“Pussyfoot” Back Home

Hokitika Guardian, 8 February 1923, Page 4

“Pussyfoot” Back Home

PREDICTION ON ANTIPODES.

SAN FRANCISCO. .In" 12.

After his lively farewell at Wellington. William E. “Pussyfoot” John-! son, America’s internationally famous dry crusader, spent a rather prosaic session aboard the Union stean or Tahiti, but when ho disembarked at San Francisco he was instantly in the limelight, and delightfully posed for the ■small battery of newspaper photographers who assembled on the wharf when the noted prohibition lecturer stepped ashore.

Some of the more enterprising cam- ] era men swarmed aboard Die liner he- j fore it docked, and lierr “Pussy-foot ’ i revelled in appearing in several poses, wearing the broadest of smiles and ex- j patiating upon the snceesstul tour lie, had experienced in Australia and New Zealand, but lie deeply regretted that both New Zealand and the Commonwealth were “hard nuts to crack” ill the matter of temperance refonn. | fit joyously reported that New Zealand will vote dry at the next general election, three years hence, and ex-', pressed lhe opinion that the same action will be oarrhd out by tin* people of Australia. Against this report, however, was the report of residents of Doth conn- . tries i>ii Itho steamer with Johnson that the dry advocate was met with a cool reception in the Antipodes, and so pronounced was the feeling ill both sections of the British Empire that police protection was needed to prevent mob action, said these passengers. Johnson admiltid that he had received numerous threatening letters, hut laughed them olf with the .statement “that a threatliened mar lives long.” Some of his fellow passengers recounted with evident jubilation that

when Johnson was leaving Wellington a body of police oseorted him to the sl/eamer, whi.Se temperance followers stood on the dock singing songs of “dry” cheer, while dock workers and others warbled strains of “TTow Dry l Ant,” and other carols espousing the cause of intoxicating liquors. CHARGES X.Z. GOVERNMENT. Oil the same liner with Johnson was .Dr Alary Harris Armour, of Eastman. Georgia. who also went to Australia and New Zealand at the solicitation of the temperance workers of both countries to work with Johnson. Dr .Armour reported that the defeat of the dry issue at the last election “was due to the machinations of the New Zealand Government,” which she charged with throwing a “smoke screen - ’ over the temperance issue by injection of three- other political plans in the election. Dr Armour is tlm evangelistic superintendent of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. Speaking of his tour and I’rohihition in geimral, .Mr Johnson said:— “Seventy-live per cent, of the meet ings l addressed in Aosralia ami New Zealand were attended by overflow crowds. Australia is leaning more and more towards Proiiibil ion. More so than New Zealand, because the pcoIple of Australia are more on t Ik* order of Am .I'ieaiis in their views, a,ml they can see the heticiitial results of a temjier.m-; ••-•untr I m-h" Ig fore i'-'-ii mi" tine in Australia, and nunc lli ’ii one hundred in New Z‘aland. “The net inter, .tx" of New Zealand, through a self-imposed tax on the pail of tin* wholesale liquor dealers of if [XT cent, on all liquor sides, have lion accumulated nnir.i than one million dollars to light any move to curtail the liquor industry. “The greatest handicaps are Lb' newspapers in N'cv, Zealand, v. ho a'-c. you might, sav as a whole. loiter against any attempts to make that oil mi try dry. Large liquor advertisements npp'inr in the papers, and columns of derogatory news are published against the elforU oi -the dry forces. “In the last eL'ction in Nev, Zealand the drys gained 20.0'X; moi" votes for Prohibition than at the previous election, and the eurivnt for Icm porn m-e is rapid;;.- e-iining." r.S. TO DRV Fl*. Shifting from foreign countries to America. Johnson said: “I don’t expect America to he made as diy as we v.ani it to he in my gi'uorat ion or tinnext, ’lake slavery, for instance. It has born abolished for the last sixty years, hut to-day you set* case* of peonage reported from the Stale oi Georgia. “England has had laws of punishment to govern stealing for the last thousand years, hut I was only in London three weeks when my watch was stolen !” Johnson went to his hotel in San Francisco and then quietly slipped out of the Californian metropolis for a two weeks' rest at Lin- ranch of his son. Clarence P. Johnson, in San 1 Scrim rddino. Southern California. The Prohibition leader was met at the steamer by his daughter-in-law and grandson. Just after landing he was notified bv T)r Briggs, superintendent of the AntiSaloon League of California, that arrangements had been made for two important gatherings to he held in Sail Francisco to he addressed by the redoubtable "Pussyfoot.” “J shall then start upon a speaking tour, working mv way eastward,” added Mr Johnson. Almost coincident, with the appearance of Mr Johnson in San Francisco there came to the same city Mr Clifford Gordon, special investigator of the Victoria Anti-Saloon League of Australia who reached California alter a .'iJ.OOO-mile tour of the United States studviiig the liquor situation. ANOTHER VIEW. “The evident failures of the American dry agents have even turned strong Christian lenders in Australia away from the support of Prohibition” said Mr Gordon. ‘‘However,” lie added. “I can understand that the enforcement of the dry law is fraught with many difficulties, for many ut which the Governmne c-annot be blamed. The agents are many times crooks, and even judges have been found to he unduly lenient to the brsakers of the Volstead Act. One police captain in one of the cities I visited told me he had never attempted to enforce the dry law and never intended to.” Mr Gordon went to a. San Francisco theatre and witnessed the perlormance of a new and popuplar skit entitled

“Now and Then.” It is a Prohibition satire by Kold and Dill, two American humorists, who visited Australia sonic few years ago. but were not appreciated in the Antipodes and their visit came to an untimely termination through la cl; of patronage. ‘*l went to see l this well-acted skit, and f must admit there was a deal of real truth in much of it,” said Mr Gordon. “But these actors seem to think that all Americans are bootleggers. 1 can disprove this impression. - ' While in San Francisco Mr (Jordon detailed a few points o n Antipodean liquor matters, stating than in 11W1 Australia spent 1-17.(100.000 dollars for alcoholic drinks. He said: “Many ot my countrymen are of English descent, and they love their ale. All the working men buy it in buckets and cans for their noonday lunches. Then. too. whisky, especially Scotch whisky, is in great use. I try to be fair about the lienor question, and Ik cause mv countrymen were in doubt as to the advisa-

bility of adopting n ‘Volstead law’ or oilier restriction on the sale of liquor. I came to this dry nation to find out how the enforcement of the hone dr" Act had resulted.” Mr (Jordon, who was a minister of a Christian church in Melbou.m \ l.atravelled eighteen months >’n ti c- i, ril'd States, obtaining data on Prohibition. He interviewed judges, visile.l gaols and alcoholic cure institutes, lie believes that the number of deaths and blindnesses resulting from drinking wood alcohol have been exaggerated.