The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1908-08-19
REPRESENTATIVE II. BARTHOIDT
TALKS PROHIBITION.
h"''rest Opponent I'm Congress of
prohibition Movement Says Wills.
KEY Drinking is on the Increase.
ana That Drunkenness is Most
PREVALENT i'm Prohibition Territory

washington, August 14.-Special.
BEFORE leaving Washington today for
New York. where he will take pas
sage for Europe to study the question
or prohibition and traffic in intoxi-
| eating beverages, Representative
Richard Bartholdt of Missouri, made
an interesting statement Of the SUBJ
Ject of prohibition in the United States.
and the effect of a curtailment Of
liquor licenses in many sections Of the
country. The statement is important
FOR the reason that at the last session
or congress Mr.. Bartholdt was one
OF the hardest fighters in the House
against any law that would change
the present statute bearing on the In
ter-State traffic in liquors, wines and
other commodities, and fought Wig
| orously against such proposition.
This statement, too, at this time
means that when Congress meets
again Mr.. Bartholdt will continue his
hight. He represents the best German
element in the United States and is
one Of the leading members of the
House.
"The receipts from both spirits and
fermented liquors." said Mr.. Barth-
oldt, were, in 1880, $74,O15,312. In
1890 they We're s1O7,691,505. In 1900
the figures were $1S3,41s,571, and in
1907 they were s215,SS4,7aO, an in
crease since 1880 Of 800 per cent.
while the population has increased
only rs per cent in the same space
OF time. And this very period has
witnessed the greatest triumphs so
called, Of the prohibition propaganda.
And when you realize that the in
crease Of consumption has gone hand
In htnd with the closing of saloons
you can easily fix the cause yourself.
But this is not the worst feature. The
consumption Of strong drink has
greatly increased, and the use Of mild
beverages has correspondingly decreas-
ed.
Under prohibition the consumption
OF liquor, at least the stronger kind,
has increased four times more rapidly
than the population. Now let me show
you. also by facts and figures, that
drunkenness, too. is more prevalent in
prohibition that in free territory, and
since my figures are taken from United
States census bulletins only recently
Issued, they are official. These bull
letins contain a detailed statement of
the number of arrests for drunkenness
and all other causes in all cities of
over 5000 inhabitants The figures
Apply to the year 1903, and the popu-
pulation is officially estimated on the
basis of the census Of 1900. Com
pairing cities in the prohibition States
OF Maine, Kansas and North Dakota,
with cities in Wisconsin, which are
not only wide open," but have the
the astonishing fact that in propor-
ton to population the number of ar
rests for drunkenness in the three al
legged dry" States exceed by far those
in the great beer State Of the Northwest
In Portland, Me-, without any saloons,
and with an estimated population of
55'65S, there were 2,1S6 arrests, or one
arrest for every twenty-four of the
total population, while in milwaukee,.
with a population of 313,O25 and q
l45 saloons, there were only 2,197 ar
rest or one out of every 142 of the to-
tai population.
Let US compare two cities OF about
equal population, for instance. Bangor
Me-, with 22,675, and Sheboygan, Wis,
with $500, in the Maine city there
We're 1926 arrests in drunkenness and
and other causes, or one out Of IS of the
population. In Sheboygan only 127, or
OF one out of 1S6 of the population
now, take Kansas. Compare Wichita.
with 3l.549 people and 1.212 arrests.
and Racine, Wis, with about the same
population. namely, 31.529, and 1874 ar
rests, we find that in the prohibition
town one person was arrested out Of
every 20. while in Racine one out Of
III. In Fargo, North Dakota, a'so a
prohibition city-with 1892 popu,a-
ton. 345 or one out Of every "a were
arrested, while ManitowOc, Wis. with
lZ'3oS people, show only 40 arrests,
or one out of every 252 Of the popu-
lation. And so all the way down the
list In other words, there is from six
tn eight times more drunkncss and
crime under prohibition than under
proper regulation, according 10 the
official GOnrpS ho Unit