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The Commoner
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VOL: 15, NO. 8
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Prohibition Facts
Ex-Govbrnor R. B. Glenn of North Carolina
has compiled the "PROHIBITION FACTS' of
tho states of North Carolina and Kansas, com
paring theni with the statistics for the state of
- Pennsylvania.
Tho figures for North Carolina are obtained
frojm tho auditor's report and letters; and the
figures for Kansas from tho report of the attorney-general
and tho American, of Philadelphia.
Thoso from Pennsylvania are taken from tho au
ditor's report of that state. Ed. '
. KANSAS AND NORTH CAROLINA COMPARED
WITH PENNSYLVANIA
. In the state of Kansas there are. 105 counties.
In North Carolina iOO counties; in tho state of
Pennsylvania there are G 7 counties.
. Kansas and North Carolina have state-wide
prohibition.
' Pennsylvania has high license, and what they
call "Regulation under the Brooks Taw"
, A study of the conditions in these states fur
nishes material for the conclusion that, prohibi
tion is vastly preferable either to local option or
high license.
' IN KANSAS
' 57 Counties out of 105 No inmates in poor
house.
. 63 Counties out pf 105 No prisoners in jail.
54 Counties out of 105 No feeble minded de
pendents. C3 Counties out of 105 No convicts in state '
.prison.
87 Counties out of 105 No insane in asylums. .
9 G Counties out of 105 No inebriates.
,Tlier.e-is on deposit in Kansas over two hun
dred million dollars, which would give to every
man, woman and child in Kansas, $118.00 in
cash; and If each man, woman arid child had
their share of the state's assessed wealth, they
would flave $1,G84.00 apiece.
Thirty years, ago 49 per cent of Kansas' pop
ulation was illiterate. Now only 2 per cent.
;' Thirty years ago the death rate was 17 to ev
ery 100,000 inhabitants. Now it is only 7 to
every 100,000.
Tho Kansas school fund is now over $10,000,
000, and there are over 400,000 school children,
and out of this number it is stated that 98 per
cent have never seen a saloon.
The annual, consumption of intoxicating
liquors in Kansas is $i.48 per capita; while in'
the neighboring state of Missouri, where they
have open saloons, it is $24.00 per capita. In
other words the Kansas man has $22.52 more to
' spend on food; clothing and education than the
man in Missouri. '
' .. PENNSYLVANIA
, In contrast with these facts, it will not be
amiss to quote statistics taken from the state or
Pennsylvania. ....'
. In 19.1 1-12 the record shows , that thoso in
work-houses, penitentiary," reform schools, and
jails were 8a,254, or one in every 95 of popu
lation.. "
The poverty .statistics,-show that there were
73,214 dependents or one in every 105 of-the
population. That the feeble-minded dependents
and insane dependents were 19,101, or one in
every 385 of thopopulation, and that, out of the
67 counties in." the staje of Pennsylvania, every
county Jhad. inmates in jails, alms-houses, re
formatories, asylums and state prison.
. NORTH CAROLINA
,. ., .
. In. 'connection with these, facts showing, .the
benefits" of state-wide prohibition, it may bo well
also- to give some figures in North Carolina. It
is known that prohibition went into effect in
North Carolina in 1909, not quite six years ago,
and in the last seven and a half years, illiteracy .
among tho white population has diminished
more rapidly than in any state in the mnion.
Chief Justice Walter Clark, in a letter of De
cember 9, 1914, says: "Prohibition has been a
success in North Carolina ;n every way. It has
decreased crime, improved morals and given the
- state the greatest impetus thas. it has received in
my recollection along the pathway of progress
" and development. I can not better sum up the
situation than by. saying that with us prohibition
has been an unqualified success.'
Hon. J. Y. Joyner, superintendent of public in
struction ia North Carolina, in a letter of De
Veinber 14, 1914, says: ."Ther has been a great
decrease in drinking and drunkenness since tho
adoption of prohibition in this state, as well as
a most encouraging elevation of public stand
ards of morality, education and citizenship. The
value of public school property has been doubled.
The annual school fund has been nearly doubled,
and the minimum school term has been length
ened more than a month, and a demand for pub
lic education has been greatly strengthened by
the driving out of liquor. While all these things
can not justly be ascribed to prohibition, a new
spirit of hope, progress and pride, fostered by
the spread of a greater sobriety among the mass
es, and the happiness, contentment and pros
perity brought into thousands of homes by Jhe
elimination, of drunkenness, and its attendant
waste and extravagance, by prohibition, .war
rants the conclusion that it has been one of the
most potent factors in bringing, these things to
pass."
The following facts from the auditor's report
. also show what prohibition has helped to accom
plish. Personal property valuation 1908 $ 74,000,000
Personal property valuation. 1913. 212,000,000
Total revenue receipts- in 1908 .... 2,613,000
Total revenue receipts in 1913. . .". 3,666;000
Money on deposit in 1908. 3, 000,000
Money on deposit in 1913 . . . . . . ." 116000,000
4 years average tax receipts (local
option) . ........; 2,330,0Q0
4 years average tax receipts' (pro
hibition) . . . . . : 3,204,000
Valuatiomof all property in 1908. . 576,000,000
Valuation of all property in 1913. . 741,000,000
In giving these figures I do not give fractions
only the gross amounts. Also note that 1908
is the last year of license, and 1913 the last year
under prohibiten in which figures have been
given.
Any casual observer can note th$ decrease in.
drunkennessin North Carolina, and the business
men of the state will almost unanimously assert
that the driving put of liquor has helped their
business, as men now spend their money for the"
necessities, of life, and for the education of their
children, where it was formerly wasted in strong
drink. .
Tho moral tone of the state has also been
greatly strengthened. Church membership and
Sunday-school attendance increased, and attend
ance on public schools almost doubled.
These are but few of the facts that could be
given, showing that it is best to drive the saloon
out of the state, and it is to be hoped that lead
ing politicians and business -men seeing the good
effects of temperance in those states that have
tried it, will lend their, aid-toward driving sa
loons out of the entire nation.
Senator Oliver of Pennsylvania can not ha ac
cused of. having a sense of; humor. ,In 'a' state
ment recently issued ho solemnly declared, that,
ho would no longer, "accept or .assume responsi
bility for tho formation pf Ifckets," a, duty that
Keystone republicans, have .been solemnly as-
sured for years was their sole privilege. There
is no need, however, for .despair to mount their
.brows.. Boies Penrose. is still on the job and
willing.
- The opponents of presidential primaries are
now citing the constitution to prove that con
gress has no authority to cpntrollthe nomination
of political parties by awarding their nomina-,
tions to those candidates who receive the largest
aggregate vote. It would be curious if the nation
as a wholo has not the power to do that which
each -separate state composing the nation has,
tho right to say how its officers shall be elected!
The world does move. No less a person than
Senator Elihu Root is the author of a clause that"
it is proposed to insert in the New York state
constitution malting it easier for the people to
impeach a duly-elected officer. He'suggests it as
a means of satisfying the demand of the people
who have been clamoring for the recall. In a
few more years he will be claiming to have been
one of the early defenders of the recall.
The more strong young men. .a nation loses in
one generation the more weaklings it will have
in the next generation. War is a huge molly
coddle factory Dr.. David Starr Jordan preached
this doctrine long before the war. Ho is Btm
preaching it and it has not been disproven It
wll continue to be true, though civilized man
wipes himself .out entirely, or fights himself into
a race of jelly-fish. San Francisco Bulletin
THE-POLITICAL SITUATION
(Continued from Page Seven)
plunderbund whenever it shows its hand. Wo
have made great progress since 189 G in tho
restoration of the government to the people, but
a great deal remains to bo done wo must hold
tjie ground we havo already taken and wo must
make new advances. The reduction of the tariff
was.a great accomplishment; tho enactment of
the income tax law was an important step toward
justico in taxation; the new currency law not
only freed the business world from the dictation
of a group of financiers, but-it released, the pol
itics of tho country from .the .tyranny of a hand
ful r of- money magnates who were
able to coerce more than a million
voters . at any time they -felt ifc to their
pecuniary advantage to do so. We have entered
upon tho overthrow of privato monopoly; wo
havo secured tho election of United States sen
ators by direct vote of the people; we havo abol
ished Cannonism in tho housoand shall doubt
less secure a cloture rule. in the senate and thus
end tho power of a minority to prevent remedial
legislation. These are some of the things that
havo been accomplished; and there is mora work
to do 'along tho samo line.' Whilo this work has
not all been accomplished' by tho democratic
party, the democratic party has furnished tho
leadership and laid out the lines upon which
these reforms have been secured. , .There is every
reason for encouragement, therefore. Demo
crats rejoice greatly over what has been accom
plished and should enter with renewed vigor and
increased faith upon tho work yet to bo done."
Q. "What are the republican prospects?"
A. "They have rip prospects. They have sim
ply possibilities, and these, possibilities depend
largely upon Mr. Roosevelt. If he decides to
maintain an independent organization and is
either a candidate himself or supports some
other progressive, the republican party will re
main divided and thero will be little chance for
tho success. of either branch of tho republican
party as long as the party ic divided. If Mr.
Roosevelt goes back to. the republican party he
will carry back with him those progressive re
publicans who left tho party out, of personal at
tachment to him, while the democratic party can
hope to gain the support of tho progressives who
are really opposed to republicanism as repre
sented by the leadership of the regular repub
lican party. The Taft branch of the republican
party has made no concession to progress. Its
leaders are not only unrepentant, but are boast
ful of standpattism. They desire success in or
der that they may undo what has been done.
They would turn tho tariff law over to tho pro
tected interests and would allow these interests
to collect such tribute as they desire. They
would turn tho financial system back into the
hands of Wall street and let Wall street use it as
it desires, and give free rein to the private mon
opolies which havo preyed' upon tho public. Mr.
Roosevelt can strengthen tho chances of the
standpatters by. going back, or ho can destroy
their chances .by continuing . tho progressive re
publican organization. I am not, willing to ven
ture a. guess as to what ho intends to do."
The eastern press, which has taken over the
task of running the government in spite of the
fact that the people selected President Wilson
lor tho job, has now started upon, tho trail of
Secretary Daniels. He is being cartooned and
lampooned and otherwise marked as being in
high disfavor with the ecfltor.ial Warwicks. Sec
retary Daniels, it will be recalled, banished booze
from the navy- and refuses to stand for a waste
ful program of naval expenditure.
- The new federal trade commission is now com
ing in for some criticism because it proposes es
tablishing zones of instruction in which experts
will teach, modern efficiency methods to manu
facturers. It is claimed that this will afford a
system of espionage over private business that
is undesirable by private business interests. We
opine that there are a number of manufacturers
who would npt like to have some federal official
know what their costs were, especially during a
tariff revision.
The people of the United States are a compo
site of nationalities, and the difficult p irt of the
task the jingoes have set themselves is to cause
enough of them to hate the people of some other
nation so strongly that they will be willing to
spend the millions necessary to build up a var
establishment. . ;
nil 1 1 1 1 'ifl
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