“CIVIS ” AND STATE CONTROL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19201, 18 June 1924, Page 8

“CIVIS ” AND STATE CONTROL

TO THE EDITOR. Sm, —“Civis” pegs away week in, week out, concerning Prohibition. No reasons aie given why alcoholic liquor should b© consinned as a beverage,—nothing but the dull reiteration Ili.it “Pussyfoots” are scarce or intelligence and are suffering from “intellectual bankruptcy,” the latest assertion because they cannot see the difference between State Control and Continuance. The State Control Party must be suffering from the same disease for they have buried their State Control baby, and adopted a child called "Corporate Control” with a new clerical godfather, and 'a promise that, after the creature is 10 years old, a very small portion of its earnings will go to swell the public revenue. , The existing Continuance Party leaders were all at the christening, and among the names published were those of brewers, wholesale wine and spirit merchants, retail sellers of alcohol and hotel landlords. The State, Control president stepped down to a vice-presidehoy to make room for Bishop Richards, and Mr Thompson retains the secretaryship. Now, can “Civis” blame prohibitionists who cannot see the difference between State Control, Corporate Control, and Continuance? Prohibitionists —over 300,000 —arc proud to have most of the best men and women in New Zealand in their ranks. Would ‘Civis" include among his “intellectual bankrupts such men os Presidents Lincoln, Harding, and Coolidge, Messrs Lloyd George and Philip Snowden, General Booth ahd Cardinal Moicier, Di William Mayo and Sir Frederick Treves. Humanity is waking up to the fact that alcohol is an insidious narcotic poison having, according to the British, medical pronouncement, no medicinal value, and little if any, food value. Dr Charles H, Mayo, the famous leading surgeon of the world, an American (“Civis” will pleas© forgive me, he is famous and an American), writes to a fniend of nine as under: Rochester, Minn., February 6, 1924. I have your letter of February 4, concerning the use of alcohol. With the present progress of medicine, and the better knowledge of stimulants and tonics, alcohol has lost its former position. and is no longer of importance or a necessity, and its future use will be in the arts and

sciences.—Sincerely yours, V (Sgd.) Charles H. Mayo. Surely it will not be long before sensible people will realise the enormity of drink. J udge Heed recently stated that all > the cases except one at a jrecent sitting of the Supreme Court was caused by drink. Mr Mosley, S.M., at Christchurch, on May 28 sard, “After hearing a long succession of licensing cases I am inclined 'to think they are permeated with perjury and lying of all This is the imposter of the ages that “Qvm and a few divines are assisting the "Trade to keep in existence, because of profits and personal tastes. “Civis” has informed “ 8 of his liking for a glass at his meals. "Civis” states that “Pussyfoots” are suffering fnom “intellectual bankruptcy” because they cannot agree that every vote for State Control is necessarily a vote for Continuance. At the Queensland eleption, where preferential voting was in force, 40 per cent, of the State Control votes cast were for Prohibition as a second preference. Had preferential voting been in existence in New Zealand, it is only reasonable to suppose that, about the same proportion of the State Control votes would have gone to Prohibition, with the result that it would have been carried. “Civis” is an adept at word juggling, but he is less fortunate with facts. Facts as to the failure of State ,Control in British Columbia and the success of Prohibition in the United States are clear and abundant. Unbiassed people cannot be misled by unprincipled propagandists all the time. ' It is extraordinary that a few preachers of the Gospel should attempt to fasten “the Church of the living God to the tail of the beer wagon.” X leave the good, reader to decide on which side are to be found the “intellectual bankrupts.’’—l am, et °’ Charles Todd.

Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M., occupied the bench at the City Police Court yesterday niorning, and fined Thomas Henry Smith, who did not appear, 20a, or 24 hours, for drunkenness. John William Scurr was charged with failing to stop his car when called upon to do so by the constable on point duty. Defendant sip ted that he had thought the constable had given him the signal to go on, and when he reached the constable he found it was a signal to stop. He was on the car rails at the points, and had moved on, and had turned and looked back. Defendant was fined 10s.

At tho Magistrate’s Court at Clinton .on Monday, before Mr H. J, Dixon, S.M., Mr F. W. Pellett (ranger) proceeded against W. B. Telford, of Clifton (Waiwera), who was charged with illegally shooting and taking native pigeons, tne same now being absolutely protected. Informant stated that he had heard there was a good deal of shooting of native pigeons by sportsmen who went into the foothills of the Blue Mountains at Rongahere ostensibly in pursuit of deer. On Easter Monday, April 22, in company with Constable Maiden, of Kaitangata, he had visited the Kongahere district, and at the Tuapeka Mouth pttnt found the defendant’s motor car, which they searched, finding two dead native pigeons, which had evidently just been shot When they interviewed defendant he admitted the offence. Constable Maiden gave corroborative evidence, and stated that four, or five motor cars were searched, but only in defendant s did they find pigeons. Defendant, who did not appear, was fined £B, with costs (16s). At the same sitting Andrew Smith, Hugh M'Haffie (Wairuna) and James Banks (Clinton) were charged with failing to destroy rabbits on their respective properties. Defendants pleaded guilty, and were foicd as follows: —Smith £1 (22s costs), M Haffie £2 (22s costs), Banks £lO (7s costs). In the case of the two first-named the magistrate'took into consideration the fact that the men were returned soldiers who had sections on tho Wairuna estate, and w’ere having a struggle to make ends meet. Conscription for girls was a novel suggestion submitted by Mr J. W. Boynton I.M. in Auckland (says the New Zealand Herald) to the Committee of Inquiry into Social Problems. It was promulgated in the interests of kitchen warfare, as it were, and not for the grim conflict associated with compulsory military training for boys. Girls between 14 and 20 years of age might be conscripted at different periods for tramintr in hou&ehold duties and tho care of children. Instruction in such services would have a tremendous beneficial effect. There was no necessity for special camps. Training should be arranged on lines quite different from military service. ould it not tend to make domestic service even more distasteful to girls?” asked the Hon W II Triggs, M.D.C., chairman. bchool is distasteful to boys,” replied Mr Poynton, “but it is necessary. so with the household training of girls.” The moat severe frost recorded this winter at Gore was felt on' Sunday night to the extent of 12 degrees on the grass and six degrees in the shade (reports the Mataura Ensign), and frozen traps were common on Monday morning. This equals the heaviest frost in-Juno of last year, the same record being made on the 6th of that month. Of recent years the most severe frost has been 21 degrees, but it is said that as much as 32 degrees (zero) has been experienced at Gore. This, however, was some 17 years ago, and no official records were taken at that time. Subjected ho innumerable pin pricks, foreign prestige is rapidly declining in China (reports the Shanghai correspondent of the Melbourne Herald). Three foreigners on o American, one British, and one Italian—were attacked and more or less severely beaten by a Chinese soldier belonging to tho forces attached to the Ministry of War at Peking. A few days earlier the soldier went for a walk on the Goat Wall south of tho Legation quarter. The Legation police ordered him off, saying that that part of the Wall was reserved for foreigners. The soldier replied that he did not want to make any trouble, but he was a Cmnaman, and as good as' most foreigners he had met, and if they did not want him on tho Wall they would have to put him off. Ho arrested and sentenced to 400 blows on the bare back. Because of this punishment, according to his own statement, he deliberately set out to “get” one foreigner for every blow he had received. When arrested the second time ho swore to “got” the other 397 foreigners when liberated. Gallantry flourishes in Hawaii. A few weeks ago a young man named Jesse Pacheco sprang out of an automobile on a Honolulu street to rescue the handkerchief of his fair escort. An auto truck struck him, inflicting fatal injuries. A professor, speaking at the jubilee celebrations of the National Physical Society, declared that when an important discovery was once announced from Manchester a great man said: “Can any good thing come out of a town which dines in the middle of the day?”