The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-05-01
MR.. HOCKING'S VIEWS

Editor Advertiser: In you article of
Monday, the 29th. you accuse the
brewery of working in opposition to
Idecency in the liquor traffic. L. as
manager of the brewery, on the other
hand, claim to be working for nothing
but decency in the liquor traffic. as well
as honesty of purpose, honesty of poll
tics, and also a certain respect for We
racity. We were never known to try
to injure a party or their cause by mis-
c~hievously m~isquoting a third party,
Senator Mccarthy denies the state
ment which you attribute to him. De-
mind, is that it be conducted through
it's legitimate channel, which is the
authorized licensed dealer. the ~restric-
ton of drunkenness, compliance with
the law and order under which the
license is issued. Decency cannot pre-,
vail in the liquor traffic if conducted
through Illicit dealers and bli-d pigs.
l believe 1 can prove by facts and fig
ures that drunkenness is not restricted
ny 1881 ASNiiiS LhC - Vi 0oAOOAAo VI
even prohibition.
What 1 mean by honesty of purpose
is that we should look at the question
of the traffic in liquor deliberately and
latter thorough investigation, by I'M
biased and unprecedented minds, and not
through the glasses of paid agitators,
and deprive a lot of men of their vested
business rights, without recompense or
Iproper investigation. What l havO
advocated was to amend the law of
1905 to fit existing conditions and this
II still contend should have been the
proper course for the Legislature to
have taken.
What l mean by honesty of politics
is that Bill AZ was handed to the Leg,
lislature as a Republican party bill, in
stead of which it was the concoction of
the Civic Federation and the Anti
Saloon League; and not a Republican
connected with the liquor traffic saw
or heard of the bill before it was intro
duced in the Senate
In my contention that drunkenness
is not restricted by the restriction of
the number of saloons / am supported
by the report of the Chief Justice.
1866 (Which is the period under which
the present liquor law has been in OPP
eration). It shows the convictions for
drunkenness were a great deal less
than for a great many periods back
when licenses were restricted in NUM-
Der. The report of the U. S. Conn
missioner of Census for 1900 and COM
piled in 1903, with respect to the liquor
traffic in every city R the United
States with a population of 5000 ana
over, shows the same result as the
Chief Justice of the Territory of Ha~
waits reports, which is that there is
less drunkenness in cities where Ii
censes are low and no limitation as to
their numbers. In prohibition cities
and States the arrests for drunkenness
are greater than in cities or states
where licenses are issued.
Take as an Illustration the city Of
Portland, Maine (Which is prohibition).
which shows one arrest for every 211
of the population, whilst Milwaukee,
with 2145 saloons and a license fee of
5000 per annum, shows one arrest for
every 142 of the population. Take tbs
of Massachusetts, where licenses
are as high as $4,000 in some instances,
the arrests for drunkenness are one for
every SO of the population. Take Con-
on the other hand, where
licenses are low-S450 to sell all drinks
and 5000 to sell beer-and it shows one
for every so of the population.
And in Hawaii nei with a very large 4
percentage of men to its population.
during the period when the licenses
were lower and more of them than at
any time during the history of the
the convictions for drunken
ness were one to every 144 of the popu-
lation averaging them for 1905 and 1906.
Take the State of Kansas, where
they have had prohibition since 1892,
and every year from 1892 to 1900 the
stringent prohibition laws were
force, beer or liquor was not per-
within its borders. Did they
prohibit? The following figures will
In 1892 there were sold in thai I
1912 barrels of beer, from 1892 to
1900 there were 52,331 barrels of beer I
sold in the prohibition State of Kansas.
any man who has lived in the
State of Maine in recent years regard
ng affairs there. He will tell you that
t has degenerated into a grog shop
with tentacles reaching to nu-
nervous branches of the governments of
state, cities and towns, honeycombed
With graft from top to bottom. Limi-
alton of saloons is a form of prohibi-
"iSlI dLld ISduS 70 lIc same Proportions |
tie results, which are increase OF
drunkenness, graft, hypocrisy, and a
aw-resisting instead Of a law-abidins
population. The disposition of excess
drinking has it's origin in definite
'eculiarities and circumstances of the
individuals affected, who are mentally
or otherwise unfortunate.
The w~ell-known scientist P~ettenhofer q
that the stimulants are mans
and true friends. They assist the r
organism in overcoming many a diff
ulty, SO that they may be fifty COM 4
AIRED to lubricants used on locomotives, 4
do not replace the coal or steam =
generators, yet bring about al
lighter and more regular action of the
machinery and save it from wearing =
too quickly. -,
In my long years of residence here in .
Hawaii I have seen this same agitation r
f the liquor question arise at every l.
ession of the Legislature, n what
been accomplished? Nothing but a
ew liquor law or ar amendment to one