FEDERATION OF AMERICAN CHURCHES DENOUNCES PROHIBITION

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 12282, 30 October 1925, Page 8

FEDERATION OF AMERICAN CHURCHES DENOUNCES PROHIBITION

VERDICT PUTS N.Z. ALLIANCE INTO PANIC. STARTLING REVELATIONS. One of the big five newspapers in New York is “The .Herald-Tribune/' Etven the N.Z. Alliance will admit that. “The Herald-Tribune” is not addicted to scare headlines; its columns contain only care, fully considered evidence. This influential journal has just published the report on the Social Consequences of Prohibition in the United States compiled by the Federal Council of Churches of Christ. "New York Evening World” (Sept. 17th, 1925) in an editorial on this report, describes it as i "AN HONEST CONFESSION” | and as "the first in its evident search for the truth, without prejudice.” The editorial continues, “It was not the purpose to create a case against Prohibition, but the report honestly and courageously records the facts irrespective of the consequences. We have not only the admission that Prohibition has failed to reduce crime, but, on the contrary, that, under its operations crime has increased. Not only have we the admission, we have the figures. The pet argument of the Prohibitionists in the old days was that with the passing of beer and wine the asylums and gaol's would soon be all but empty. The truth is that the asylums and gaols are more crowded than ever. "Here, tooj is the admission that drinking among the young and in colleges has increased sensationally. Here also is the admission that respect for law has declined alarmingly. This report from the Federal Council of Churches is a powerful indictment of an unreasonable experiment/' The publication of this report, with its revelations of facts carefully hushed up by the paid' Prohibitionists in this country, has put the N.Z. ALLIANCE INTO A PANIC. In a feeble attempt to forestall any effort to bring - the Churches* exposure of Prohibition results before the people of New Zealand, the professional "reformers” published a cablegram which j is an. extraordinary example of subtle "hedging” and! naive half-truth. This cablegram stated that the Federal Council of Churches is a supporter of Prohibition. Surely this makes the Council's Report of more significance than ever! The Council's honesty in openly admitting the failure of Prohibition puts the hush-hush tactics of the New Zealand Prohibitionists to shame. There is something very wrong with a cause which fears the honest opinions of its own supporters, and the very fact that the Federal Council of Churches has revealed the unutterable failure of Prohibition will carry more weight with the electors of New Zealand than all the nervous "exctises” of the N;Z. Alliance. It becomes more than ever obvious that the only course open to the New Zealander who has his country's welfare at heart is to strike out the two bottom lines on his ballot paper.—Published by arrangement.