Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-05-13
PROHIBITION DENOUNCED
BY HARVARD SCIENTIST
By Prof. Hugo Mnnsterberg Of Harvard

we an ublft NhbN dlNOloilN lHNNiA-
perance is one of the greatest
sources of human misery. being the
direct cause Of Il large part of
crime, of poverty, Of Illness, of in
sanity, of earth death, and in the
next generation, of idiocy ard de
pravity. We all agree further that
all alcoholic beverages are danger
Gus for children and psychopathics;
and we agree that TO fight against
such evils is the duty OF every con-
seientious reformer. Our possible
disagreement appears thus only when
we consider the means by which
these evils can be removed in the
highest possible degree without iu-
Producing other evils equally calam-
itous. After studying this problem
for more than twenty years and aft
er repeating frequently in the psy-
Geological laboratory all the signifl-
cant experiments. and after curing
scores of drunkards by psychothera-
peutic means and ? thus being near
to the question all the time, am
fully convinced that under the pres.
cnt conditions of American life the
only wise way of reform is by work
Ing toward temperance and not to-
ward prohibition. II must be n
car'uaign Of education towards a
ms larate use of light alcoholic bey-
eIcgo5.
Since uttered this opinion pub.
li'ir few months ago In popular
L.. lzine, a whole literature of so.
CO ed replies has gone up. There
was no lack of vehemence and an
abundance Of misstatemeRts, and ev-
en- the eYcltment of the presidential
campaign would not be sufficient to
excuse the denunciatlons and falsifi'
cations which my friends the Prohl'
bitionists, INDUCED in; but looked
in vain for single argument which
could change ~ the least my opin-
ion. OF course, do not deny that
the other side has a much simplied
remedy. To exclude all alcohol from
this country by prohibition laws
seems to get rid of the evil with one
stroke; it needs indeed much less ef
fort than a true education toward!
temperance. But the Prohibition
movement is Just like the free silver
movements in economies, or like so
cialism i'll politics, or like spiritual
ism in religion. or like Christian
Science in medicine, or like Prag
matism in philosophy. They all con
tain a little core of truth, but thei
truth is old and they become new
fashioned movements only by new
sensational Foundations which ap
peal to the unthinkinp crowd. Blu
Just this always secures at first al
immediate cheap victory; n super
ficiality OF thinking prevails in tn
world and can never resist the en-
thusiasm Of fanatics. | have hardl,
Iauy doubt that this Prohibition
movement, too, will at first over
whelm, by its very superhciality. tn
sober. efforts for education and re
form in this country. just as IN
vaudeville and the operetta have oy
erwhelmed the. serious drama, AS tn
cheap magazine has demolished tn
book store, as the yellow press ha
captured the masses, and as in
hundred other forms the appeal t
superficial judgment has been SUE
cessful. Then OF course the reat
ton comes in time. and the cry ia
prohibition will just as swiftly dis
appear as the cry for free silver.
Our Habitual Disrespeet for Law
Let us not forget that we want {
make laws for nation whose habit
ual dlsrespect for the written sta
tutes has proved in the last years
. he the chief source OF its tro1ble
and let us further not forget tha
we want u legislate against ply
iolcgica desire which belongs to
majority of men. The absence
, this desire In women or In larl
runner OF men WHOAt HclNuuS ny
. tenn IS differently organized can en-
lily mislead, personally, for II
stance, brought up in a temperate
5 household. have had my life long
physiological dislike not only Il
strong drinks but also for beer, 81
: In planning for the millions shou
r feel reckless and irresponsible IL
!. simply generallzod my own chan
. constitution.
That Kind OF abstinence legisl
ton which prevails In certain par
OF the country and IS evidently ne
in others Is surely not for the cor
mon good That is destroys /
dustrles and makes hundreds
thousands Of breadless, and that
deprives millions OF harmless, 10
full feeling Is still the smallest har
which It produces. But far more II
portant is the dlsrespedt for Ia
:. which II creates, Prohibition puts
n premium on the systematic VIOLATE
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