TOLERANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 1 December 1917, Page 6

TOLERANCE.

''To the Editor. _ Sir-There can be no tota'nnee of ignorance wlien-information is so casilv accessible. Mr. Harker blames me for the phrase "crass ignorance." Well, every man ought to know the;truth about alcohol, for it is about that I used the phrase. t Tliorc is so much evidence on every hand that alcoholic drink is bad, even m moderation, for everv one admits now that it must bo used*in moderation if at all. The advocates of drink referred to by Mr. Harker are unknown by name to me, and I went to the reading room to find out. but without success. What I can say, and without fear of contradiction, is that the highest medical authorites do not admit that alcohol is a food, and also that life, at its best, docs not need it. There is such .a list of well-known names in the medical world that might be quoted in this connection.- I will merely ask Mr. Harker, and all others who" wish to know the truth about alcohol, to road "Alcohol and the Human Body," By Sir Victor Hor.wley and Dr. Sturge. It is published nt one shilling, but I am willing to lend Mr. Harker a copy. of- the latest edition (1915)-, if he will let me know his desire to read it. There one gets the very best medical opinions, based on experience, that mii he had, and it is all against alcohol. I have also before me an address delivered at the 42nd annual breakfast of the British Medical Association, in mil. by Arthur Evans M.S., M.D.. etc. The lecture is, of course technical, as.it was delivered to doctors, yet the conclusions- are plain to a layman. There is what he says about the ability of the huntan body to resist disease: "I think, I am logically stating the case when I'say that the taking'of alcohol, even in so-called "moderation,' is an invitation to bacterial invasions." Further on he' quotes Professor -Mott: "Drink is not only the ea«se of a 'great number of chimes, hut of great misery and human suffering; it causes disease, and accelerates and aggravates diseases caused by pathogenic organisms, i.e.. tuberculosis and syphilis; moreover, it- is the indirect cause of venereal infection in a large proportion of the cases." Here is Dr.'Evans.* last sentence: 'lf we examine the collected statistics of clinical investigation, or the report of a Life Insurance Office, or even walk the streets with eyes not absolutely blind, vre find the same fact outstanding; and. if the whole truth on this subject can he expressed in a sentence, here is the c.enfence—Alcohol is tho ally of disease and death." Well, if we leave doctors out of the question and just read the Daily News and use our eyes too and our brains we must see'that drink cause* an enormous amount of harm, and no one can show any compensating benefit. Look at Rennier, now confined in the Wanganui gaol under sentence of death. He is there all through drink. He may have had bad feelings when sober' we do not know, but he wo* able to T-ntrol them' He took the 'drink, which in its turn took away, hi.; self-control and he committed the crime for which lie Ims to suffer What T.am asking for is: Where is the benefit from the .ise of alcoholic drink? Mr. Harker, I know, v viii sdmit that harm often comes from it, It la not dog sense to advocate lining a thing that does no go.id and only mis'eads it? votaries. But "Renown" ought to lw replied to, and I merely poinr out that lie is in error inlaying th.it (lie "trade" is a "lawful institution in every British community." It hi not. It is lawful in parts of New Zealand because the people allow it so to be. When the people awake to the truth they will soon declare it unlawful—as unlawful as the Chinaman's gambling and opium smoking. In the meantime it is not lawful in Masterton. and tho Chief Justice said lately what he thought of that district without the legalised trade in intoxicants, Further it is not lawful in most parts of Canada, the 'Province of Alberta to wit. Mr.. W. F. Gold, Inspector Administration Liquor Act in that province, in his report, gives the full statistics on the subject, and which. I have tried to condense as below: The vote was taken in Alberta, in August, 1914, and promoition was carried by a majority of sixty per cent.. That made the "trade" unlawful. The law came into effect in July, 1010, Mr Gold's report deals with a comparison between the prohibition year. July 1, 191(1, to June HO, 1917 and an average of the four year's 1912-15. The comparison shows reductions in all crimes. Under the heading' "all offences" the reduction is 59 per cent., under "dninks" the reduction is 8!« per cent., and under "Vagrancy" it is 86 per cent. Then he gives. a lot of evidence from bishops, ministers of various churches, hankers and business men; all r.pealc of the benefits of the prohibition regime Finally, all is issued under the direction of A. E. Browning, Deputy Attorney General. Now, Sir, I should like to write a lot more, not personalities, for I have.no time, and. ypu have no space for them, but I want the public to be ,in possession of all "the reliable facts concerning alcohol., and then we shall know how to deal with. it. —I am, etc., . GEO. H. MAUNDER.