The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1910-06-22

Cripples of Alcohol
+ | DO not pretend TO be an authority
on the comparative merits COR demerits)
+ Of alcoholism aud sexual excess a. the
prime cause of the decentralization Of
the Hawaiian race, The pitiful fact
remains. and the doctors (including the
leader Of the Mems Club of St An
drew 5 CathedraI) seem to be in no
doubt that the former j. the chief
cause. with the latter good bit behind
and depending chiefly for its victims
on the cripples Of alcoholism.
Time Brings Changes.
With regard 10 the authorities quot.
ed by the Bishop, | am surprised that
he should drag in Lecky and Mills.
/ Much water has flowed under the
bridges (and much liquor down thirsty
+ human throats) since their dav. and
i seems very doubtful if either Of
them would advocate these views at
the beginning of the twentieth century.
Temporal mutantur and no change has
been more marked than in the ideas
regarding liquor. especially if we com.
pare the ideas of America today with
those of the United Kingdom Of the
tim" of Leckv and Mills And even
in the United Kingdom Ito which 7
presume the Bishop refers when he
careless}v speaks Of England) the dimi-
mutton Of the drink traffic is. I believe.
largely due to the spread of modern
IDEAS on the liquor question. although
70 doubt. the liquor and license taxes
of that Uncompromising Welsh noncon,
formISt. Liovd-George have also help
ed. But public opinion. On this ques-
ton. is far behind in the United King
dom compared with tbs country, thanks
t. the ''Unholv alliance" of the
Church of England with the Peerage
and the Beerage" of which I shall
now speak.
FIouts and Gibes.
I'm not sure who the "grear Eng
I5shman was who said he would rather
see England free than sober. and wish
that the Bishop had not only remem-
berei his youthful training by verify
.ng his quotation but also by quoting
his authority. | have an idea that If
was the late Lord SaIisburv-the "mas-
ter Of fouts and gfbes who was Ger
tainly considered a great foreign min
lister but who was a thorough failure in
social legislation. Even his foreign
policy is now being rather discredited
and Bismarck 5 estimate of him as ga
iath painted To look like from does
not appear so wide of the mark as it
used 10 be considered. ANYWAY it
seems a very foolish saving. Neither
England, nor any other country can
be free in the true sense of the word
while it is in the thrall of alcohol.
And England T mean England this
time) is certainly under that bondage
today and will remain so as long as the
Church of England continues to bolster
up "the trade by supporting candi-
dates for parliament who support the
Church in her claims to state aid and
who also. almost without exception
vote solidly in the interests of the drink
trade. If I have wrongfuIlv accused
Lord Salisbury | apologize for having
ignorantlv saddled him with one indis-
erection too many. But. if the Bishop
had quoted his authority,I would not
have .barked up the wrong tree.
Semirespectability a Failure.
Concerning the Gothenburg system,
[ must confess to good deal of ignor-
ance on this subject also. evcept that
| seem to remember that the dis.
tlnguishing features of it are that the
bar IS made as unattractive as possible:
that the harkeeper gets a commission
on the sales of coffee and ''soft''
drinks and none on alcoholic drinks;
that the liquor is chemically pure and
that most of the profits 90 to the com
munity for libraries. parks. etc. The
plan has a plausible, feasible look but
| read short time ago that il was
proving a failure. I'm sorry I can t
VerIfy my quotation in this instance
either. and give it for what it is worth,
but the giSt of it was that it had done
Little, II anything. to mitigate the evil
and, ny giving the business a semi
respectable air, had actually entranped
Young men who would not have been
seen in the oldtime saloon or public
house. But. as | say, | have no Ger
tain knowledge either of the system
or ITS working. On the face of it.
however, | should be charv indeed of
supporting the idea of a municipal GOV,
eminent gong into such a business.
Millinery and Froth.
I am sorry to see that the Rishop
permits expression 70 his Dreindicos
against what he calls Puritans. The
Purltans, if | have remembered any
thing Of my history, ala great deal
to keep religion pure in England Greatly
England: il was the CovcnanterS in
NcotIand) when there was strong fen
den6N-not Vet Northumberland the
n1cket'n tho-slot religion of the Cav
atief~- Dt course, the Cavaliers. with
their TlUglotS and their lace ana tbnir