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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1918)
The Commoner VOL. 18, NO. 6 12 ft- I I Nation-wide Prohi bition rSpocch of Hon. John F. Shafroth, of Colorado, in tho sonato of tho Unltod States, Wodnosday, August 1 (logislntivo day of Tuosdaj, July 81), 1917. Tho Honato had undor conaldorntlon tho Joint resolution (S. J. Ilea. 17) proposing an amend ment to tho Constitution of tho Unltod States for prohibition. Mr. President, tho tomporanco movemont in tho United States may bo dividod into throe opochs. Tho movomont was first started by tho appoal to tho individual. Tompor anco societies woro formed. Tho pooplo woro asked to sign pledges to abstain from tho uso of intoxicating liquor, and a considerable udvanco was mado thcroby. However, wo know that such promises aro ofton broken undor oxposuro to tho alluro monts of tho saloon, and many sign ers of tho plodgo foil victims to temptation. It is still truo us it was in Shakcspearo's tlino that "If to do woro as oasy as to toll what wore good to do, chapels had boon church es and poor mon's cottages princes' palacos." Bocauso of falluro to produce the expoctod results tho tomporanco pooplo saw it was nccessa'ry to tako a furthor step in tho direction of obtaining abstinence. SlJito Prohibition. Tho socond movomont was an ap poal for restrictive legislation by .tho states, namoly high license; an ap poal to citlos to pass ordinances pro hibiting tho use of intoxicating 11 qudrs In wards and cities; and ap peals for local-option laws In coun ties; and at last state-wide prohibi tion. It is needless to say, Mr. Presi dent, that tho uso of Intoxicating li quor has boon demonstrated by tho medical fraternity to be most delo torlous to health. A little book came to me on yesterday entitled "Alcohol," by Eugono Lyman Fisk, in which I have found some valuable information. I found that in Eng land of tho people who abstained from tho use of intoxicating liquor 37 por cent loss died than those of tho ordinary risks in tho life insur ance companies of Great Britain. In other words, tho man who abstained lived longer, ho was a better risk. Speaking of tho British Life Assur ance Co., it is interesting to note thiB paragraph: "This institution was founded at a time when tho total abstainer was looked upon as a 'queor duck,' prob ably mentally unbalanced anl cer tainly physically weak. In fact, this particular company was founded "by a man who had been asked to pay an extra premium because he insisted on being a total abstainer. "It is of interest to know that, while in tho course of the company's wholo experience tho excess mortal ity among users was 37 per cent, the mortality among users between tho ages of 35 and 40 waa 83 per cent in excess, showing the influence of somo extremely unfavorable factor at that cr'tlcal period." Tho American Insurance statistics show practically the samo facts. Mr. President, a powerful reason why tho states should have enacted legislation establishrng prohibition is found in statistics which show' that tho paupers in prohibition states are only 46 to every 100,000 of popula tion, that in the near prohibition S Mr. Bryan's New Book--- "Heart to Heart Appeals'9 Mr. Bryan has mado n careful collection 6f tho Iloart to Hoart Appeals, scattered through tho speeches dollvorod by him during a quarter of a century (1890 1916) in tho belief that they will bo of permanent in terest to tho reading public, especially to students. They covor all tho issues before tho country during tho eventful period covered by his connection" with Aiaorican and world politics. Tho twenty-two chapters deal with topics ennumor atod in tho Ublo of contents below: CONTENTS I. GoYnrnTnnnf II. Tariff. JIT. Income Tax IV, Money V. Imperialism VI. Trusta VII. Laboj. VIII. Popular Election of Senators IX. -Publicity Campaign Contributions X. Initiative and Referendum XI. Equal Suffrapro "'-Tlio Liquor Question XIII. Issues Past and Present vh,SttK0 Convention JVr,?,tou,s Convention St Baltimore ConVtion XiV" Pan America ytI--" Foreign Lands -vlX. Peace XX. Religion XXII. Miscellaneous Mr. Bryan l8 sopooially anxious to got tho book Into tho nana, ot TJn.vars.ty, tjpUcgo and High School s"- Tho Commoner or tho publishers. caressing THE COMMONER, LINCOLN, NEB. W. states they ane 54, that in the IS par tially licensed states they are 123, and in tho 9 license states the ratio is 127 paupers to every 100,000 of population. Statistics taken from tbe United States census reports, show that in prohibition states oily 118 aro in sane to every 100,000 of population; in near prohibition states the num ber is 150, in partially license states it is 242, and in license states It is 276 insane out of every 100,000 in habitants. Tho increase of" the products of manufacture in states during the 10 years preceding 1909 has likewise shown the advantages of prohlbi bition. In dry states the increase of products manufactured has been 116.3 per cent, in near prohibition states 85.6 per cent, in partially li cense states 82.2 per cent, and In license states 73.7 per cent. The United States census reports also show that the number of crimes committed in prohibition states is far less than in the states where li quor is sold. It is the salmon that attracts tho criminal, and It is the saloon that lures so many of the young men of our country to their destruction. In Fisk on Alcohol, at page 183, I find the following: "At tho meeting of the American Medical Association held on June 6, 1917, Dr. Charles H. .Mayo, the noted surgeon, in his presidential address stated that the only legitimate use for alcohol was in the arts and sci ences, and that its use in medicine had become greatly restricted be cause other less menacing drugs and remedial measures could be used in stead." Tho association then passed the following resolution: "Whereas we believe that the use of alcohol is detrimental to the hu man economy; and "Whereas its use in therapeutics: as a tonic or stimulant or for foodi has no scientific value: Therefore! be it Resolved, That the American Med-! ical Association is opposed to the use of alcohol as a beverage." j The Pirogov Society, the leading: medical association or Russia, on May! 9 101K nr.n,r.3 -1 -..1.1.-.., ! ( , Vo.u, uiJinujcu uuu jjuuusueu a document containing the following: j "Sc'entific facts (drawn from, physiology, pathology, and clinical experience) compel us to place al cohol and substances containing al cohol in the class of poisonous and injurious things. Alcohol is a typ ical narcotic poison, which taken in small doses from the beginning dis turbs the highest functions of the brain cells and consequently causes a series of pleasant but illusory feel ings of warmth, energy, bravery, etc. "Tho use of small doses of alcohol always a narcotic poison develops in some men whose constitutions are weak, severer forms of alcoholism, that aro obviously the cause of much personal and social unhappiness It has been proved that a regular con sumption Of small rinaoa fnni.nnn morbidity, mortality, the number of accidents, montal sicknesses, sui cides, crime of every type, 'a both qualitative and quantitative minus of capacity in both mental and physical work. The concept "moderation" can not be used for habitual use of alcoholic drinks since the customary use of a poison fs non-moderation and misuse." These are some of the reasons why the states took hold of the question and passed high license and prohibi tion statutes for cities and towns and finally for tho ntnten ,!,.! " Yet, Mr. President, notwithstand ing those laws, wo have not been able to enforce absolute prohibition And why? It is because surround ing the states tha.t have established prohibition are states that declare it lawful to sell intoxicating liquors and it is impossible to prevent tho importation of liquor into prohibition states so situated. Consequently notwithstanding prohibition has been extending until now it is the law in about 26 states, yet it is impossible to enforce absolute prohibition under that system. From the Statistical' Abstract for 1916 I take the following, showing the consumption in gallons per cap ita of Intoxicating liquors: Average of 1881 to 189Q: Distilled, 1.34; wines, u.48; malt, 11.38; total, 13.20. Average 1916; Distilled, 1.35; Wines, 0.46; Malt, 17.59; total 19.40. Mr. President, what necessity, then, arises from that condition? The necessity of having a nation-wide prohibition- constitutional amend ment. That is the necessity. That seems the only remedy to prevent the shipment of liquor from one state to another. I heard the colloquy "between the r senator from Missouri (Mr. Reed) and the senator from- Kansas (Mr. Thompson), as to whether the pro hibition law in Kansas had been a success. One declared that it had been and the other insisted that it had riot, but every contention of the senator who declared the law a fail ure demonstrated the necessity for a national constitutional, amendment. The very thing that prevented the state of Kansas from enforcing ab solute prohibition was the fact that liquors from other states adjoining had been surreptitiously taken into that state. Mr. President',' it, does seem to me that when the temperance people havo tried in two different ways to get absolute prohibition and have not been completely successful, the last resort and the third appeal should be -made to the nation. The nation is deeply interested in this question. It has been said that the War College division of the United States army made an ostimate of the number- of killed and wounded in the wars of all history from 500 years before Christ to' the Russian Japanese war of a few years ago, and it was found that in all those wars the total killed dud wounded was 2,800,000 men, and of that num ber It was estimated that 700,000 were killed and 2,100,000 wounded. . Mr. President, it is also stated by Mr. Hobson in a lecture that the number of deaths from alcohol among the people of the white race in the world is 3,500,000 every year. If that is true ' you can readily see that war losses are hut an inconsid erable fraction compared to the losses chargeahle to the account of intoxicating liquors. It is said, therefore, that every year there die from the. use of intoxicating liquors five times as many persons as the total of all the victims in the wars of the world for 2,300 years. The national government can more certainly enforce its liquor legisla tion. The federal courts are feared, and hence laws will be observed. As a state can not under our dual form of government estahlish complete prohibition, any state is justified in urging a national constitutional amendment for prohibition for its own protection. Otherwise 36 states could not protect themselves against 12 commonwealths. What a erreat Interest, then, has the nation to see tnat her citizens are preserved, ready to defend- her in all times, of strestf and need. ; UJiiM