The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, April 8, 1916. “SHOUTING.”

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 1533, 8 April 1916, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Saturday, April 8, 1916. “SHOUTING.”

“The custom of ‘shouting’ finds few enthusiastic champions at any time,” says the Auckland Herald. “During war time its evils are so aggravated, owing to the great numbers of uniformed men whom it directly affects, that no reasonable opposition can be made to its being made illegal until peace is restored. Legislation to that effect is favoured by citizens who hold the most divergent views upon the general question of the use of alcoholic liquors ; moderate drinkers being possibly the most douscious of the undesirable results of a practice which ordinarily leads to men taking far more liquor than they desire and spending much more money than they can afford. It would be intolerable to confine any prohibition of ‘shouting’ to men in uniform, and the practical remedy is therefore to prohibit ‘shouting’ entirely until normal times return. The soldier is quite able to pay for his own refreshment when he needs it, and should be protected against being drawn by ill advised friends and admirers into a ‘round’ of drinking which is enforced by a bad but prevalent custom, so strong that only the law can break it. The ‘anti-shouting’ movement can hardly fail of success if it is not loaded by being tied to other and less simple problems, upon the solutions of which heated arguments are bound to arise,”