A Nations Greatest Menace.

Otautau Standard and Wallace County Chronicle, Volume XIII, Issue 634, 17 July 1917, Page 3

A Nations Greatest Menace.

The following sermon was delivered m the Otautau Methodist Church on Sunday, Bth July, by the pastor, Rev; S. Bailey :— " WHAT A NATION SOWS THAT SHALL IT ALSO REAP." Such is true of men and nations. We to-day are living m the most trying and perplexing days of our Empire's history and that of the world. How often, when reflecting upon some of the great days, in her past history, have we wished that we could have been there to have a say or act m the fortunes of our Empire m influencing hep the right way. Well, I believe that the greatest pages m our history are being written now, and we are all there. The glory or the shame of these days will be oure, to be read by succeeding generations. For those who are found fighting for us it will be a word of thankfulness and pride, as our children remember that these men gave their lives and limbs for their freedom. But what will history havo to say of us at home, looking out upon this great tragedy, doing our little as opportunity affords. Shall it have to say of us that while our noble heroes gave up their lives for us, we would not give up our luxuries for them? Luxuries whioh have held back shells, implements of war, etc. , luxuries that slowed down ships and made them target 3 for enemy submarines, luxuries that hampered and hindered Jtlie whole of our defences. Though they endangered the women, sacrificed the men, and killed the children, still we would not give up our luxuries even for the duration of the war and six mouths afterwards. It is true, and has been true through all these months of blood and anguish. As responsible Britishors, shall it be said of us that we stood m the way of victory — delerrtd victory — one day longor than it ought to be, and saciificed uunecessari!}' thousands of lives just because we would not give up Drink, for that is the great ally of Germany that up to the present we have refused to banish from our midst as an Empire. Let us examine .the facts before us and

-sec if this grave charge is true. It is JTbeyond all question that Lord Kitchener, """General JoflVe, and Mr Lloyd George were right when they sec themselves against the enemy of Drink m the early war days. They knew an enemy when they saw one. They knew whaU-woiPd happen, and they lived to see it happen. Kitchener warned hio men against it, and banished it from his table. General Joffrc clet-lared it the duty of every French patriot to light this crime against the national defence of France, while Mr Dloyd George declared it to be Britain's most dangerous foe, and warned the nation lh;it if wo are to havo a speedy settlement wiih l'russian militarism we must settle first with Drink. These things are true, and it stands to our eternal shame that thousands of our men have died because we would not believe it. Thank God for a few who believed it. His Majesty the King believed it, and by one act swept it from palace and Court. He, worthy monarch as hu is, led the Empire on the only road that leads to victory with honour. The Archbishop of Canterbury believed it, and would not have any of the arch enemy m his midst. The British Admiralty belieyod, and plainly told the Cabinet they must iput this thing away. The Army, represented by two of Britain's soldiers, Lord Kitohencr and Lord Roberts, i believed it, and declared on more than one occasion that drink was endangering our chance of victory. The shipbuilders be- , lioved it, and came down from the Clyde i to Downing street to tell the Cabinet that j stopping the Drink was the only hope for I

getting the work to go with a swing. The shell makers and munition workers believed and when we were short of shells and guna they were pleading with the Government to close the public houses at their gates that they might be able to send more sheila to France aud save the lives of thousands of our brave men. The Directors

of believed it, and told the

Government m the plainest possible way J^fchat the efficiency of both Army and Fleet were being threatened. Manufacturers of high explosives believed it, and told the War Office that unless they could do something to remove drink from their employees, they could not hope to deliver proper supplies, Yes, and tho Treasury belioved it, and even published a poster stating that the country could not afford this terrible waste of money so urgently needed m war time. Of course they believed. What sensible men could do otherwise than believe it, with every-day faota before their eyes ? fcjtill this great traitor existed unashamed, and has his partners m the House' of Commons and Lords, and goes on making rivers of gold for a handful of shareholders. We cannot say we do not see or know him. The King gave him his new name, "The prolonger of the horrors and burdens of the war." He stalks tho lands of our Empire to-day as free as the air he fouls, too powerful for the strongest statesman Britain ever possessed, caring nought for either Throne, Churches, Parliaments, Army or Navy, or Munition and Provision Stores. We intern the German tailor, shoemaker, etc., rob all their dignitaries of British honours and titles and call them traitors, but the greatest of all traitors we lot go free because his^headquarter staff are m Parliament, and their forts m every town and street. He cuts down the means of supply to our brave men m France, and is trying to out our communications between the supply stores and the trenches. Nor is this w all. ' You cannot take up your papers, yesterday's, to-day's or tomorrow's, without finding that he is daily killing more women and children m Britain than all the Zeppelin and aeroplane raids put together. Arthur Mcc says m Defeat or Victory " : " Drink is doing its worst work not m dockyards, munition works, etc., but m the homes of the poor soldiers who have been commandeered by the State to fight at the front." He cites the case of Margaret Belham, who was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. She was the mother cf three little children whose father waa m the trenches, and received £2 per week because he was there. She starved the Boldier^ children, and gave a woman sixpence a day to look after them, .spending the rest of the money on drink. Another case he gave was where an M.P. had been appealing for recruits. A young man came forward and asked if the Government would look after his wife and children if he went to the war. The M.P. assured him it would do so, and tho young man enlisted. One day he was wounded and came back to England. Time came when he saw his home again, the home that the Government had promised to look after. He returned to tho House of Commons, called out the M.P., but refused to shake hands with him, saying : " While I have been fighting to make good a broken word, the Government had broken its word to him, for ha came back wounded to find his home broken up, his wife a drunkard, and his ohildren starved and clotheless. He had fought to keep the Germans back, but the enemy greater than Germany had de--stroyed his home, and it were better for him that the Germans had come. Addressing the M,P. he said, " You should have made trenob.es between our homes and the *Pubho houses." The M.P. admicted that JffL had never listened to a truer Jand more wanly censure and to-day and since has bten doing all he can to build that trenth,

The war that threatens Britain will only halt be won when we roll up the Hermans. What is it it we gained ilu? whole of Europe and poison the fount of our own strength ?

Then, again, there is i 1 .€• appalling waste, We talk of our need of man power, but this trade is daily robbing us of an energy equal to hundreds of thousands of men. We talk o} food supplies, but thin trade is using up more of the chief factor m our soldier's food than the whole of (he Uritish ! army. We talk of being short of shipping, .yet 20 big ships, working every day since the war began, bring over to Britain stufF us precious as shells to the German Emperor, for these 20 ships have been packed with raw material for the brewing trade i.liat weakens Britain and prolongs the war. We talk of the need of saving, yet £1,000,000 a day m Britain alone is spent. We talk of reconstruction, of the great things we are going to do for the boys when they come home again, of slums that must go, of infant mortality that wi'l stop, better homes and wages, etc., yet drink is mocking us all the time. We owe to our heroes and their loved ones that our country shall be cleaner, for the home coming. How is it to be? By total prohibition during the war and for six months after. That is the emphatic need of the j day, and yet m this dire hour of need, with this great chance before us, we sit and wait.

If, howevnr, wo cannot get what we need surely it is possible for us m this Dominion to folluw Canada, America, and Australia m the milder reform of closing the hotel bars from six o'clock p.m. to eight o'clock next morning. Now Zealand is at tremendous sacrifice throwing m her lot to win this war as quickly as possible. Then let New Zealand join Australia m curtailing this great evil, and devoting the money to noblerjpurposcs. Are we m New Zealand standing by tliu boys m putting down everything that retards the winning of the war. What a nation sows it shall reap, and woe to the reapers of the harvest of death. What are we sowing ? It by the removal of this great traitor of Drink from our Empire we can hasten the honourable and victorious termination of the war by oxk day, m that one day we save seven millions of money and thousands of lives of brave men.