The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-12-25

| able gains for the no license movement.
amounted to little less than amazement,
| is said to have stirred diplomatic cir
! cles when the chancelleries of all the
leading countries received word from
the British home secretary that such a
gathering was to be held under the
auspices of the government of conserv-
alive England. This surprise changed
to wonder when British royalty, in the
person of the Duke of Connaught, was
made honorary president of the con-
gress, and upon the roster of officers
appeared the names of members of the
house of lords and no less than thirty
of the leading physicians and medical
teachers of England, in addition to
prominent members Of the house of
commons and bishops of the establish
ed church
The significance and Importance of
this gathering has light shed upon it
when the statement is made that the
leading countries of the world sent to
it in most instances official representa-
tives and in addition many of their
foremost medical men. The total num-
Der of delegates in attendance was be-
tween 1000 and 1900, making it the
largest gathering of such nature ever
held. The avowed object of this con-
gress was the discussion of the alco-
hoiic problem in all its phases-socio
logical, hygienic, medical, statistical,
economic, scientific.
1t was at one of the sessions of this
body that the Lord Chief Justice of Eng
land went upon the record with the
declaration that in forty years of prac-
tise before the bar, and ten years upon
the bench, he had come to the concIu-
sion that 80 per cent of crime could
,, be traced to the drinking of alcoholic
beverages,
This declaration of England's chief
jurist was more than paralleled some
years ago in this country when the Su-
preme Court of the United States, in
an opinion handed down by Justice
| Field made the following statement:
"By general concurrence of opinion
/ of every civilized and Christian com
munity there are few sources of crime
and misery to society equal to the dram
| shop, where Intoxicating liquors in
small quantities, to be drunk at the
time, are sold Unfortunately to all
parties applying. The statistics of
/ every State show a greater amount of
crime and misery attributable to the
use of ardent spirits obtained at these
retail liquor saloons than to any other
source, y Crowley VS.. Christensen
1877 U. s., Sc; II Sup. CT 49,
Difference of opinion.
There is a noticeable difference OF
| opinion in the United States among
those who realize that the use of alec
holie beverages is menace and a grea
source of evil. On the one hand ar,
some of the political prohibitionists an,
those who, while they do not Away
vote with them. are sympathetic il
their attitude. These would wipe gu
at one stroke, if they could, the entir
manufacture and sale of all intoxieants
The fact that there has been investe
in this great business an immens
amount of capital, placed there becaus,
up to the present, the business has bee
recognized by majority of the State
as legitimate, and under various l
cense systems has been allowed to e.
, pand, seems to make no difference t
, these persons. They would, throug
/ legislation, abolish all this, whatevt
, the loss to the capitalists interested.
> The other class includes those VIII
: recognize the great evils brought aboU
| by liquor and realize the need of T,
- form, but who would go about I'll
f work slowly and, as they argue, ration
a | ally, Many of them consider the r,
= tail saloon the pivotal point in the 81
j uation and would like to see it abolish
v ed. But they contend that the aboI
4 ton of the saloon can not be we
$ brought about under present condition
f at one fell swoop. nor without some il
= justice TO those engaged in the bus
e ness. They argue also that many {
= the tests of prohibition which hay
been made show that prohibition do,
not prohibit - and that legislation doe
4 not destroy man 5 desire for alcoh,
!. nor prevent him from obtaining II
. Included in this class are both tot.
abstainers and some who both n.
n liquor moderately themselves and zyonl
d not deny its use to those who wish
% within the limits of their own home
s. While many of these are in some !,
v stances uniting with the radicals an
a voting for prohibition. they do 50 ,
10 a temporary expedient until some 9th.
n and, AS they view it, more satisfactnr
E. plan may be substituted,