PROHIBITION RALLIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 497, 29 October 1928, Page 11

PROHIBITION RALLIES

MISS PRESTON STANLEY'S MEETINGS “LIQUOR BUYS POLITICIANS” i ‘‘As an ex-member of Parlia- > ment, I can speak -with authority » , when I say that liquor can pur- . chase politicians and win parties, said Miss Preston Stanley, ex- j member of the New South Wales Parliament, at a prohibition mass meeting in the Town Hall yesterday afternoon. Miss Stanley gave a second address at the Majestic Theatre last evening. There were large attendances at both metings, and Miss Stanley’s clear-ut arguments against the liquor traffic were enthusiastically received. The speaker denied that prohibition would destroy liberty, now would it create unemployment, as supporters of the liquor traffic, had stated. “In proportion to the capital invested in the liquor traffic, it employs fewer people than any other industry,” she pointed out. “Prohibition can only mean benefit to commercial enterprise. Liberty from alcohol would be a lasting good in the country.” Miss Stanley went on to say that the death-rate had decreased in the United States since prohibition was enforced. Working conditions had improved greatly. She thought that New Zealand was admirably suited for the correct enforcement of prohibition. At the afternoon meeting the Rev. Charles Chandler, prison chaplain, surveyed the influences of alcohol through the centuries. He mentioned the collapses of Babylon, Greece and Rome, largely through drunkenness, when * they had led the world in arts and culture. ... “As prison chaplain, Mr. Chandler said. “I am in all too frequent touch with the effects alcohol has had on the lives of men. I do not consider liquor to be the primary cause of crime—many men are predisposed by traits of character toward criminal acts. But it is very certain that liquor accentuates criminal tendencies. From jyiy own observation, I can give as a conservative estimate that 60 per cent, of the men in Mount Eden can attribute their temporary failures in life to liquor.” Mr. Chandler considered that any nation which profited financially from liquor, which spelt moral, physical and spiritual degradation, could not be described as wise. A. prohibition rally was also held m the Knox Presbyterian Church last evening. There was a large congregation, including about 100 members of the Independent Order of Rechabites. ' The Rev. A. Macdonald Asplan stated why he would vote for prohibition on November 14. He said he did L not wish to tell members of his con--3 gregation how to vote, but he claimed 5 the right to tell them his reasons for l voting against the liquor trade.5 He criticised the large sum spent annually on alcohol, and said that with the money spent on liquor in New Zealand last year he could place two sovereigns on every letter in the Bible, from Genesis to Revelations.