LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14793, 29 March 1910, Page 4

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

LIQUOR REFORM. SIR,-In. your columns of Saturday 'last li. - J.*. is. furiously assails mo for daring to state that if a eocicty was formed to further tli.s interests of the . agitation'for Wato control such "society would, in■ reality, be playing , the brewers'" game; arid wpiiltf lje i. ln effect, a plan to fool the public switch it off the .straight'road 0 f prohibition on to- the red-herring track of' State control. ~ . • In spite of the assaults of "H. F. B. ' or any other person, I shall continue to say' plainly what I think, whonovor I imagine that any person is—perhaps, without' that persons own knowledge—being used/as a tool by the brewers. 1 So cultured'-and- will- , read a. person as " 11. F, B." must surely be. well 'aware that neither Stafa control nor municipal control has evei helped in the least towards a final solution of "tl» drink evil. ' .The only result l in all the experiments ,in these ■ two plans so far has been to substitute ii publio or .Government conscience to be debauched and etifled 'bj drink profits, in placo of the private conscience of the drink-seller as at present. ..Instances . aro provided • by l -Russia; ,'tho Gothenburg, system, .and- tho-State dispensaries of .South Carolina,-U;S;'(now' 1 alrrtfSst wiped out by no-license).', defy "H; TV B." to produco any. example where Stato control or municipal control has shown as good results by all recognised tests on the moral .life of. the towns as- even' local 'no* lieense shows, much less as compared, ; to what would bo shoWr. by' Dominion prohibition. ' i ■ H.\ F.< J3." acouses mo of distorting facte'.and..writing ■slanders. -It' iff vsasji'ty make general accusations' of the kind. ' Let him-be more specific.' I accuse'"H. ; F. B." of preferring State control to nolicense or prohibition as I 'a reform 1 against all- the weight of evidence; and -I Would pertinently ask Why? Finally, I woujcl remind "H. F. B." that there is'an easy way. to show that it is the interest of the public, and not the interest of' the 'publican, that ho is concerned with'.- ' I asked in niy last. "Will '11. F. B.' 1 publicly state that ho is against any form jf compensation .to the licensees or owtiers of hotels' wh£n State control comes in?" Hero is.' cloven foot, ''11. F, B."'is " discreetlv silent. • _ TJia 'objccV of k State Control League is that the publicans may be bouelih out instead-'of,kicked,out. and tlio -Interests of the public have nothiaß to do with it; , A'genuine moderate drinkers'. State Control League; with no brewers'.'money, to back it, would, indeed, be such a rone wind that no sane, smart'man—and B." is .both, sane and 6mart—would think of it for a moment.—l am. ctc., Secretary No-i.icense League.-• MR DON'S CAPE TO CAIRO CYCLE . . RIDE. Sin, —With referenco to thr abovo ride of iny nephew, Mr John Baylie Don, of King William's Town, South Africa, mentioned in the Otago Daily Times of Saturday last, I received on the same day a letter from his sister. Mrs K. N. Hutton, also of King William's Town, in which sno save,. inter alia: "Wo havo already informed, you of John's great ride across Africa from south to north, taking over six months. Ho is at present in Scotland, staying with , our young ■ sistors and brother in Edinburgh, and hard'at work putting down iii book form an account of .his journey. lam very glad ho is doing so, though it is most tedious to him, and he says all. gift ' for \ writing has vanished. I'm sure it is not so, but I'Qxnent lie needs a long rest after the long strain. The publishers give him small .hope making 'anything by the book on account of the political'crisis 'in England just now." I may a<ltl that he has a' facile pen arid is a graphic writer. I have many letters of his' in which his descriptions of scenes in Africa are so vividly portrayed and with such' liveliness,; sprightlincss; and' vigour that the reader "almct-t imagines lie is gazing on the. actual beauties of the land-' -scape' therein mentioned. In spite of the publishers' prediction I hope the book will go off well.—l am, etc., J. Wycliffe Baylie, • Roslyn, March 28. REPRESENTATIVE FOOTBALLERS • - ■' - and drink; Sib,—ln your issue of March 21 there was a paragraph ..describing a debate in the Otago Rugby .Union upon the question of supplyii)^' alcoholic liquors at the welcomes to visiting footballers. As an old footballer, I regret, that a definite decision was not como to which would cause this so-called " time-honoured custom," to quote Mr Campbell, - to cease. Water is gcod enough to drink the King' 6 health in, so jwhy necessarily' alcohol here? So long as jtlie football unions continue .to .yield to the pensoless demands of a fashio r that would - always hayo teen " more' honoured in the breach than ir. the observance," just' so long will the young men oxcept those who , ire strong-minded enough to ignore the 'ushioh; jontiime io drink -alcoholic liqiiqrs. Whatever the time-honoured custom may be,' [ sincerely hopa the Otago Rugby Union ivi|l not provide any more alcoholic liquors, - but will drink the •health 'of the visitinleams in something that they, will not- take at the peril of their'health.' I was. glad to <see that. Mr. Campbell said tha* "he had noticed, panoularly in'the case 'if visit- , ing teams, that a good many of the men did ( not take anything but what was called soft stuff. Footballers therefore should carefully note_ that'a'great .many -of the men who attain intterprovincial hononrs'in the football world have no use for alcohhc liquors. Moral: If you want to bo an interprovincial rep. be-a' total abstainer.—l anij etc., , • Drixk Destroys Condition.