NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 October 1922, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND ALLIANCE.

ACCEPTS LIQUOR CHALLENGE. The liquor traffic, in the Evening Post of October 11th and in other papers, challenges the New Zealand Alliance to produce ‘any evidence that the American people have voted or had an opportunity of voting upon the question of National Prohibition. WHAT ABOUT THE ALLIANCE'S CHALLENGE? The Alliance has repeatedly challenged the New Zealand lipuor traffic to produce figures showing that the. customs and excise revenue from the traffic .has ever yielded £2,500,000 per annum to the Treasury. The liquor traffic has never taken up that challenge. The Government return tabled in the House in September sth shows that the largest amount produced by the liquor traffic in the way of revenue was in the year ended March 31st, 1922, when it was £l,359,856. For the first six months of this fiscal year, April Ist to September 30th, 1922, the Government Comptroller of Customs states the total revenue from imported spirits, beer, stout and wines, and excise from New Zealand beer to be £642,160. If it is the same for the next six months, the year will produce £1,284,320, which is £75,500 less than last year, although the duties and excise have been about half of what the liquor traffic claims it yields in revenue. WHO PUT IT THERE?

President Harding of the U.S.A, said on July 4th last, at Marion, Ohio, — “The Eighteenth Amendment denies to a minority a fancied sense of personal liberty, but the Amendment is the will of America and must be sustained by the Government and, public opinion.” Chief Justice W. H. Taft of the U.S.A, has put it *on record that the Amendment is an “overwhelming constitutional expression of the'people.”—Although attacked from every conceivable angle by the liquor interests the Amendment has/ by the U.S. Supreme Court, been declared again and again to be absolutely valid. The Amendment is there because, the people put it there.

A NATION WIDE VOTE IS NOW ON.

After three years -of national prohibition, after three years of open and underground propaganda by liquor traffic, after three years of organised attempts to break down and discredit the prohibition law, after three years of liquor hired newspaper propaganda alleging wholesale crime, corruption, drug and dope taking, immorality and disrespect for law, after three years of intense effort by every corrupt and contemptible agency in the U.S.A, to mislead the people, the people have been and are voting on the dominating issue of whether or not they wish the prolihition law modified. More than 32 organisations Have been and are in operation striving to get the people to nominate for Congress ‘beer and light wine’ candidates. What is the result? Latest advices show that 23 States have, iby popular vote, nominated their candidates; these 23 States have a total population of over 55,500,000 — that is to say more than half the entire population of the U.S.A. And here is the result, after all this frantic effort on the part of the ‘wets* —Congressmen nominated —‘drys’ 182, ‘wets’ 38 — that is to say over 82 ner cent, of the peoples’ representatives? chosen this year in those States are ‘dry.’ No people in the world are quicker to scrap a failure than the Americans. Would they be voting in such an overwhelming *way to retain prohibition if it was a failure, if it produced the horrors the liquor party pretends it does? Could Sir John Foster Fraser say, as he has said, “You do not hear about one hundred millions of Americans who do not break the law”? Here is the opportunity of voting on national prohibition —there is the result.

ANOTHER CHALLENGE. . Now then, here is another challenge to the New Zealand liquor traffic. The liquor traffic is challenged to produce, any evidence that justifies it in advertising broadcast that if prohibition is carried the moderate drinkers in New Zealand are by thousands going to become bandits, cut-throats, robbers, drug fiends and drinkers. It is challenged to substantiate its disgusting insinuation that if prohibition is carried New Zealand women, not now in the habit of frequenting hotel.bars, will take to drinking and become immoral and sly-grog sellers. It is challenged to produce the authority for its statement that “no New Zealand boy is at present subject to the temptation of indulgence at all in strong drink until he is tweney-one years of age“ —the police report for 1921 containing a record of 113 prosecutions of licensees for serving intoxicants to persons under twenty-one years of age. The liquor traffic is further challenged to disclose just how much extra net profit it made by charging 2/6d extra on every bottle of spirits on the ground of increased duties, when it had not paid that - increased duty. When the liquor traffic has fully replied to this further challenge. the New Zealand Alliance will be ready to hand out a few more. THE DRUG LIE NAILED.

The liquor traffic in New Zealand is circulating the following statement regarding alleged drug addiction in the U.S.A.:—“Tn 1919 the import of opium was 750,0001b5, in 1920 it jumped to 1.100,0001bs.” Official figures supplied direct by the U.S, Department of Foreign Commerce give the import of opium for 1919 as 316,7131b5, which is less than half what the liquor traffic says it was. In 1921 the import was 224,1521b5, or just about one-fifth of what the liquor traffic says it wac Tn 1921 the import was only 4 96.668’b5. Taking round figures the imports of cocaine into the U.S.A, in 1919 were IZ.OOCozs and in 1921. “OOOozs. These immense reductions the liquor traffic calls “ar alarming increase.” This is one only, but a, typical sample of the liquor traffic inis-i “presentations about : the effects of prohibition in the U.S.A. Ask the liquor traffic if any drug evil is found in No-license districts of New Zealand. Ask them tno, how they make this alleged increase in drug taking because of the absence of alcohol square with their statements that there ie mure drinking, than ever in the

U.S.A, since prohibition. If folks are getting the drink, why do they need the drugs? And if the liquor traffic will use cooked figures to mislead yiou about drugs, can you trust anything they say about prohibition? Keep your eye on the liquor lie when the ‘Trade’ i« talking prohibition. Published by arrangement, by the Taranaki Provincial Prohibition Council.