Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-24
FIGHTING PROHIBITION.

To what extent the bfcNcIiSsoa bIto Ntf77
tilicr;cs Of America See the hnndWrit-
ing on the wall" Is quite well shown
ia their efforts to stem the tide OF pro-
hibition. Publications, which at Y
conservative estimate, must cost q fer
tune. are being Hooded upon the press
of the country. ClcNerly disguised
..ne,vs'' is placed at the disposal of edl-
tors with requests for publication. Tha
Donors Of this news offcrit free IF
cost not so much as requesting marked
copies Of tho papers containing the
items.
In this mornings mail the News
was favored with several contributions
of this sort.
one contribution comes in the form
of n pamphlet bearing the caption ~
Country without Paupers- Beer
ing Belgians the 'rhrittiest People IN
tho World" III seven pages OF type tEs
thrift of the people Is dwelt upon me
system of government providing insur-
ance for it's people, the schooling OF
children In The lessons of providing for
the future and living In the present
upon an income Of the present Is an
told d great length: and then to MAKE
the title OF the pamphlet stand the
light, it concludes with this argument:
That this people drinks beer to excess
lis the cause Of this thrift, saying along
this line:
"I,l view OF the extraordinary facts
sclduced in the foregoing article, II Is
of interest to note that Belgium drinks
more beer, per capita, than any othef
country In the world That is to say,
the thrifticst and most provident OF All
countries consumes that greatest guam
.tity of beer per head of populations
.'This statement will seem SO IN
credible to all who have an extreme
tenn erance bias, or who have been red
with Prohibition sociology and statist-
les, that we deem it wise to give the
official figures
And then the figures are given. But,
while they prove that: some Belsiahs
are heavy consumers of the intoAicat
ing beverage, and while IT is undenl-
able that many Belgians are thrifty
and prosperous they do not prove, as
the saloon interests would have us M
fer, that the beer drinking Belgiahs
are thrifty and prosperous because they
drink beer nor that 1t Is the peer
drinkers to whom Belgium owes us
prosperity and thrift. And therefore
the statistics are absolutely valueless.
They must show that the drunken sots
are the thrifty and prosperous part OK
the Belgian population. Can the Drew
cries do that? In Belgium. as in other
countries, there are drunkards and
there are sober people Which class Is
the thrifty and prosperous class? Is
any argument needed on that point?
Another pamphlet entitled, "A Crime
to Take a Drlnk-Prohibitioni Now
Propose to Pass such a Law has also
come to hand In this the writer
takes the reader into his confidence to
tell him that his viewpoint is broaoer
than that Of any other man and tiat
he has before him more Information
from which to draw than has any man
writing of the liquor question: no
carelessly omitS to sign his name, SO
the reader must accept his statements
without an opportunity of judging of
the authority behind them. That
the proposed passage of such
law has alarmed the liquor in
terests can not be doubted. Tor
in eight pages, an argument, So
called. and intended to be, review
Of the subject, the Inconsistency ana
folly of such piece OF LEGISLATION Is
dwelt upon, but the argument leaves
the reader strongly favorins such
law.
AS a "clincher" III this long arsn-
ment. we find the following:
'EIiminate politics from temperance
and the problem is solved. Prohlpl-
ton and local option create dissem-
sion in churches, cause family broils
and break social and business friend
ships General business depression IS
- feature in the majority OF Prohibi-
ton and local option districts.
From the manager of the publicity
department of the National Model
License League. which can only be an
organization of saloon and brewery
interests and not an organization
working for better conditions In the
liquor tariff comes a long news itGnl
calling attention to report OF tha
| president of the association in which
the murder of Senator Carmack BY
Cooper is charged to the activity Of
the Anti-Saloon League. The state
ments are made and allowed 10 go
Without proof.
That the brewers and saloon m
terests are fully aware of the senti-
ment that is sweeping The country
there is no doubt whatever. That the
interest are stopping at nothing to ae-
comrlish their purpose is apparent.
Trickery, falschood and misrcpresen-
tation are used to enlist support in
their unholy cause, The time has come
when the people must stand shoulder
! 10 shoulder in the cause of temper
ance Not alone in the nation at large,
but even in the villages where the
liquor tariff is u menace.
Seldom passes a day but stories come
from near and afar of murder,
| hone-wrecking. theft and debauchery.
and the beginning of the sins may be
| traced inVaria bly, to the low saloon
| Drink, the curse of mankind, is in
innumerahle instances the responsible
agent for the destruction of life,
! property and virtue The power Is with