The Washington herald., 1912-03-24
WHAT WOMEN DO
WITH The BALLOT
sufragism Will Decrease Use Of
Alcoholic Stimulants.
By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.

By ELLA WHEELER WILCOX.
Just what the effect Of woman suffrage
would be on public morals has been
subject Of discussion for years in
America.
In New Zealand, according to the de-
ports OF residents Of that wonderful land.
woman suffrage has resulted in marked
decrease OF alcoholism.
Drunkenness has virtually ceased to be
in New Zealand.
In California the first vote Of the women
was not for prohibition, because they
found organized politics, without prin-
ciples or ideals, back OF that movement.
The women realized that people must
be educated and prepared for total alb
stinence; they could not be forced into II.
Women are the sufferers from alco-
llolism, and wherever they have power
and privilege to use influence, il will, In
the great majority of cases, be used for
temperance.
Woman Investigation Says Crime
Costs More in Jersey.
Any one who has read the newspapers
with thought, for a decade or more of
years, must have noticed the large per-
centzge Of crime which has fallen 10 the
share Of New Jersey.
Many Of the most shocking crimes in
the annals occurred in that State.
An intellectual woman of East Orange
has made some interesting Investigations
and has reported them in a statistical
manner.
TO pay S4S, 900 more annually for the care
of convicts than nine other States OF
larger population.
Her statistics are so interesting that
they will be worth reading by every one
who has a regard for the public welfare.
New Jersey outranks New England in
the percentage of crime, and the data
show this mainly is due TO the use OF
intoxicants." she says.
"The statistics show there is one
drinking place in New Jersey for every
2l4 Of population, or one to every fifty
voters, while New England has one sa-
loon 10 So of population. New Jersey
has one convict to 1,% Of population
and New England one to 3,162-
New Jersey has had for years to
pay annually Ss, 900 more for the care
Of convicts than nine other States OF
greater population.
We learn from the best scientific au-
thorities that among the chief causes Of
insanity is alcoholism. Thirty per cent
of the men and 10 per cent Of the wom-
Ell committed to the State asylums are
suffering from conditions due directly to
the use of alcohol"
And here is what another woman says
on the same SUBJECT.
Rum before coffee or a cocktail be-
fore breakfast in the tropics, then COM
NIT some little imprudence, and you 60
home in a box"
Use of Alcoholic Drinks in the
Tropics Proves Fatal.
That is what DR.. Margaret York told
a good-sized audience at the Academy
of Medicine. Alcohol in relation to ef-
fciency'' was the topic of the public
health lecture for the day. DR.. York
talked of its relation to the stomach and
liver and the information concerning the
tropics had come from a rosy-cheeked,
healthy Englishman. who told why many
men who had preceded him in a post in
the tropics had succumbed to the climate.
They felt the need of a stimulant in
the morning, took glass Of liquor, lost
their appetite for nourishing food. and
the result was physical dissolution.
II took a cup Of black coffee in the
morning" said the Englishman, "ate a
little simple, nourishing food, let liquor
alone, and 1 could sleep on the ground.
wear damp clothes, and still keep my
health"
All the evidence was against alcoholic
drinks.
Welfare of the Race.
These women are but two of thou |
sands who are awake on every subject |
which pertains to the welfare Of the race. |
Excessive use of alcoholic beverages |
has decreased amazingly in the last |
decade. 1t has decreased since the !
days of George Washington, when every |
gentleman was supposed to get drunk |
on occasions. 1t will decrease still more. |
in the next decade; because our schools |
are teaching the dangerous effects of al |
cohol and because our women are ac- |
lively engaged in research in every line |
which enables them to understand what |
is good and what is not good for the |
rising generation.
And because the ideals of the world /
are being lifted, slowly but surely, to |
higher attitudes.
(Copynght.l