PROHIBITION

Southland Times, Issue 19659, 9 October 1922, Page 5

PROHIBITION

MR “PUSSYFOOT" JOHNSON ADDRESSES IN INVERCARGILI. Mr W. E. Johnson, better known m “Pussyfoot,” the man who has a great reputation as a f>ro)ubition lecturer, has been spending a rather strenuous week-end at Invercargill. After lining welcomed od his arrival on Friday morning, he went out to Winton in the afternoon and to Rivertoa in the evening. He was the guest of the Invercargill Prohibition League at luncheon on Saturday, and on Saturday evening and again last night he addressed meetings in the King’s Hall, Clyde Street. He leave* for the north this morning, stopping at Dunedin to deliver one more addres i* that city. LUNCHEON AT THE FEDERAL Mr Johnson was the guest of honour at ran invitation luncheon on Saturday, Mr J. S. Baxter was in the chair. Proposing the toast of the New Zealand Alliance, Mr H. W. Royds said the organisation was the oldest in connection with the prohibition movement in New Zealand and it had done excellenl. work in tlie past.. He related how buaness people had put up a very large sum of money, about to back another movement, but the prohibition campaign had started without sucA becking and it had done welL Rev. J. Collie, responding on behalf of the zMliance, said they were full of hope in the campaign. With repeated efforts there was danger of enthusiasm dying amongM sympathisers, out in this case it was not so. An interesting thing was the strange want of argument on the other Hide, and this no doubt the public would have noueed. The Alliance owed a very great deal to its women workers. Mr R. J. Cumming; speaking on the Dominion. said New Zealand had the reputation of being a fine little <xmntry—one of the best of the British lands. New Zealand for the variety of ite prodnetj venera was very rich with a great future ahead. South. Land could fairly claim to be the garden of New ZealajKl. Our arable lands wre extensive, our meat was the best in New Zealand, and butter and cheese brought the highest prices on the Ixxndon nrarkrta. Southland grew barley, but it was anticipated that barley woukl go out and wheat take its place. Southland never had a drought, its harvest never failed, and its people were pn?s[>erou.s because of the miL Rev. H. G. Gilbert, in’reply, said it was of New Zealand sand and mud he had built the first Little houses he had ever l>eeu interested in, and it was for New Zealand land and soil and folk he would be fighting, he hoped, all his life. The peojJe of New Zealand were proud of their land, and good as it was, the fight was being fought to make it better. They wanted a good clean New Zealand, prohibition by New Zealand people with a New Zealand vote, and then the land would still more bo God’s Own Count iy. Rev. J. Ijowsod Robinson jwoposed the health of the guest of honour, Mr W. E. Johnson, He said he had for many years looked upon statements from the other ride with suspicion and iiu«irusf, but when they had stated that they did not want a “Yankee Agitator" to reform them. 1» befieved they were telling the truth. Several other people who had come here before Mr Johnson were not wante<l by certain sectious of the community, but men were coming whom they needed, apart altogether from their wants. He Ijelieved the liquor traffic was doomed because it carried in itself the seeds of dissolution. Whatever custom served no good purpose died out, and so it would be with the liquor traffic, iieesuse the blight of uselessness was upon it. From the tavern had issitod a continuous stream of filth and ecouomic inefficiency, and that would kill it. Introducing the guest, Mt J. S. Baxter said even as a boy the tales of what reformers had accomplished had stirred his heart. Mr Johnson had fought and had accomplished a very great deal. Mr Johnson wud he hapficned to be a Presbyterian. His parents were so z and be was therefore predestined to be a Presbyterian. He was interested in the doctrine o£ total depravity, but he had heard of God. making a divine iujmmand through Balaam’s a« and if God could make use of an ass he could make use of the peaker. He was convinced that there was some gruid in everybody. Coming more dnfuiitpJy io prohibition, Mr Johnaou related several experiences. He then showed a copy of an industrial paper which he said was the largest in America, if not in the whole world. This paper had issued a questionnaire regarding the ‘iMrolubitmn law, and 984 per cent, of the replies from big industrialists and manufacturers were in favour of the amendment. He quoted the three States of Colorado, Oregon and Washington. saying that all three states had several cities counted in hundreds of thmicmnd-. In 1917, the State majontrrs voted dry against the wills of tliese cities. Two years later the restoration of beer and wiue was asked, but everyone of the cities returmi! votes that were dry. The majorities were ten times as dry as formerly they had been wet. That was the test of prohibition. Ohio had a dry vote with a 20.000 majority when the soldiers were away. Another vote w:w taken when the eoMiera returned and there was a dry majority of over 200,(XX). It was true that prohibition in America was now more oi- less a business man’s move. But it had not been ho. It wa<- the kmghaired men and the short haired wonwn who fought for it. The busiuessmen came ito favour prohibition later. It was said }»eople would not come to America under prohibition. They now had to keep then* away. The revenue had not suffered. In no State in the Union had taxation advanced a fraction of a eent. Wealth had increased. The States could practically all reduce taxation if they wished but they were using the surpluses for the omstru' - tion of new public building*. There ww an epidemic of new schools, and some o£ them were to cost a million dollars. America had mack* up her mind about prohiUtion. It was fixed. America would no inure go back to liquor than to si awry. AIT the talk against prohibition was not representative of American opinion. 1« wm the slum opinion only. 'The motive power al the back of prohibition was the love of parents for their young, the desire to jxotect them. 'l’hat was the dominant note and without it there would be no prohibition. Love of country, love of home, and love of little ones. w>m going to hold prohibition, just as it bad inatje it. The jie.ople present welcomed toe 100 turer heartily and proceeding were opened and closed with the National Anthem. “DRY” AMERICA. CONDITIONS PAST AND PRESENT. The meeting on Saturday night in too King’s Hall was attended by perhaps SOU people. Mr J. S. Baxter was chairman. Introducing Mr Johnson, Mr Baxter said they were to hear a great sjrcaker ou a great subject- u/xm which there were sides. He knew there, were two sides - the wet side and the dry side. He perI sonally was on the ride of the angels, and he took it to be toe ooty of the angcri to help men to be happier and holier and butter, and tliai wa> the aim of his rich. He told the story of the Iririiman who was asked what be would be if not Irish, and who said il he were not an Irishman hr would be ashamed of himself. Mr Bax ter said he would be ashamed of himself if hr were not on toe side that was m> prohibit the manufacture and sale of inI toxicating liquor. Invercargill hud had no license for 16 years, and during all that time they had not hail a tingle drink tragedy. In a town of 20,000 people that was not to lie mulched in the whole of New Zeal.ir.d. Wanganui and Griborue and other towns could not equal it. Since the reform in this town the business man had increased their subecribtions four fold to toe fund, and that was a proof of what the merchanta thought of prohibition. He liked to see people in health and strength

and he knew some reputable people who were moderate drinkers and had given it up. They told him they were happier, healthier and wealthier. He introduced Mr Johnson as a man with great ideals and great achievements. FACTS AND FIGURES. Mr Johnson said he did not come as a stranger because he had known of it for 20 years. Invercargill had been defamed by the liquor dealers. Grass was growing in the streets and the city and houses were turn blind down and the children were clothed in rags. Those were the lies the liquor traffic had been spreading about Invercargill and now they wanted tlyß people of Invercargill to vote for the (rtiffic. Loyal honest people had told him the truth' as he now saw it, that the city was enterprising, prosperous and progressive. It was one of the cleanest cities south of the Equator. Sir Robert Stout, Mr Bedford and Mr C. H. Poole of Auskland had told him of Invercargill, and they had told him the truth. Therq seemed to "be an epidemic of advertising in the newspapers. He had observed a challenge from John D. Howard. It was a debate. If John Howard felt that Iway why did he not go to live in a city that gave him the liberty he wanted. The man referred him to a verse in the Bible, giving Paul’s advice to Timothy “take a little wine for your stomach’s sake.” “Why should I take wine for my stomach’s sake,” said the speaker. “There is nothing the matter with my stomach so why should I take medicine.” Another advertisement had said he had said something he did not say and then apeused him of lying because he had said it. He did not say what had been imputed to him. What he had said was that the paper Cheerio had quoted Horatio Bottojaley, the man who had been sentenced to seven years fit the penitentiary as a common thief. STATEMENTS REFUTED The speaker then read a recent advertisement regarding drug taking in America. It was printed as a cable but he did not know whether it was a cable or not. That investigation, he said, was* made in 1919 before prohibition came into effect. The investigation was with a view to acting in concert with France, which was trying to kill the drug habit among its own people. Mr Johnson held up what he said was the report of that investigation which was dated April 1919, two months before national prohibition came into effect. The figures in that report showed that decreases in drug taking had occurred in small towns and increases in the large cities, which at that time were “wet” and the small ones were “dry.” Another advertisement referred to Chicago. If they wanted to know the effect of prohibition on Chcago why not compare the conditions there before and after the reform. Two years before prohibition there had been 101,067 arrests and two years after there were 81,042. Fifty of the largest cities showed a decrease of approximately 50 per cent, in arrests-for drunkenness in three j r ears. “In three short years the number of arrests was cut square in two, and we think that worth while.” The law allowed people, he said, to keep private liquor stocks, but they were permitted only to drink it or invite their friends to drink it. That was a weakness in the law,- he thought, and while it continued there would be a certain amount of drunkenness. But it was hoped in the years to come,'to cut that down. But no law in all history had had 100 per cent, enforcement. The laws against stealing and killing did not prevent theft or murder. He had not been in England three months before some one stole his watch. In America, however, the prohibition law was being violated far less than the excise laws, which had been in existence for 100 years The population of Chicago’s greatest prison in 1917 was 1818 and in 1922 it was 1087. The population was thus cut almost in half. That was Bradville Prison and he quoted from Judge Gemmell of the Municipal Court, Chicago. During the last year of liquor, 169 people had died of alcoholism in Bradville Hospital, and in 1921 one person. In Washington the two public homes for the treatment of female and male inebriates had been crowded for the past 50 years and now they were planning. to go out of business. During the past 15 years there grew up a peculiar business of treating the victims of drink and drugs for a profit. The business was so profitable that there were 300 of these institutes. Dr. Neill controlled 65 of these institutes and treated 125.000 victims of drink and drugs in 15 years. All these 65 institutes were now closed, and of the whole 300 throughout America there were only 12 or 14 left. Those same institutes were now opening all over Europe where there were plenty of victims of drink and drugs. Many wild stories were told of America. It was a country of. big things. In America he heard of a place so dry, postage stamps were pinned on and a fish swimming upstream left a trail of dust. He also heard of a man who had «been drunk for 30 yeais and when prohibition came he went home sober. The change was so great his own dog bit him. These American stories were equalled by some in New Zealand. He referred to the Rev. Heathcote, of Wellington. This man had said that there were 271,750 arrests for drunkenness in the City of New \ork. The speaker produced a report of the Police Commissioner, stating that the actual number of arrests in New York City in 1921 was 8,169. Rev. Heathcote was only ab0ut.260.000 wrong. Rev. Heathcote had also quoted a speech of Abraham Lincoln, but that was a forgery and had been proved so. It had been forged in 1887 in Atlanta to trick the negroes of New Georgia. Rev. Heathcote had also stated that in some places in America it was illegal to cook a dinner on Sunday, to bathe or to walk arm in arm with a girl. That was an absolute and wild exaggeration. Rev. Heathcote had made another statement purporting to quote Abraham Lincoln. against prohibition. Volume and page were quoted and the speaker had failed to find the book in Wellington and had cabled to the librarian at Washington and the reply had come': “Nothing in Lincoln against prohibition.” The speaker went on to quote further statements by Rev. Heathcote, and deny them by facts. A story had been published that Henry Ford had laid off and dismissed 118,000 men for drinking. In reply to cable he had been informed that Ford had laid off the men for four days owing to the coal strike. He mentioned these things to show the kind of stories that were being told about America. He had read reports of the Allied Medical Association of America and he believed the reports were correct. But what was the Allied Medical Association, which was quoted as a standard authority. The great authority was the American Medical Association and it was for Prohibition. The Allied Medical Association was composed of less than 200 members who were unable on account of unprofessional practice to gain admission to the American Association. Its president was a German. Dr Fritz, of Chicago, who was a power in the Germ an-American agreement which had been revoked by Congress. There was another type of story that found its way into the newspapers because they were unusual. The people read of a poor fellow who drank wood alcohol and curled up and died, or a man beat his wife to death, it was so very unusual under Prohibition that it was sent all over tho world. Before Prohibition 40 men might have done the same and it might not have been unusual. An offer of £lOOO had been made' two years ago to anybody in the world who could prove an increase of crime in America since Prohibition had come. That offer had never yet been claimed. In Christchurch a paper had given Judge Gemmell as authority for the statement that there was an increase of crime in America under Prohibition. Heshad a letter written by Judge Gemmell, and instead Yf an increase there had been a decrease of crime greater than the speaker had believed possible. The Judge had stated that 20 per cent, of the gaols in America weje

without prisoners, and prisoners had decreased from 50 to 80 per cent, throughout the country. The Governor of Indiana had told him that 50 per cent, of the county gaols in the State had been closed under Prohibition. THE FINANCIAL SIDE. Somy wondered where the money was to come under Prohibition. It had been found that the liquor revenues were never sufficient to pay the costs caused by drink. There were two other special reasons why State taxes did not have to be increases. There was much more work and workmen everywhere began to save money and build more homes. With more work the same rate of taxation brought more money. The other reason was the decrease in public expenditure. The speaker quoted cases of gaols and workhouses which had cost sometimes twice as much as the local liquor revenue. If anyone wanted the facts of Prohibition who would be better to ask than the State governors. There were 48 States and therefore 48 governors elected by the people. Forty-seven of these governors were already on record as stating the benefits of Prohibition. The speaker read one of these letters and quoted from the rest. For the Presidency two years ago Senator Harding was the nominee of the party out of power. He was the “dry” candidate and Senator Cox, the nominee of the party then in power, was the “wet” candidate. The “wet” candidate in his statement to the people had said he believed in 20 years liquor would be banished not only from politics but also from memory in America. Senator Harding had been elected by a 7,000,000 majority—the largest majority in the history of America. The speaker then read a statement by Evangeline Booth, of the Salvation Army, stating that penal institutes were rapidly being depopulated and nurses were already finding a noticeable improvement in the health and condition of the children. Plenty of j>eopie, the speaker said, 'were to be found in America who would deny die benefits of prohibition, but they did not represent the great heart, the great thought and the great purpose of America. “In the old dark days we had been getting our revenue by the suffering and misery of women and children, and we decided it was time to stop regardless of cost. And we found that the cost was nothing.” The amendment to the constitution, Mr Johnson explained, was not a law. It was merely a voice of the people and was worth nothing until put into legal effect by what was known as the Volstead Act, made by Senate, and the Senate could repeal that act in twenty-four hours if it wished. But it did not wish. The people of America had the same ideals and aspirations as the people of the British Empire. Both great people were of the same Anglo-Saxon stock. America looked upon Great Britain as her mother, and she honoured her mother just as the British colonies did. Several questions were asked after the speaker concluded. A questioner: Does Mr Johnson know anything about the world other than America ? Mr Johnson: Yes. The same questioner: What does he know about New Zealand? Mr Johnson: I don’t know facts and figures of New Zealand, I have been here only a fortnight, but other gentlemen on this platform can tell. The same person - Why is Mr Johnson sitting behind the Union Jack'? Mr Johnson: Because I’m in the country over which this Hag floats. Another questioner: Why did America stay out of the Near East crisis? Answer: She was not invited to come in. It is purely a political matter. Q: America looks upon Britain as the colonies do. W’hy does she not submit tc British rule except when she has to? A: Britain does not submit to America nor America to Britain. I have British blood in my veins and am proud of it. Rev. Carlisle announced that the Committee had decided to take up Mr Howard's challenge to a debate providing he was the authorised representative of the liquor party. During the meeting a small party of malcontents at the back of the hall made several attempts to interrupt the speakers, by cat-calls and other expressions of discord. The meeting closed with the National Anthem. * SPEECH LAST NIGHT. PROHIBITION’S EFFECTS. WHAT BECAME OF DRINK SHOPS. Yesterday evening, Mr Johnson spoke again, touching new ground, before an audience larger than on Saturday night. The attendance was estimated at welF over a thousand. The Mayor, Mr J. F. Lillicrap, was chairman of the meeting. Before the addresses commenced the audience indulged in community singing, with the following chorus, sung with organ accompaniment:— New Zealand’s going dry, New Zealand’s going dry; Pass along the watchword, New Zealand’s going dry. New, Zealand’s going dry, New Zealand’s going dry; Glory Halleluiah, New Zealand’s going Mr V. Stanton, who acted as' cmidnctor, then sang a portion of the American Battle Hymn, and the audience joined in the chorus. After the Rev. J. Lawson Robinson had led the meeting in prayer, the Mayor introduced Mr Johnson, as a man whose name was well-known, not only in New Zealand, but throughout the English-speaking world. Mr Johnson did not come to New Zealand to tell the people how to vote, but simply to tell them what was happening in America. It had been said that the Americans were always after “the almighty dollar.” If that were so, then Prohibition must be a good thing for them, for they evidently intended to stick to it. Opening his address, Mr Johnson called upon Mr John Howard, who had challenged him to debate, to come forward and tell how much happier and better New Zealand homes would lie with the liquor traffic going on. Mr Howard did not come forward. It had been said that America spent 10,000,000 dollars enforcing Prohibition. That was about 10 cents per head. And the returns in fines were many times ten million dollars. HELP THE AFFLICTED. H-e directed the attention to the verse in Matthew 12, where Jesus had met a man with,a withered hand and helped him. America hail made provision for all infirmities except one. It had made no provision for the man with a withered appetite. had. licensed men to snare these with the appetite for liquor, licensed men to give him the thing which made misery to his wife who did not drink. And America had now decided to quit that, and had done so. The country had decided to give the man with the withered appetite the same protection that was given to all the other infirmities, and that was called Prohibition. For 4200 years, ever since the days of the Kings of Babylon, efforts had been made to remove the ills of the liquor traffic without removing the liquor traffic itself. But they had all failed, and after those 4200 years of • failure America had decided to remove the evils by removing the liquor traffic itself, and had done so. The result" was Prohibition. Mosquitoes had become a pest on Staten Island, and nothing did any .good until the people began to use their heads and the neighbouring swamps were drained. That killed the source of supply and the mosquito plague went with it. The people of America had begun studying the liquor question with their heads and not with their stomachs. America had experimented with Prohibition for 50 years, and had now made Prohibition a national reform. The primary elections would soon be held for Congress in America, and if all the “wet”'- candidates were elected, then Congress would be 80 per cent. dry. That was

the feeling of the American people on the subject. There were some who talked against Prohibition. There were some who made a fat living out of the business of getting men drunk. A considerable proportion of the opponents of Prohibition were teetotallers, i5Ut they were cold-blooded men who made a business of liquor selling. They made it their business to divorce other men from their money and give them a headache in return. 'They had found that they could do their business better if they were not fuddled by drink; and they would net employ barmen who drank. A large number of the men who voted dry did so because they recognised that the liquor traffic had its hand at their throat. They were drunkards who voted for their wives and children, and who in th? name of God had a better right to vote “dry” than a drunkard? The States of the West were the places where the greatest feeling for liberty prevailed. In those States there were very many business men who moderate drinkers. These people, keen, shrewd men, almost without exception had not only voted “dry,” but had helped the “dry” fund financially and by every other means they could find. Those moderate drinkers knew I hat liquor was not helping their business. They had voted to help their business and to help their employees against the habit of their stomachs. The speaker then detailed experiences that had befallen him while travelling in the United States since Prohibition had come into force. Train conductors had told him |the number of drunken men travelling on the railways had been reduced to vanishing point, travellers had told him of the great, decrease in drunkenness and its consequences, aucK people of all classes' had told the same story. Most of the anti-Pro-hibition talk, he had found, was by ex-saloon-keepers who bad been deprived an easy living and now had to work for their livelihood. Consequently they had a “grouch.” WHAT HAPPENED TO EMPLOYEES. One question that was asked was what happened to the men formerly employed in the saloons and breweries. The speaker detailed instances where former breweries had been turned into freezing works and employed twice as many men paying them much higher wages, where they were changed to manufactories of clothing and confectionery, employing many more people; and where they had blossomed out into grocery, drapery, and other shops. During his last visit to New York he made inquiries to find out whether any of the 10,000 saloons in New York were vacant, and he had been unable to find a single one of these premises vacant for any cause. But in a journey of 50 miles about New York he had seen one thing. During the days cf liquor thousands and thousands of children were employed in factories and drinkshops. Those little sweated children, who once had to work to help the family funds, were now able to live without working. This had caused a, very great influx of children to the schools, and many of the former saloons had been converted into schools. How should men and women live, anyway? Should they be like the wolf or the hyena, living only for their stomachs, or should they follow the Great Master, helping their weaker brethren, and making the thoroughfares safer for the women and the little children. He could see the time when the mroier would no longer be anxious when her son was not heme before six o'clock. He could see the time coming when the working men would no longer be ground down and crushed in the slavery, of drink. He could see the time when the world would be cleaner than it was to-day, when the mother would have no fear for the filthy drink shop round the corner. Some folks might think that was a vision, bdt he was absolutely convinced that it would come to be a fact, so long as there were clean men and women ready and willing to follow in the footsteps of their Great Master and help their weaker brethren. MEETING AT BLUFF. Yesterday afternoon Mr Johnson and party motored to Bluff where an audience of about 300 persons listened attentively. The Mayor, Mr J. S. A. McDougall, presided, and the s;>eaker was introduced by the Rev. R. Francis.