PROHIBITION IN AMERICA

Otago Witness, Issue 3525, 4 October 1921, Page 21

PROHIBITION IN AMERICA

AN ASTOUNDING STATEMENT. NEW YORK, September 25. The Superintendent of Police in Chicago informed the United States authorities that half the Chicago force of 5000 policemen are involved in the illegal trade in liquor. He asserts that nrohibition is a fallacy. There are more deaths from drink than before prohibition in the Chicago district. POISON OUS CONCOCTIONS BREWED. LONDON, September 29. Messrs Sitcli and John Davison, Labour Members of the House of Commons, visited the United States to report on prohibition. They said that they went with open minds, being impressed with the idea that prohibition was an unmixed blessing, but with this opinion they can no longer agree. They found the Anti-Liquor Law was agitating industry in America to an unexampled degree. “11l our judgment-,’’ they said, “prohibition as we have been led to believe it prevailed does not exist, but the Prohibition Law has resulted in

an enormous development of home brewing, and wine-making. Illicit stills are quite common in private houses, the necessary apparatus being purchasable at the stores. We constantly observed business men producing pocket flasks of liquor. A serious element in private brewing is the Jj opportunity afforded the common informer, ‘ than whom there is no personality except the blackmailer that is more odious to a Englishmen. We were assured that where- 2 as formerly business men were content t< to take an occasional drink in saloons o they are now in the habit of taking a quantities of linuor to their offices for o private consumption. Black and White in dozens could be obtained for 90 dollars y per case. Though we were able to pro- j, cure only a soft drink when visiting t saloons alone, vvs found no difficulty in s procuring alcohol when accompanied by ii persons known to the saloon keepers, p Being warned of the poisonous nature of * these concoctions we retrained from drink- ' ing them, but partook of alcohol in prirate house-. America is described as the ‘'boot-leggers’ ’’ paradise. The saloons ~ have had an evil reputation, and in their ( old odious form they will not return, but j v/e believe the American public will de- <. maud facilities to buv light wines and i beers. We were furnished with a great i mass of material, showing the heavy in- ‘ crease in personal savings. The develop- ‘ merit of business, of food and clothing , shops, is attributed to prohibition. Many business men assort that the workmen f are better time-keepers. We are not dis- | posed to accept these assertions as un- i challengeable. Indeed, we nave been sup- | plied with data rebutting them. Me I think much of the alleged improvement 4 has been due to die trade boom at the end of the war, but now there is a different state of affairs. There are nearly , 6,000,000 unemployed in American staple j industries.” t The report points out that the American t Federation of Labour Convention at Den- < ver unanimous)v protested against prohibition, demanding a modified form in order to permit the manufacture of wholesome beer. ‘