The national prohibitionist. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1907-1911, 1908-02-27
THE NATIONAL pRoH1B1rIoN1sT

The following interview given out at the offices
of the organization in the Schiller Building in Chi
cago and published in full or in part by all of the
Chicago papers gives the projects scope. The
liquor representative says:
"This is simple business proposition with the
liquor and allied trades
I'VE see no reason why our hundreds of mil
lions of investments should be confscated without
good reason, merely because wave Of fanaticsm
is sweeping certain parts of the country, much of
it based on transformation and a lack of reallza-
ton of the real conditions.
1--WE are going to take up this matter as an in
dustrial question with the people OF the United
States and by the time we get through our CAM
paign | think little light will have been
let into the minds of good many people. The
public does not to realize that Prohibition IS
an assault on an industry which, with its allied
trades constitutes the third biggest in the country
National Prohibition would mean loss to the
country which is incalculable while it would mean
also state of chaos hard to describe or even
imagine The liquor trade pays so great share
of the taxes, spends so much money and employs
SO many people that wiping it out would be
matter of the greatest concern to every American
"Thus far the American citizen has only had
one side of the liquor question placed before him.
We are going to give him the other through
the medium of executive headquarters in Chicago
and an executive committee-which has not yet
been chosen, but will be as the movement be-
will be undertaken that will reach every bit OF
territory in the United States. We are going to
fight North and South, East and West. The Pro
hibtion forces have had matters too long their
own way Now we are going to start hight that
will daze some of our opponents by It's scope
The nucleus of the federated movement is, OF
course the liquor interests themselves. With
them we will have organized working actively
hand in hand with the national headquarters and
committee all the allied trades. But we are not
stopping there. Besides organizing the manu.
facturers' and dealers clubs in the cities and
towns and the organization of the $4,000 statesmen
of the liquor and allied trades, we are going to
get union labor aroused. Labor connected with
the liquor and allied trades is practlcularly well
organized and all it needs is an arouslng TO the
dangers of what this increase of Prohibition sentl.
ment means. The farmer il. going to be arousea
and educated to sense of what Prohibition Will
do to him. We are going, in brief to show to
the country that this cry OF Prohibition is not
mere war on the saloon but that 1t is an attempt
to annihate one of the most important industries
of the nation. ,,..
.In this connection I may say that Prohibition
IS one of the contributing causes OF hard tunes.
Take concrete case The brewers spend PSo'-
OOO 600 annually on improvements in normal years.
This year they will not spend S50oooo.
eve intend to fight Prohibition and temperance
legislation wherever it appears we Will pay
some attention to the election Of Congressman
and state legislators Let it be understood that we
are not entering into politics, however, except as
is necessary for the maintenance of our own ex-
istence.
"The Prohibtionists are remarkably well or
ganzed and financed. They are getting great
help through the churches, whose pupits, they are
allowed to USE and through capitalists, who con-
tribute to their campaign fund in the hope that
the trusts will cease to be the uppermost thougnt
in the minds of the public and Prohibition will
take its place. The Prohibitionists also maintain