FICTIONS V. FACTS

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 31, 31 October 1918, Page 6

FICTIONS V. FACTS

'A EURTHER INSTALMENT. "THE TKADE" ANSWERED. In various advertisements published by "tne Traae" lately tnere Have Deen more tuau the ordinary liuiuoer of Mctioas— ana that is saying a good deal. Jj'ive or these iietioiis wt-.o replied to in yesterday's issue. Further'answers follow. Miction No. 8.-'Xiie executive of the Alliance has uome to die conclusion that t:ie spread of i'rohibmou in America has in no ivay lessened consumption. Jj'act—'i'he Alliance has come to no such conclusion, liven n there were w> reliable >data available, the Alliance would only need to see the strenuous efforts of the Liquor Trade to prevent Prohibition to know that Prohibition does lessen the sales of liquor, l'pr if more liquor is sold under Prohibition, with no license fees to pay, why does "the Trade" spendi large sums in publishing their "notions" to, if possible, defeat Prohibition? • ■ ' , ,-■ But the universal testimony of reliable and official authorities clearly flndicates that the consumption of liquor is greatly decreased by Prohibition. Ike Commissioner for the District of Columbia says, on June 28, 1918 (not 1916): "Drunkenness Jms been out down GO per cent."- The Speaker of tho Nova Scotia Legislature in Canada affirms, on Juno 17 of this year, that "Drunkenness has practically disappeared." The Provincial Secretary for Ontario also writes in June, 1918, and says: "Prosecutions for drunkenness have been reduced almost to the vanishing point." The Mayor of Winnipeg, a city of 25(T,000 people, and the largest city in the world to vote out the Liquor Traffic before 1917, states that drunkenness was reduced by Prohibition by 80 per cant. The accual police records of every "dry" city in Cnnnda showed an .immediate phenomenal decrease in drunkenness by the closing of the" "bars of Prohibition. ;

Fiction No. 7. —"Is it not high time the Prohibitionists destroyed the brazen image of (heir worship? Theirs is certainly a violation of the First Commnndment.".

Of course .it was just a slip that the Liquor expert on the Commandments connected graven images with the First instead of £he Second Commandment. So as to have no hard feeling, let him have both the First and Second Commandments while the other eight am quoted ngainst him. Facts.—The Third Commandment condemns profanity. Everyone knows that alcohol increases profanity. The Fourth Commandment safeguards- the Sabbath day. Police stations are more crowded on Sundays than other days, because of Saturday night drinking. The Fifth Commandment protects the home. The immediate improvement in the homes of the workers when Prohibition comes shows ho\v big a foe to home happiness drink really is. The remaining Compmandments forbid stealing, murder, im- ' morality, false swearing, and covetonsness. Statistics from America invariably show from •Jβ |o CO per cent, decrease j in the Police Court cases arising from, "offences associated with these things when Prohibition :s adopted. Undoubtedly drink is at the bottom of the'majority of the infringements of the Ten Commandments. -And when ono considers the New Testament command of loving one's neighbour''it becomes abundantly evident that it is not Prohibition but Alcohol thnt is the great law-breaker.

Fiction No. $.—"Prohibitioiiists malign our soldiers by saying they are not efficient."

Facts.—(a) Prohibitionists l.ave not said .the soldiers at the front are inefficient. They are at the front because they liavo passed certain medical tests that prove them alxive the average in efficiency. (!>) Tho real inefficiency is among those who hav* been rejected as medically unfit. Of these there is , an altogether too large a proportion who are inefficient- because of their drinking hnbits. (c) Tn ndeniintelv support tho efficient men at the front it is necessary to have those at borne efficient. Absentees from the munition , factory on Monday morn in?, unsteady nerves, efc, nil snoll lack'of notional efficiency, (d) Every man employed in the trade in s>V"'inl. overv lv>i-i?. wftiron. train, or steamship engaged in transporting liquor, k so much energy spent on, to sny t'lo lonst. on linneewnry commodity, thnt might be expended on real war work.

Watch for still mom fictions and rUH more facts—(Published by arrangement.)