AMERICAN MOTHERS WANT TO KNOW.

White Ribbon, Volume 50, Issue 11, 18 December 1944, Page 3

AMERICAN MOTHERS WANT TO KNOW.

(From l’mom 3 igiuil. )

“When we read abexit raids over Berlin or tin invasion in Normandy very few of us 'top to think of the necessary supplies and material* that tnust fortify our men." says Mrs. Helen Sprackhng, director, womens division, Allied Liquor Industries, !nc., in her radio bulletin of July 10. “For example, it is not known how many men landed on tlie coast of Normandy in the first invasion wave. We do know. liowever, that each man carried three hand grenades Hut just for tlie sake e*f our story, let’s assume that five hundred thousand (300,000) men were involved. A quick bit of mental arithmetic and we know that they carried a total of one million five hundred thousand (1,500,000) hand grenades. Carrying our story a hne joint further, those one million five bund red thousand (1.500,000) band grenades required almost twenty-three tliousand five hundred gallons of commercially pure alcohol, or the equivalent of two hundred and fiftysix thousand (236,000) ‘fifths’-si/cd Littles of whisky. “Did someone say alcohol liad gone to war? Yes, Mrs. Sj»racklmg, alcohol has gone to war and sh<xild continue to go to war. in the form of materials to save the lives of the American boyt,—but NOT as a beverage that will muddle their brains, •weaken their muscles, ami definitely retard the recuperative lowers of those unfortunate Mi wlio are wounded ih the struggle. Ami since the amounts of alcoliol needed for grenades and other war materials reach such astronomical figures, why should even one gallon of this precious ingredient lx* diverted this crucial imxith toward the making of beverage “fifths" of whisky? Why should tlie idlers and haters in taverns, in saloons, and in night club* in this country lx* su|>f4ied with the luxury that may mean the difference between life and death to t!.e fighting men at the front?

W ill you please answer those questions, Mrs. Sprackling, for the mother* wt.J are listening at their radios trying to still the fear in their courageou* hearts!