YOUNG WOMEN'S EFFICIENCY LEAGUE.

White Ribbon, Volume 25, Issue 294, 18 December 1919, Page 2

YOUNG WOMEN'S EFFICIENCY LEAGUE.

ADDRESS B\ HISHOr JULIES

(Published in the Christchurch Sun.) About the beginning of last century, a great change, involving many restrictions, passed over the life of people in England. Law after law, regulation after regulation, circumscribed the life of the country. Another such upheaval has take**, pfacr during the last five sears. Among the customs affected by the War, the most important were those connected with liquor. These were found to be antagonistic to efficiency, and if (ireat Britain was to, win, the use of alcohol had to be greatly restrained. In other words, the conviction was forced upon the people that liquor spelled ruin in war time. First, naval and military officers issued orders for their own men and the cities in which they were quartered, restricting h°urs and places of sale. The people made no complaint. Then, somewhat timidly, the authorities took further action as to the powers of Justices in curtailing licenses. This roused some opposition, but the (rovernment began to take up the efficiency problem in earnest, following on Mr IJoyd George s famous speech declaring alcohol a greater danger t° Great Britain than all the enemy’s armies and sub marines. It was a tremendous and truthful denunciation of custom and traffic centuries old in the Homeland. What were the results of the partial Prohibition tlvus put into operation not only in Great Britain, for each of the Allied Powers dealt somehow with the problem? First, we won the W’ai by the grace of God. Again and again it was shown how these restric tions saved the young recruits, and how the slackers among the munition workers became industrious and effie i ent under this policy. Second, there was created a public opinion that wr must never go back to pre-War conditions. This ne»v effectiveness taught us that one old catch-cry was utter and absolute “rot”— th'* saying »'aat we cannot make a mar soot r by \» t of Parliament. We die make men sober, because we had to have them sober. You can make people sobe r if you take away opportunities to drnk on every side of them. Yet the old catch erv will be heard again, though there i nothing in it.

I his new public opinion was based, first on the memory of what dunk has been. I have worked in the slums, I have lived in the country places of Fingland, and the awful curse that drink has been in both is written into my very soul. Think of the enfeebled children, the wretched homes, the miserable women. We cannot have back again the vice and degeneration thal comes from a public-house at every corner.

Then this new opinion was founded on actual experience of the conditions prevailing without the traffic. It could be done without. And it was realised what great things under (Tod’s mercy a sober country could do. Lastly, the necessity of it was driven home. We had emerged victorious, but sadly bat tered It xxould be long xcars before any of the Allies recovered. It is easy to forget what the country owes while \vc ourselves prosper, but high prices must convince us that we are near bankruptcy, (ireat Britain, they s.ix, must suffer greater loss yet before shipping, transit and supplies are fully organised again. Turn to that great, that enormous, country, Amen ca, almost unharmed by the War richer, indeed, than ever. 1 don't grudge it. I honour and respect America; I love America; but 1 do not want to see (ireat Britain go down before her. She*has got the ships, money, power, organisation. On even terms, how could we compete with hei I low mm h 1< ss om e she is a Prohibition nation? (ireat Britain and her Dominions aVc saddled with a yearly payment for the drink. I low in God s name are we to compete with a country that free?

\ustralia spent £<>s,ooo,non in drink straight out during the War. “Ah! But there are compensations!" they sax. Where? Compensations! The loss of power, efficiency, vitality ! I love the land of my birth ; I love the land of my adoption, and pray God thex may never go under by reason of drink. An-d you must make up your mind about this tiling you who think one thing to-day, hear someone else talk, and then think something else l<> 11101 roxx Do not take it from me alone. Pray ! Think it out! Do the right thing in the sight of God.!

Look at the three issues. Take Continuance Him. That means going back to pre-war conditions There is plenty of drinking still. We have our Prohibition areas as before, but

thex are near “wet" areas. I get drunk in Ashburton by taking * run up to Rakaia. Ido not sax an\. thing against the men in the trade. They fight for their own inkiest so would you. Ihe Trade is strong and rieh ; n knows what ropes to pull. In the Old ( ountrx it is the greatest 01 gani .ation reform lias to face; here.

after only 50 or bo years, it is quite strong enough. Ihe men in it know more of i; than we do; y ct private in terest, a cuise born of other people's loss, blinds them to the results. No man should he put in sin h a position; it is .1 marvel that publicans are good as they are. I onlx wish them a better job. 'New Zealand compares well with other countries, you sav? lam net dealing with statistics. But remem her that the “sober" country contains *0 many total abstainers that the re maindcr must drink heavily to bring the figures up to xxliat they are. Do the people xxho talk of our sobriety ever travel in boats, or are they al ways dead sick in their berths? Do they ever travel in trains, and see the drunken men passing up . nd down, to and fro, a!I the time? Do they know how many ’uined homes there are here how many hungry children and wretched women? Don’t trust the parsons about it! Go t?> the nearest nurse and ask her. lam not talking of statistics, but l will sax there are nnje institutions in Nexx Zealand toi looking after other people's children than in any othci country 1 know of, and the root of the matter is usually drink. That is Continuance! Don’t vote for that !

What of the future? We have a split vote this time; sonic* will say. *‘Yote for State Control." My first objection i-. that I don’t know what I am voting for. 1 knoxx what I vote for in Continuance, and xxould at least expect the devil’s thanks for that. But the other is a vote for .1 State experiment. If the Government had had experience, some might s.»y it should be tried. But Government is not experienced, and not qualified to deal with such a charge*. If a mem her of Parliament <an travel from Wellington to the llutt without seeing .1 drunk man, I would not give much for Ins power*, of observation. State Control is an ideal thing on paper, and always a failure in practice, wherever tried. It demands an ideal Gov ernment and an ideal Executive. We

have plenty of good laws already, but we do not carry them out well.

Why is it wrong to say “Give us Prohibition first, and if that fails try the other”? They tell us this is opportunism. 1 don’t see it, girls. I want to wipe the Trade out, with all its wire-pulling and social influence. The country is not likely to go back under Prohibition, but if it did, we could then try anything that seemed better.

Lastly, there is Prohibition. This some tell us will do much harm. Can we get on without drink? Take a great Knglish expert’s statement of wh> people drink at home. It is the

“Three F’s,” he says- Food, Fatigue, and Fellowship. Does that obtain here? Hardly. There is plenty of food in New Zealand. As to fatigue, some are horn tired, and always want the drink. I can understand the man who is genuinelx tired taking “a nip,” though I am sure even then he would be better without it. Hut for tlie rest, men don’t work here unless they want to. These arc the days of stops, go-slow s, conferences. Well! Thank Cod we are not overworked here except the women. No! Not you girls—your mothers! Now, as to fellowship. If you have a good garden, a spacious house, a drawing-room, and so on, you arc all right at home. Hut take a man who comes home to a small, poor house, the children yelling, the wife washing, and rather short, poor dear! It isn t surprising to hear him say, “Missus, I'm off to the pub.” What does he get there? Had liquor, indifferent company, stories none of the best. Vet it is no good to say he should sta> at home and nurse the baby. Something must be put in place of the pub. Wh> not do it now? Because we have not the money. Some da\ perhaps I shall not live to see it there will be social halls for men, where they can smoke and talk, and find real recreation after work, and women perhaps will have something of the same sort. I he day of fine temperance saloons is coining. So much for fellowship! People say, * * 1 1 s all very well foi parsons to talk.’*’ Somehow, for m\ part, I never felt much like a parson. Hut have we no right to talk 3 Not long ago I went out to hold a confirmation service in the country, stayed at the vicarage. Another guest tu.ned up that evening—dead

drunk. The vicar gave the man a shakedown, and was in and out of the room all night, tending the uninvited guest, who was seeing devils and what not in his delirium. Had not that parson a right to talk? It is those who love Jesus Christ who arc slaving to amend the ravages of drink —the nurses, the deaconesses, the social helpers, all working for the victims of temptation.

I used to work for women’s franchise long ago, but you have been a great disappointment to me. \\ hat arc you going to do with your great chances? Pray about it! Use your vote for >our country! Listen to the voice of (tod ! We are at the turning of the ways. New Zealand ma\ rise renewed, with her face turned toward a better age, or she may go back to the past, and vote Continuance, the old mud in which we have wallowed so long. lam old; 1 can no longer speak with the enthusiasm of youth, and I know that Prohibition will not mean the millennium altogether. It may be I shall never speak again in public on this question. Ido hope and pray that we may sweep this thing awa\ for ever. I wish I could live to see the day when we could say, “We have done with the Drink.’’