SOME OF THE TRUTH.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 979, 24 February 1910, Page 5

SOME OF THE TRUTH.

(To the Editor). gi r> VVill you oerrnit ffie to draw the atter.tim »-f your leaders to a paragraph, written by the special Wanganul co p respondent ot the "Dominion " It is as follows:-A coirespondent (if tlie "Heral giver a somewhat star ling accou .t of his •experiences in the No-Li ense district of diring the tine of trie recei.t Show. He details the working of the locker system, and as a example of what it lfads to, .■says:—"At Masterton things were a (jisgrace to civilisation. On the night •of the first i how day ihd noise in hotel was deafening. Men—.young men t»t that Wt?re so drunk ithey couldn't sta .d, and at 2 o clock ■HL.the morning the proprietor had t» throw some tnen out of one of the 'bedrooms, where the.v had locked the •door, ard had proceeded to consume several 'bottles of' whisky they had ■in their 'bags. One young man re'marked <to me, 'And yet there are 'hundreds of jpsople in Masterton who •will tell you No-Lieeise is a great strccess. They are btay-at-homes,i •who never come out at night.' 'I went to Masterton,' says the writer, 'with an open mind, but came away ■with the conviction that though pro•hibith,n might prove a success* NoLicente under the existing law is a rank xnilme." The foregoing is absolutely true, and let me add some particulars. There were i2O tpeople sleeping in the house, and it Whs "hell .let loose'' on the two nights. Last year under license the place was<c!osed at 10 o'clock, and ■order was compelled ».o be observed. This year at one house people were • sleeping on Hofas, cha»rs and floors, many without coverings. Four out of six whoicame to Masterton came well ;provided with liquor refreshments in their bags. The general opi-iun was that the Show would suffer next year unless more accommodation was provided. As one who has had to put up With the disgraceful business, I may add 'with feeling that I do not want .a repetition of it. —I am, etc., i: COMMON SENSE.