PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN.

Taihape Daily Times, 3 September 1918, Page 4

PROHIBITION CAMPAIGN.

The prohibition campaign was opened in Taihupe in the Town Hall last night when a large audience attended to hear Mr. W. Bayley, one of the Canadian lecturers and organisers engaged by the New Zealand Alliance, give an address on the “L.S.D. ” of the liquor traffic. Mr Bayley has a wide reputation as a platform speaker, and last night he set forth his side of the question in a 'lucid maimer, remarkable for its clarity of reasoning and shrewd 1 logical and analytical deductions. He possesses a keen sense of humour, and an effective way of expressing it, while on occasions he sounded ia tragic note. Ho had the attention of the audience arrested from the beginning to the conclusion of his address.

The Mayor (A. L; Arrowsmith, Esq.) occupied the chair, and in a few appropriate words introduced Mr. Bayley.

Mr. Bayley, on rising to speak, was greeted with applause, and prefaced the more serious portion of his address with a few humourous remarks. Before embarking on his journey to New Zealand he had received two telegrams, one to go to England and the other to come to- New Zealand. He had decided to accept the latter. For progressive measures people in Canada always looked to New Zealand, feeling that what was good enough for British people in New Zealand was good enough for Canada. He explained how in his country they had turned out a Government, some of the members of which had truckled with the liquor party, and had put in a Government, which had passed compulsory education, women’s suffrage, and prohibition in one afternoon. He was sorry to say, however, that some of Canada’s surplus product had been dumped in New Zealand, and he-was here to tell them how to deal with and extract this alcohol and divert it into useful channels, and get rid of the liquor traffic altogether. In Canada they had voted liqueur out, apd in May next Canada would be the first country'in the world to .prohibit the manufacture and sale of alcoholic liquors. The groat United States of America, s with, a population of over one,hundred millions, they could see from the paper that night, had voted nation wide prohibition, to take effect in July of next year. Ho hoped New Zealand would get in first and bring,prohibition into force next April; he had come to this country to help them achieve .this. Of course it was foolishness to suppose Prohibition would abolish all poverty in the world; no one measure could do this. Prohibition for the individual had Succeeded. Was there any man or -woman who had resolved that no alcohol would ever pass this little bit of territory (pointing to his mouth) had been hurt by this resolve. Mr. Bayley described the effects of Prohibition in Canada, particularly in Winnipeg. There they found there was loss unemployment, the bar tenders soon found better jobs and got popular with their own conscience again. The bar tenders were not fools, it was not the policy of ‘'the trade,” to have fools oh both sides of the counter. The brewers then started ‘to make .temperance'"drinks, and as those drinks had to bo put up in bottles instead of casks, they employed more men bottling. Increased business brought by Prohibition demanded more shop assistants. Mr. Bayley then gave a homely description of the manufacture of alcohol, showing that fruits, sugar and starch were rotted and the food value driven out to make alcohol. Very little labour was necessary in making alcohol, but the making of leather, furniture, and useful goods in factories which had previously been breweries,. gave employment to many more hands. Empty prisons, less policemen and warders to look after criminals was the kind of unemployment Prohibition makes. To Prohibition he would apply tests from throe points: Logical —Successful Democratic (L.S.D.) First of all, was it logicial? He wanted the people to think. Was it logical for people to say we believe it wise to stop the trade. The State had the right with regard to this business: first leave it alofne; second try to make it a safe business by hedging it round with rules and regulations; third, to stop it altogether. Which of the three is the proper policy? Every civilised nation considered the liquor trade was not a safe business to be running round. Has licensing it made it safe? The trade was a social menace, not an individual one. Whatever hurts an individual becomes a social menace, owing to our hereditary social instincts. Mr. Bayley illustrated the physiological effect on the nerves. The human nerve was the greatest thing in the world. It was the dividing line between the material and the spirtual. Love was the greatest thing in the world, but when the brain failed to fulfil its functions affection was gone. Alcohol -was the foe to water and albumen, .and as the nerves were largqlly con|;tliuted of albumen the effects on the nerves were disastrous. Mr. Bayley hero gave a demonstration of the changes wrought by alcohol on albumin with the white of an egg and alcohol, remarking that his audience had seen plenty of effects

of alcohol on living men, and gave a tragic instance from his own experience of the conversion of a tender husband, and loving father into a murderer by the distortion of the nerve centres through alcohol. Continuing, the lesturer said some attempt had been made to palliate the evils of drink by introducing 6 o 'clock closing, which was successful, but this was not the final solution of the question. Referring to State ownership, he said it would be taking down the sign of a private man and putting up that of the King. That would not destroy alcohol. If the drink traffic was not wrong, let everybody sell liquor; if it was wrong logically reasoned, it should be abolished. There was only, one logical thing to do with liquor—stop it altogether. Prohibition was good for business, but he was not thinking of the merchant, but of the mothers and children who' would have better clothes and boots, an<T~better homos. Speaking particularly to wmrking men, he reminded them that it was the working mian—the consumer—not the brewers and distillers who paid the taxes. Mr. Bayley then referred to the evils of sly-grogging and how they could be dealt with. Was Prohibition a success? He had written testimony from chiefs of police of the almost spectacular effect on the decrease of crime. Immorality had decreased twothirds. Tho hotels in Canada with prohibition were equally as good as in the days of the drink traffic; and for corroboration of this statement he advised tho people - of New Zealand to question Mr. Massey and his colleagues on their return from England. Before leaving Canada, to find out how Prohibition had affected business, he had addressing 200 circulars to prominent merchants in his province giving three queries, to which he had received the following 60 replies: Most favourable, 58; favourably, 2; unfavourably, O.Roferring to Labour and the liquor trade, Mr. B'ayley asked if anyone had ever heard of the trade helping the workers? When there was a strike on (personally, he detested' strikes) did the bar-keepers ever shut their premises and .tell strikers to keep their money for their wives 1 and children? Our greatest.Labbur leaders agreed the best thing that ever happened in the country wias the closing of the bars. There was a great crisis coming in the Empire in the 1 Labour world when the war was over. The people of Great Britain in the near future will demand that the country be governed with the true principles if democracy, or they will take that power themselves, and on the labour movement will be thrown the greatest task it has ever been asked to? undertake. It is to be hoped there will be no alcohol in their brains when the crucial movement comes for reconstructing the country. After referring sypathetically to Russia, M. Bayley concluded his address by an ■ appeal for Prohibition on the grounds of logic, success and democracy, land resumed his scat amidst applause. The petition asking for a poll on the question of prohibition or otherwise, was read with a request for those in favour of the petition to .sign it. Mr. Bayley explained tho position, stating that another petition from the other side was out for signatures, and advising people to read it before signing. He said his party were acting in accordance with the spirit of the recommendations of’the Efficiency Board. He explained that in a sincere spirit of compromise they had agreed to patf compensation to the trade for the four and a half years’ goodwill, but if tho trade insisted on the insertion of a third proposal they would demand a straight out issue without compensation.

As there were no questions asked, votes of thanks to the lecturer and the chair terminated the proceedings.