. If there was a majority in favour of license, then the licenses might, but not necessarily, be issued. If there was a tie vote, then no licenses were issued, because it was considered that a definite and unmistakable decision must be given before the trade could be allowed •to continue. There were 352 cities, towns, and village! fa flbjaaMtoMsttß, and tawtibJM* TwUd to

no-license, and the greater part of the State was brought under local option. Professor ' Nicholls referred to the City of Cambridge, where the famous Harvard University is situated. For 10 years Cambridge had voted for license. Then the vote changed and no-license was earned. The following year there was a larger majority for no-lioense, and in the third year there was a still larger majority, tor 17 years Cambridge had voted no-license, and was thus in the position to test both conditions. , . . Quoting from the official statistics for Cambridge, Professor Nicholls said that during the 10 years of license the population had increased by 11,820. During the first 10 years of no-licenso the population increased by 21.985. The number of new houses built in the 10 years of license was 1516, and the number during the first 1U years of no-license was 5325. The valuation of the city decreased by £to»,lob during the licensed period, while during the 10 years of prohibition it increased by £4,740,400. The average increase in the savings bank deposits during the 10 years of license was £31,066, and during the .succeeding 10 years of prohibition £73 330. The number of depositors increased 6587 and 12,065 respectively.

Question of National Prohibition. Continuing, Professor Nicholls said that no-lioense was not found to bo altogether a success, because the influence ot the license areas was felt in tho no-license areas. The next step in the progress of reform was when the whole State ot Massachusetts went " dry." Various other States went dry, and, finally, America had gone in for National Prohibition. Alcoholic liquor was the enemy of good government, and the people of America had made up their minds to stop building I penitentiaries and to give every man, I woman and child a fair opportunity to become decent citizens. They could not have liquor shops for 24 hours without, adding to human sorrow and misery. M 32 States of the Union the people themselves had put a stop to the liquor traffic The American Government was very democrats in some ways and conservative in others, and Congress could not decide on national prohibition on its own responsibility. It had to consult the individual States. But at the present tune the position was that 45 States out of the 48 in the Union had ratified the decision of both Houses to embark on national prohibition. In the early days of the war the American people found that alcoholic liquor was the greatest destroyer of efficiency, and the first remedial measure was to saleguard the men of the army and navy. A fivo-mile zone was placed around every me of the 16 great training' camps and a similar zone around every naval station. The penalty for supplying liquor to any man in the uniform of the army and navy Of the United States was £200 or six months' imprisonment. There had been no " wet" canteens for years, and the grog mess on the naval vessels had been abolished. The naval officers* wine mess nad also been abolished. On January 16, 1920, the liquor traffic in America would cease to exist by the law of the land.

Speaker's Concluding Remarks. "I bring to yon the news of the progTeiis being made by tho American nation in regard to this great social reform, concluded Professor #icholls. "We have passed through the valley of humiliation and over the mountains of difficulty, but because our cause is a righteous one, we have battled on for the sake of the men and women of the future. I am glad to be one of those taking part in this great battle. I am satisfied that the world, made safe for democracy, will Boon go for(ward to the dawning of a better day, Then the liquor trade shall no more beset the path that leads to democracy's goal I trust that New Zealand will follow the cood example set by America, and sweep the liquor trade out of existence when the opportunity comes." (Applause.) At the conclusion of his Professor Nicholls was accorded an ovation. In reply to a question, he said that in America, after investigations had been made, the drug habit was found to be greater in thuso districts where the liquor traffic still survived than in the "dry" areas. The Evening Meeting.

Professor Nicholls was given an excellent hearing at the meeting in the Strand Theatre in the evening. Mr. J. E. Hutson presided. The speaker said that no industrial trouble had been caused in the United States through the closing of the hotel bars. He described the campaign at Porto Rico, and said that in the State of Kansas the liquor party had endeavoured to prove that it had a right to sell liquor, but the Supreme Court had decided that ,the liquor party bad only the privilege, and even that at the will of trio people. ' He charged the liquor trade with being the enemy of democracy, and asserted that in America there was two and a-half times a* much " sly grog" selling in licensed areas as in prohibition districts. In the State of Maine one out of every three of the population I was a depositor in the Savings Bank.