GREAT PROHIBITION GATHERING

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 October 1911, Page 2

GREAT PROHIBITION GATHERING

WELCOME TO THK I!EV. 11. S. GRAY. (Abridged from Ly (blot-on Times, ' October 17, 1911.) ri"UIE Rev. R. S. Cray addressed JL a well attended meeting Jit tlio Kind's T!s:ja'.re last evening on "Prohibition in America." The chair was occupied by the Rev. 8. Hender-

Tho chairman said it was one of the objects oi the meting to extend a •hearty welcome home to the Rev. R. S. Gray, Mr Gray was a valued leader of the Prohibition party. He belonged to New Zealand as a. whole . . . . He had visited America to gain first-hand information on matters of 'croai int'"est to Xew /colander,s, and had gainful experienco which would he of great value in tihe coming ci'.mpai'-.n. (Applause).

j The Rev. Mr Gray proceeded to ideal with t ! e fact that in America, ! although -10.000,000 people were livi ing under prohibitory law. the. liquor | hill was steadily increasing. j There, was reolly no efficient prohib--1 ition in America. Maine and Kanj sns had constitutional prohibition, i and other states had. : 'Nt«to-\vide" I prohibition, but the inter-State Com- ! liieree Law prevented the prohibit- ' ion of importations of liquor into i "''dry'' territory. The "scaled pnekj age" hiw, which protected all post- ; oil parcels m the same way as prijvate letters are protected in this i country, ensured that there could he | no examination of any sealed parcel [of liqiror posted into a No-License (area. Until the Inter-State Oomj liieree Law was amended there could. I never he real prohibition in AmerI ica. Even then, where one state | was "dry" and an adjoining one j "wet,."' it was impossible to patrol j the whole of the boundary line—a I line which was often an imaginary i line. . . The Rev. Mr Gray then | preceded to describe the shades of ! "prohibition ' in American States. I And coming fo the dispensary sys|tom. he said: The "dispenstrv svsi tern" in America did not prevent ; sly-grog selling. Sly-<.TOg selling

j was rampant in the cities where the i <lispon«irv system was in vosuo. The : system led moil to buy liquor in {lnnio (jiinntitios and ?,et beastly jdmnk. M. Kavannal, the CMi-iof of i Police. found ir impossible to rrot | convictions against- breakers of tlu i prohibitory law because nil the reI cent people hi ill" town had pnrj chased <>>:< nipt ion from jury scrvicc. | nrul in 'i city of ro.ooo to 80.000 inj habitant's onlv about'ooo wore liable | lor *.erv!ce. This remainder inolurl. j or! ;tll i h,' drunkards and sly-grop j sellers in illo community Tr ; Tennessee. a f.mvii of about 7.000 inj habitant*. all the saloons wore wid< iopen. although fttnte-wido prohibiI • ion V-T-; supposed in be in force, i Convictions could not bo obtained a? j no jury would convict. j In regard to Maine, there was not nine]) ntwv to be said on ilir> subject, j ... If was true that in Elaine Ins) j yenr 0-u Federal licmor license tavc< | w-ro paid. bnf. 110 licenses wore hob i bv who bad tn pay n foe i '200 were held by persons who sold j nio h'eiiial p; op nations (•■untaininc t alcohol. while ''ovnt 'on wore hob : bv persons usui'j; alcohol for modi- ; rinal or incc-liaiii.":)! purposes. .\ >.] v-<rro<r S"ilor took out a licon.se I and was allowed t'i do s'o oven Iji ;i ; "'dry" state, because ho had no de-l-ore to fall foul of the Federal au- | tb-orilios. the Pev. Mr Gray has. in thr oxtr;i"'ts. stated oxiacth ; what Anti-Prohibition party ir ! .New Zealand lias broil sayinp; in tlu ; newspapers foi some weeks past, an< :ibe licensed victualler.-: oii-oht to Ik ; thankful for Ibo Row Gray's tlior I onn!i exposure of those miserable methods 'be prohibitionists of Xow :/v aland would like to foist upor j tujs conntrv in the names of nVhtj o-u-noss ;iTie' religion! Xearlv Ti-al ! i-'" 1 people in America Mr Grav snvf are livuinr under _ prohibition.' mir d:'|"\ l,i|] j :< inrrcasiurc. 'Flier ]irobibilbin is a farce. the ston about •'.scaled packages," and tlu Po-'i inp; „[ lir,nor into prohibitor ■areas. s:;r;w.s that the bettor-clas" of people living in Xo-lioonso ,state? can C'-ot n]] [hoy want of good liqiror whereas the working-man in the No-l,if-e?iso area must put up with am rubblvji lie f.fin o*ef nil the spot. Prri 'I' bit ion. Mr Gray demonstrates. i< "' las':' leyi-lal ion. It v. ill be note'.' H.at talks of the line bo''(fry ' and "wot'' slates, and 'bo (o<t of patrol]inrj; (bat lino (r iirevont Mi:u'i'.diny;r T.et, rendoiv; try and imagine the cost of patroliine; ;md policing t.ho coast ant inaccessible bark-Mock territory o| this country i! prohibition is adopted in Xow Zealand? AIV Gray al.sr dealt -witb various sb.ado's oi proibibitii.ui. and be found ".sjy-gros selline; ramp,an tin cities disjion.sary sx.'-tcin was in vojiue,'' and imagine tbo proliibitory law b'einp; held in snob contempt that n<rajiiM the sellers no convir fmn eoub.l be obtained, the respectable pr-npio contractiny t-homseh'e.' ■out. of t!io jury service. Sly-ffroc .sellers v/ere tried by their "poors' 1 and no suoii jury would c-onvint. Gray had little to say about Maine, but what lie did say showed that Maine had fully half as many Fodor- •>! licensed ki'ojj; sellers --wlio wort also the slv-crrog soiling gentry ir as tlioro -arc licensed victuallers in Xow Zealand, and tho\ fouo'bt on the side, of Ihe prohibitionists lov the retention of the prohibitory law. Mr Gray is a. valuer leader of the Prohibition partv in this country, and Ire comes back tr to induce the people u this Dominion to accept prohibition. which ho shews to Ik l a. failure n America. FTi.s own words are; ' There is really no efficient prohibition in America.'" ?\othimj; inorr leod be said Gray has reached -he limit. liowever. in view of all hat the Uev Mr Grav has said nederate lien nnri women in t.bif "oiinlrv. who are toniperato in thoii i-"o of alcoholic bevori.trcs, will sure v decide -nil clootie:' 'bn v to voir 'or the continuance of the present ■vstem of 1 icons inn; rntkor than votr ?»' n JiTih-d that 1.:.!= proved inefTi'ient in America, a-d i-? a-compan-ct7 i-.- Cl7 f-b n dep'orablc condition *1 M'tnl ;HH] .••[■tic • 'n-oinmpiit i( ie dinner t-> f-: ilisi-d and reP'<ct.m m!c people.*