NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2285, 20 October 1914, Page 9

NO-LICENSE CAMPAIGN

MR. AND MRS. SNOWDEN'S LECTURES.. : ' Mt. anrl Mrs. Snowden continued their No-License campaign in Wellington yesterday. In the afternoon Mrs. Snowden addressed - a woman's meeting (reported elsewhere); and in tho evening Mr. Snowden spoke to a large audiouco about some economic aspects of tho liquor problem. Mr. J. M'Combs, M.P., presided over the latter meeting. Mr. Snowden stated that his purpose was to address the gathering on the subject of some of the possible economio results—the results as affecting wage, business, employment—of the adoption of national prohibition at the coming general election. He said that he put his purpose in those words because he intended to make tho reservation that we were fighting for national prohibition under tho present economic conditions, and not under ideal conditions. Under existing conditions any mental or physicla improvement of the workers benefited rile business community, ihasmuch as it was impossible (at present) • to benefit one portion of the community without some other portion reaping part of tho benefit. Tho drink bill of tho. United Kingdom was £156,000,000 annually, which was more than one-sixth of the wages bill of the kingdom. Could any business eurvivo if one-sixth of its profits was thrown away? And yet that was what the United Kingdom was doing. It was a well-known fact that the liquor traffic employe da smaller number of persons tn produce a given voliimo of value of output than any other trade • In New Zealand only about 700. persons were employed in the brewing -industry—very few more than the aerated water industry employed. It was only fair to add, however, that the traffic employed more men' on the distributive sido than on the productive side. He would not say that the adoption of national, prohibition would solve the unemployment problem, for unemployment was duo to great economic causes which were world- . wide in their character; but ,anything that could be done to lessen wasteful expenditure would have an effect on the problem of unemployment. Moreiver, if men did not indulge in alco- \ "lie liquors they would be more efficv nt workers. Looked at from any ooi. t of view, trade gain would accrue from the abolition of the liquor traffic. Before the gathering' disbanded, exnressions of thanks were tendered Mr. nnd Mrs. Snowden for 'their efforts in tho interests of tho movement.