PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIX, Issue 11306, 4 September 1922, Page 3

PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN

VISIT OF DR. MARY ARMOR PUBLIC RECEPTION ANI> SPEECH LAST NIGHT. r~’ “RALLY” AT TOWN HALL. A public reception to Mrs Hr. Mary Harris Armor, who is on a tour of New Zealand m support of the prohibition campaign, took place at the Wesley Church, Taranaki street, on Saturday night. There was a numerous attendance, presided over by the Mayor (Mr R. A. Wright, M.P.) In extending a hearty welcome to Dr. Armor the Mayor said her name was well-known in New Zealand, _ although she was a citizen of the United States. They recognised her as a lady who had devoted a great deal of her time to the uplifting of humanity and contending for social-reforms. The welcome was endorsed at considerable length by Mrs Don, of Jtbe Women’s Christian Temperance Union; Rev. J. Dawson, on behalf of the New Zealand Alliance; Rev. H. E. Bellhouse, of the Ministers’ Association; Miss Kirk, of the Wellington W.C.T.U. j Mr W. J. Gaud-in, of the Order of Rechabites; and by a Maori lady, (Mrs Pouramate) from Rotorua, wha sang a Maori Song of welcome and made an eloquent plea to New Zealanders in general to save the Maori from the evil influence of liquor. , Dr. Armor expressed a fervent hope that in the hear future we would see an earnest brotherly alliance between the United States and Britain, and later of all the Christian peoples of the world. She believed, she said, that she would live to .see realised the dream of the poet Tennyson: • When the war drums throb no longer, : And the battle flags are furled, In the Parliament of men—the Federation of the world.

As to prohibition, she said she knew she was fighting a good fight; she knew she was doingwhat God would have her to do. They _ who were standing against the liquor tnaflio were absolutely right in what they were doing, and because it was God’s fight'they were going to win the victory. (Applause.) The New Zealand Alliance and the W.C.T.U. could noti do without one another; they stood! together in omnipotent militant unity. She was an American woman, bom) and bred in America. She' had been in every .state of America, when it was “wet” and when it was “dry,” and. she suspected that when she died she would leave world-wide prohibition behind her. As an American she could speak with authority, and: she would think that any honest man or woman would say she knew a great deal more about the subject than any man who had a brother who had • Uved for a little while in her own . (Laughter and applause.) All that such a man knew about the subject could he written on, bis visiting card.. Dr. Amor concluded by contending that the benefits of prohibition in Amerioa immensely outweighed the dis-. advantages, which bad been grossly exaggerated.

LAST NIGHT'S MEETING. RALLY AT THE TOWN HALL. The Town Hall was filled last night, when Dr Armor addressed a prohibition rally meeting,, presided over by Mis Don, president of the W.O.T.U. The proceedings opened with the singing of “All Round the World,” a prohibition song set to the musio of “Poor Old Joe.”’ .. Brigadier Bray, of the Salvation Army, led the gathering in prayer, and Hie chairwoman informed the meeting that at Petone that afternoon Dr Armor bad addressed a huge gathering which had responded' unanimously to her appeal: “All who are prepared to vote New Zealand dry, hands up.” A. collection and other preliminaries included the playing of a selection by the Silver Band, and a characteristic Maori welcome by Mrs Pouremate, who, waving a real mere, portrayed the process or making “a oleafi path for our ooming generation.” Her heart, she said, bled' because of some of the nakebas, who they called “living devils,” and who had introduced the liquor. The Maoris , had no right to vote on this issue, and therefore they came to the pakeha.- (Applause.) Dr Armor spoke at first with a Maori robe on her shoulder and a taiaha in her .hand, as a tribute to the lady Maori who .preceded her. Discarding the robe and- and the taiaha, she said the United States was not on trial Ip New Zealand,. It’ was the liquor traffic that was on trial, and she was called as a witness. So had hoard, a witness in that building a few days

ago who bad testified in exactly the opposite direction to what she was going to testify. If a person had a large sum of mopev involved, would it not be reasonable that his evidence would go in a certain direction? She had no object in point of gain in urging that New Zealand should (go dry. Dr Armor said- that scionoe had challenged King Alcohol to mortal combat. She defied anyone to .disprovo that alcohol was not purely a habit-forming drug as morphia or cocaine. Scientific truth would tell. This world-wide movement in favour of prohibition was not based on excitement or feeling; it was based on absolute cold-blooded scientific truth. In America, when they found that the iaw did not at once prohibit, Congress adopted s new penalty, and anyone who broke the law was sent to the penitentiary for five years and fined 5000 dollars in addition. Liquor, also, was damned at the bar of public otenion. Continuing, Dr Armor said that , Iceland had only abrogated' her prohibition ukase because Spain had threatened her with starvation if she did not buy hear wines. But they were forming a movement to buy up all the fish in Iceland so that the country could again go day. And New Zealand was going dry, top. She had never heard of any good that the liquor traffic had ever done. There was no man who could tell them to vote, for it because it had done so much good. Could they bring any charge against _ the prohibition jOaUTO which was against the interests .of all the men and women and children of the community ?' At the bar of oommoneense, Dr Armor contended that the activities of the prohibition army ™ Amerioa were sufficient proof that the authorities were inflicting a very severe blow on the liquor traffic; all laws were broken, from murder downwards, but that did not prove that the law was wrong, or that it was not being enforced. The law of prohibition would not be repealed, andl it would be enforced. As a native-born American, ohe declared that prohibition was worth all it cost, and a million times mare. Knowing what she knew, if the only fray that she could secure the continuance of prohibition was by dying at tht stake, she would be glad'to die in such a glorious cause: She definitely declared that prohibition in America had not increased the drug habit—in some States it had decreased decidedly said ah® added that prohibition bad done there good for Amerioa than anything in its previous history. There was no more Chance of repealing prohibition than there was of repealing the Dei deration, of Independence. As to revenue, she said, that question had teen dropped in the United States, where prohibition had proved to .be the test investment ever made. (Applause.) -Ur Armor concluded her address amid loud applause. there will be a -great tem.fwA* the Wesley lUhuiroh, at 7-30, when Dr Mary Armor priidT Al *• Atk “ ™ill