HYPOCRISY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18040, 15 March 1922, Page 9

HYPOCRISY.

(Published by Arrangement.)

THE TWO VOICES.

The anti-prohibitionists say that prohibition in the U.S.A. breeds lying, hypocrisy, deceit and crime. What did license breed, and what did the liquor traffic know about what it bred?

The, liquor traffic in America spoke with faro Toices. It held conventions and issued one kind of report for the public to read, and private reports for its mem6ers to read. In October, 1915, at the 55th Odnivention of the U.S. Brawera' Association a speaker said:—"As a matter of fact, the American saloon is performing more social service and performing it more efficiently than the churches ana the charity organisations put together." That appeared in the report issued for tho public to read. But earlier in that same year there had been presented to the Brewers' Association at a special meeting a report from an investigator they had emp'oyed to find out what the public comp'ained about in the saloons, and this is what the report said:—"Selling in prohibited hours, gambling, selling to intoxicated men, rear rooms, unclean places, invading residential districts, prostitution, eelling to miners, keeping open at night, brewers financing ignorant foreigners who are not citizens, brewery controlled saloons, cabarets, Sunday selling, treating, free lunch, sales to speakeasies, bucket trade, signs, screens, character of men." Two years earlier, in 1913, Mr. Nagel addressing the Brewers' Association said:—"A certain percentage of the brewers do not care where the money comes from . . . This talking (of .reform) at conventions, has b«en clone for 20 years ... it has no effect." This, of course, was not issued for tho public to read. Now there is surely some lying, hypocrisy and deceit in pretending that the saloon was doing more and better 'social service' than the churohes, when for 20 years the brewers knew that their establishments were social, moral and criminal p'ague spots. No wonder Mr. Hugh Fox, secretary of the Brewers' Association said:—"We have got to realise that the public is intensely concerned in this question, that the public is going to sottlo it for us whether we want it or not." License always breeds the same things. The public did settle it in the U.S.A and made a good exchange by adopting prohibition in place of license. Prohibition in N.Z. is Worth a Trial.— N.Z. illiane* Publicity. 23