PROHIBITION IN AMERICA

Hokitika Guardian, 13 January 1930, Page 7

PROHIBITION IN AMERICA

‘THERE IN NO SUCH THING.”

CHRISTCHURCH, Jan. 10.

“There is no such tiling as Prohibition in the United States, and, in my opinion, they will never have it,” said Air D. F. Dermeliy, a Christchurch resident who has just returned form a world tour extending over two years, most of his time being spent in America. Air Dennchy gave as the reason for his statment that the people generally had learnt how to manufacture liquor, of a sort, for themselves.

“Liquor can be obtained almost anywhere, but the price is very high,” lie said. “Good liquor can he obtained, but the price is exorbitant. It is admitted throughout the country that the law is a failure. The Government has lost the revenue, and the endeavour to enforce the law costs the authorities enormous sums. One could write pages on the various ways in which the liquor is brought into the countrv.

“I noticed more cases of helpless drunkenness on the streets in New York than 1 did in London. I will not say what they had been drinking in New York. One bad feature of the law has been to give the numerous criminal class easy money. They stop at nothing. The worst of all has been the general disrespect of the law arising from this. Things are going to take a lot of putting right. I think that eventually they will have to come hack to Smith’s idea*-bnrs for beer and wines and State control for spirits. “Anyone who does not desire the United States to make any further progress can do no better than wish for a continuance of Prohibition, such as it is in America. It means, of course that Canada and the outlying islands mostly British-owned, are rapidly becoming wealthy oil account of the rumrunning activities Another feature is that more people travel to Europe and Canada then ever before, and, naturally. they spend their money outside the United States.”