1922.

White Ribbon, Volume 28, Issue 331, 18 January 1923, Page 1

1922.

’‘Good-bye, kind year, we walk no more together, But here in quiet happiness we part; And frein thy wealth of faded fern and heather 1 take some sprays and wear them on my heart.” “The old year’s long campaign *s o'er.” To many that long campaign has failure written across it, and the year has seemed to close amid defeat and disaster. But "all is not lost th..i is in danger,” and we can always console ourselves with the truth that "they can never fail who dare to try again.’ A hattle won or lost is but an incident in the long campaign, and we are too near to the present conflict, too blinded by the smoke of the fray to calmly reckon up our gains and losses. Our liattle with John Barleycorn is age-long and world-wide. We have not killed the foe, but he lies sorely wounded, and with his lifeblood draining away. How sorely he has been damaged in the long conflict we can only know by directing our gaze from the near to the far-off, both in t tv and space. LOOK BEHIND. Gaze back along the way our temperance forces have come, from the time when the seven men of Preston signed the total abstinence pledge for the sake of others; from the time when Neal Dow, the Father of Prohibition for the world, issued his famous challenge to the liquor seller: "God helping me, 1 live to see the flay when neither you nor any man will dare to sell a drop of

liquor"; from the time when a small band of resolute men and v ,; tuen started in Sydenham the Probation movement for our Dominion. Of those early leaders, T. E. Taylor and Fanny Cole have passed from the Church Militant below and joined the Church Triumphant above; another, our own much loved MLss Roberts, has fallen wounded in the fray, and lies too worn and weary to be actively in the fight; others, as Mr Lsitt, are still with us, still bravely carrying on, still working, praying, believing that victory, though long delayed. is yet ass irad. The field ol lx? Lie is too wide for one glance to take It in, and so we fix oui backward gaze upon our own land. Within the memory of many of us, there was no restriction upon the nui»: ber of licenses to se.l liquor. Ml a person had to do .."»s to build a suitable house and then get ten good men and true to vouch that he was a fit and proper person to hold a license, dispense strong drink to all ami sundry. But the Licensing Act of 1893 altered all that, and for over a quarter of a century no new license has been granted. So that in point of fact we have fewer licensed houses than we had then, for we have closed all bars In 13 electorates, and carried reduction in many other electorates. Then the hours of drinking have been seriously curtailed; bars must Close at 6 p.m., instead of 11 pm.; they must close on Sundays and on Polling Day. Then they sell no liquor to a minor, and Prohibition orders are oftener granted and more rigidly enforced than ever before, barmaids have been abolished, and though the individuals have proved re markahly long-lived, still eventually he

race must die out, as no more can be enrolled. Are not all these wounds inflicted upon John Barleycorn? We lost nothing last December poll, all these advance posts we have kept; wo only failed to advance sufficiently to drive the liquor trade from its last stronghold. IXX3K AROUND. 1922 was a wonderful year, a year of unrest in every nation, every creed, every industry. It was a year saddened by famine and disease in many lands. But in the furnace cf affliction the nations are learning wise mi. Practically every Parliament- and law making body on earth has taken some steps to combat the evils of the alcohol traffic, all in the direction of curtailing the traffic, and not a single nation has enacteed any law to encourage the traffic. Finland is dry, so Us Russia. Denmark has petitioned the Governrn nt for Prohibition, and the petition contained 700,000 signatures. Sweden had a Referendum on the question last August. Though there was a wet majority of 30,288, it should be noted that Stock lolm alone had a majority of 120,000 against Prohibition, thus showing that the c* UTtry districts were strong for Prohibition, for leaving out Stockholm’s vote, there was a dry majority of 90,000. In Sweden, the men's and women’s votes were counted separately, and it Us interesting to note tha f while the men were only 40 per cent, dry and 60 per cent, wet, the women were 57 per cent, dry and 43 pc: cent. wet. But the continent of North America has dealt “the trade” its sev rest blow. Tana la has crippled him. and TT.S.A. has him bound hand and foot, and every Act this year wic

« tightening of those bu u is. Kv«u b» ftsts have realised tbs impossibility oi •vltmft John Its t ley coin (r«« in ths nainr I real manner that he w«a bound. «nd are now trying U> civs him a little lllwrty to sell light b*er and wlu«*. Imping to veto the knots of the rord looser and looser. Hut the people will have nom- of it. Ohio turned It down i»jr a huge majority; everywhere dry delegates were -dected to the House Medical Association of New York bar refused to endorse medn Inal beer, while the American Medical AiewUiion ha* tuundly londemncd luiuoi pi renting physician*. Haviug got a grip on hon within, ths U.tf A. to Betting out to p rev sot MiiugKiuiK. an 1 is |»atroiimg outside the three mile limit as far as 13 >olle«. lamer Austria ha> # orl»nl •ten liquor to he sold to minors, and the Tope has declared that * the Vatican woul do Its lutmoat to fight aim holism." Hu rely as we look around we may see that It is dawnllght every where, and by this new dawnllght w« can see ’he mighty tidal wave of Pro hlhition sweeping over all lands, gsth ertng fouw as it rushes over sea ai er sea. and rolls from shore to shore Who talks of defeat? •ths! may Is delayed by evil, but He suffers no defeat, Otd Is not foiled; the drift of the world win Is not stroarer thin a I wiong. Karih and her years Itnwn joy's bright way, or narrow's long mad. Are moving toward the pun*”** of **e skies " LOOK POPWAHI». Ittt A n« w campaign begun. "Not yet the end. not yet re»*.*M . tio forth again to :n*et >otir foes." We have to look forward to thw< years of hard work, twit they will h years In which the education and sari of the past will he making the**i*.*lve* felt. The truth Is all on our *4m. and we must let the people learn lh« t.uth Kver Increasing weight of evld* n<-• of the success of lodnhitlon in I HA w I he oomlnr to hand. Only last weet the cable told us that the vnsl msjonp of prosecutions for law breaking In

L'.ti.A. tame from Hut.* wbitb bad only recently gone dry In Htates where Prohibition had been in force for long periods there was very little bootlegging. This means that Prohibition is more rigidly enforced the iohger It lust*. The old consumers of alcohol Pass on; the young folk are not learn ing to drink, and so the bootlegger finds fewci and fewer customers for hie poi a°n. Our own No-lAcen*. electorates, with their increasing prosperity and their freedom from crime will be our *<lt at witnesses to the success of our movement, lAJOK I P. We must never forget tin upward l*s*k Ihe battle Is »h. Ixirdr Our leader. Mis I .Ilian Htevena, said: "May w* never In** sight of this fa*4. that f*o.i is at the forefront of every holy (onfllct. leading the hosts of right against the citadel* of wrong" Many who «*n*T fought with us here ar* now ‘.-b.'ng from the other side Prances Willard, I.ill in M Htevenr. Pinny ('ole, Lilian M. Atkinson, fell with their faces to in* foe. and with • i *>f »:i<i v u kaiMbfli" • swords, "t»ut no true Prohibit omst will *ver tome home from the field, or tall for it furlough, or a tru*T or r»vd, or I ~nre till victory be won.” Id u* look on and like Con fantln** of old. we shall be'iold the glowing enct riaininr in the midnight sky. shall read Its motto, "fly this coiMiuer," and shall him Its lesson that victory can only Is* won h\ <*** rlflce. In the wat'la of Rev. J H. Jowett, "You iitn spare a dollar. It is the dolar you can’t s|»are which beam the hall r*vark of ('nlvary. and Is the mlnia- ♦ ••» of redemptive Mfe tr U when our wing wheth* *•( owMVev of strength, or time, touches the quick that it bec "im viral, sn*l existence passes Into life, and we share rhe travail of otlr 1 od and Ha v tour Jesti* Christ " • *ng shall we keep on eh "Just the till the Me-ter stops giving to you."