ALCOHOLOGY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 255, 5 January 1911, Page 7

ALCOHOLOGY.

ALCOHOL AND SOCIAL QUESTIONS. (Published by Arrangement). Professor Peabody, of Harvard University, says: "No social problem can, in | any absolute sense, be dealt with-alone." I True; this sentence sets one thinking i bow many other social problems we are dealing with whin we attempt dealing with the drink question; how many of the serious social questions of the "day! are reached and inllueneed when, by any means, we change the drinking habits (if the people, either for better or for worse, by means of less or more drinking? When attempts are made to deal with the labor question (employment or unemployment), the protection of women and children, the housing of workers, public health and sanitation, in fact any and j every movement in these directions, the issue is largely inllueneed by the drink question, which in its turn is also influenced -by the other questions. We had a ease of the kind before us quite at Cliristeliureh. The South Island Railways Appeal Hoard had several cases before them in which the drinking habits of the appellants were called in question. The chairman, Mr. Haseldcn, S.M., remarked that it might be well to follow the example of American railways and require that the men engaged in running the trains, or work connected therewith, should be teetotal. This is an illustration of how DUIXK AFFECTS RAILWAYS.

Thirty-nine of tin; railroad corporations in America condemn the use of intoxicants as a menace to life and property. On the other hand, in beer-drinking Germany, Dr. Funis, of Heidelberg Univer- j sity, writes: "Over 50 per cent, of all railroad accidents occurring on German railroads are due to the bewilderment of operatives throi.tli the use of alcoholic stimulants." Lo-ik, then, at another seriious problem—th ■ protection of women and children. W"<- know something about this in Xew Zealand, but it is more, serious in more populous countries. DKIXK AXD C'KTLD SUFFERING figured largely in Mr. Sims' letters to th-> Tribune. He said: "Where children are cruelly neglected there is in 90 per cent, of the cases a history of habitual intemperance in one or both parents, fir. Barnardo said very much the same of his large experience in child rescue work; and, in fact, every worker in this field of philanthropy confirms Mr. Sims' statement. It is so u!'. round. Money spent in

BRINK INSTEAD OF HOUSES is the reason why in so many cases the people arc poorly housed. To use the Lord Chancellor's words: "Everyone recognises the necessity of a manly, properly fed, properly housed, properly educate! and trained population in order to ,meet the. trials that are coming upon us. And now what I want to say is that you won't get any of these things unless you also get a sober population." In dealing with another social question, Lord Loreburn said: 'ln my hearing in the House of Lords, about a year ago, Lord Goul, president of the Probate and Divorce Division, said that you might, if it were not for drink, almost shut up the doors of the Divorce Court." DRINK AND CRIME

are almost twins in iniquity. The Lord Chief Justice said last year: "After forty years' experience at the Bar and ten years as a judge, I know as a fact that DO per cent, of the crime of this country depends upon intemperance." Further, in October last, Mr. Justice Darling, in reply to an enquiry from the Ijord Chancellor, wrote: ''You may say this from me —that of the crimes of violence, including especially offences against women and children, almost all of them, as far as they come before me, are directly the result of excessive drinking. Beyond this a large proportion of the crimes in dishonesty are due to the same cause, but are not so immediately connected with it." It is often said that teetotallers are men and women of one idea, but this is quits contrary to fact. The loaders in the anti-alcohol crusade are reformers in other ways, and may' be found as the supporters of many other organisations for the benefit of society. The real point is that they see that this drink evil has such a large share in the other evils and wish to deal with it at once.

DRINK AND PROGRESS do not and cannot run together, Drink means down grade. It is down grade physically because it does not add to the sum total of physical well-being. It is down grade financially, fur it is a very large outlay and no benefits derived. Let anyone say, who visited the drinking bars on New Year's Eve, whether those who were drinking were really getting any good from the'expenditure. If those drinkers, moderate or immoderate, would start at once on the total abstinence plan they would bring in for themselves and their families and friends A HAPPY NEW YEAR.