The Cairo bulletin., 1909-03-27
WARM DEBATE
ON PROHIBITION
MAYOR ROSE or MILWAUKEE,
SAYS ITS WRoNo--PRoF.
DlcklE DEFENDS IT. a
FROM THREE POINTS
Mayor Viewed Matter, Biblical, Ethi-
cal and Material-Dickie Says
Saloon Breeds Crime and
immortality. 4

Il Milwaukee. March 26--One OF thc
most remarkable debates ever held
was that tonight ON the question
Resolved That Prohibition. as APP
itplied TO Manufactrse and Sale Of
4 Intoxicating Beverages is Right, with
Mayor Rose. Of Milwaukee, defending
the negative and DR. Samuel Dickie,
president OF Albion college. Of Albion.
Mich, for the nrohibitionists. More
than 1900 people were present and
other thousands could not gain ad-
pission. This was the first OF three
dates. the second will be given at Chi
cago and the third at some city In the
south. There was no decision to-
night.
Dickie was the first speaker He
largued that prohibition OF the liquor
traffic is raht, II .coGsldered only
from an economic standpoint" and
Ideclared "the saloon is foe of capl-
ltal, INDEPENDENTLY the enemy OF la.
lbor; that 1t paralyzes the arm of the
Isorkingman. skortens his ,.fe. ex-
Icludes him from many lucrative call
ings. decreases his power as a pro-
Queer, and throws into the labor
market vast mass OF debased and
lunintelligedt lab4rers who compete
dlsastrously with the sober and indus.
ltrious workmen. *A
Breeds Criminals.
mo line OF manufacture gives emf
lployment to so few men in proportion
to the capital invested as does the
liquor traffic" He asserted that the
I''liquor business breeds criminals
and that 1t Is itself largely composed
Iof men who DO not hesitate to violate
the law, and that openly. shame
fully and flagrantly trample under
| foot" laws intended to restrict the
evil influence of the liquor traffic.
While Dickie concluded that there
are few men of fair respeetability"
| In the saloon business 1t nevertheless
| remains true that the lawless classes
thieves, gamblers, thugs. blacklegs.
|outcasts, harlots, low and vile and
degraded of both sexes, can be de-
pended upon to the last man and the
last woman TO stand with Milwan-
keo's mayor in opposing prohibition
and advocating the saloon.
Rose in Negative
Arguing that prohibition is wrong,
Rose treated the subject from three
view points, biblical, ethical and ma
| terial He showed that while In an
cient times evil existed when the ten
commandments were written no at
tempt was made to inject prohibition.
and he challenged anyone 10 find one
word In the bible advocating the the
ories of the prohibitionists. Treating
the subject from its ethical side. he
took the census figures of the govern
ment and the records of cities and
states to prove that prohibition In
creased crime. insanity. deaths, do
lmpstic infelicity, pauperism and
stagnated business. He took the
criminal records of Milwaukee.
wide open town. and showed that
| the arrests here per capita was less
| than in the prohibition states of
Maine, Kansas and Georgia. He
showed that more drunkenness exist
ed in Maine than in Wisconsin.
He quoted the census figures 20
show that more insanity existed in
prohibition states than In neighborifg
wet stqtes and that the death rates
of Maine and Kansas were higher
than the wet states adjoining. Rose
quoted census figuers to show that
more people died from the whooping
cough and measles than alcoholism:
quoted figures to show more divorces
in Maine and Kansas than in Wiscon-
sin, wet state: that prohibition
states also had more paupers. He
showed bank deposits of dry states
smaller than In wet states, and said
prohibition had been failure wherer-
er tried because Il was impossible TO
correct the lisa nd weaknesses OF man
by laws.
What Nationwide Means.
Nationwide prohibition. he said.
would mean a loss. of s2l5, ,90S.000 rev
enue a year TO the government would
seriously affect the farmer and la
Dor of the country because the brew
ers and malsters and distillers- Of the
country consume sl09.000.0oo yeas.
1t would paralyze business, cripple
the railroads and be felt in every
walk of life. 1t would deprive the
people of personal liberu-all, for TO
purpose except the faBatieism OF the
prohlbitionists. The mayor urged
sane regulation as the true solution
of the drink problem.