The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-21
LIQUOR QUESTION
VIEWED IN ENGLAND
Churchill Writes Age-Herald
Frem Wide Experience
HIS TRAVELS IN AMERICA
No Excuse for Burdenlng Constitutions
With Regulations Which Should
be Made by the Leg
lsatures.
BY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL.

BY RANDOLPH CHURCHILL.
London, England, October 2s.-(Special
Correspondence,)- IA distinguished minis
ter hailing from the south. as might be
expected, made the startling announce
ment from a London pulpit last year that
in five years there would not be saloon
in the United States, and an English
statesman who had read the findings of
the great Quaker philanthropist, Mr..
Rountree of York, who found thousands
of ''joints' In Maine. Kansas and other
states, turned to me and said: Surely
the speaker is dreaming, and even II the
legal public house Is abolished 1t would
only make matters worse" After return
ing to our hotel I told my friend. who,
like myself. is deeply interested in all
reforms, whether political, religious or
social, that local option, when rightly
applied, had done some good in Canada,
the United States, New Zealand, Norway,
Sweden and other parts of the world; in
behalf of small towns and country dis
tricts, where mean, cheap spirits were
sold Unfortunately to all classes, and
where police protection was deficient, but
that 1t is practically impossible to pro-
hibit the sale Of liquors In some form in
any town of consequence, and I base this
statement upon my impartial inyestiga-
tons In Maine, Kansas, Georgia, Canada
and in all the European countries, for
they have all been giving this subject
mucff attention for years; and one thing
is sure, that where the state and society
has made what Is called the 'liQuor prob
lem," problem at ALL nothing has been
left undone to solve the problem" and
much of this work has been practical and
even II prohibition Except
upon the local option basis, honoring
principle of democracy,
for even the rural population
of a county has no just right in law or
in morals to foist upon large town or
oity, a law that cannot be executed for
the best interests of the city, has proved
a dismal failure, and the friends of tenn
peranee still have every reason to be
proud of their work in many countries,
as the facts show.
While prohibition has been failure
and a mockery in the cities of Maine,
Kansas and Georgia, local option, when
confined to township, town, or even to
the county In many instances, has been
effective and often beneficial, and for
this reason all parties accept the prin-
ciple involved as 1t Is not a contraven-
ton of democratic doctrines; but for the
country districts of the great republic to
command Boston. New York, Chicago.
st. Louis, Richmond, Atlanta, Birming-
ham, New Orleans and Dallas to obey a
police regulation absolutely impossible to
execute, Is not only undemocratic, but
To So
1t violates the principle of home rule;
silly since 1t settles nothing, and vicious
inasmuch as 1t only opens the door for
all sorts of clandestine ways of selling
spirits, and I may add another serious
count to this indictment, for the law in
most instances makes no provision for the
sale and use of the malt beverages and
light native wines. which provide for a
want of the hupRn family.
often tell my prohibition friends that they
should read st. Matthew, 1924, and obey
the injunction, or else include tobacco,
tea, coffee and most soda fountain con-
coctions in their list of inhibitions, for
sake at least, as light, pure
wine and good beer are infinitely less
harmful than many of the beverages
poured down American threats.
From something like just observations
Of a worldwide character I am willing
to predict that where good beer produces
one drunkard, tobacco wrecks the nerves
of ten men; while tea, coffee and other
drinks do immense injury to
all excessive users, but shall we for this
abnormal reason consign all beverages
to perdition or shall we reject all bev-
erages containing any alcohol (and they
all do) simply because we condemn alco-
holio excuses and strong spirits?
I have q friend who thinks 1t is awfully
wrong for me to discriminate in favor of
domestic wine and pure beer as against
strong spirits, while he is smoking HIM
self away and daily using malt tonic
beer) and I am doing
neither, yet he is a radical prohibition
lst, while / am contented to advocate
and accept local option and
q just regulation as the best and only
real road to solution of the drink ques-
ton.
Let us see what has already been ac-
complished In several states OF tho union
where legislation has obtained in regard
to this subject, measured by the results
Of the systems employed.
Maine inaugurated constitutional pro-
hibftion many years ago, but 1t has never
been enforced in her large towns for any
length Of time, and the law is almost
sure to be repealed, as has already been
done In New Hampshire and Vermont,
yet local option Is a success In Vermont,
and would be in Maine.
Kansas being largely q rural state, we
had begun to think of late that perhaps
the law was effective, but a company of
citizens Of that state In
formed me only few months ago that
the law was violated with impunity in
most of the towns, and that conditions
were far worse than where the saloon is
we'll regulated.
In the state of Georgia all was well I'M
der local option for the most part, but
what has been the condition since pro-
hibition was forced upon Savannah, At
lanta and other places? 1t Is needless to
point out tho sad conditions In that grand
old state. and II the law Is not repealed
I shall be very much surprised
In Iowa prohibition was given a fair
trial and all for nil. because it was a
miserable failure as a temperance meas
ceeded where 1t is possible, for under local
option the people can send or go to the
arger towns for their spirits, but how
much better It would be IL the law pro-
vided for the sale of native wine and
pure beer in hotels, restaurants and
stores, as Is the custom In the most adj
vanced countries In Europe, for then the
people would soon learn to give up spir-
is and they would also largely discard
he use Of ''tonics," 'bitters," ''cordials,
Ind other connections called medicines,
,ut which in reality are nothing more
1or less than cheap adulterated spirits
n one form or another. am confident
hat the best solution of this whole oues-
ion lies in the adoption of some system
which allows the mild beverages-light
wfne lager beer, cider, ETC., certain frae
lom and encouragement rs a temperance
Measure, absolutely separating them
rom the arbitrary classification which