The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1914-05-24
Present Conditions Recent Events and Beneficial Effects the
Several States Without Saloons Found to Show
Approach Of Long Sought Victory

| being required" Ii IL not believed
possible to foreso a vote.
congressman busy Thinking.
Another dispatch says that the
action OF the Judiciary committee
in reporting the amendment, thus
making 1t an issue that the congress-
men are bound to meet caused con-
sternation among the house mem
bers" However. this may be, on
second thought they are reported to
be settling down TO the fact that re-
sponsibiiity cannot be evaded
Prohibition. .lihe the equal suf-
frsge question, has come up at last
for settlement and many OF the
members are inclined to believe that
the problem can best be solved by
referring II to the States, thereby
/ absolvtng themselves of all blame
and responsibility in the matter. The
| conviction Is strong among them. I
| Is said that the agitation will not
cease. In so far as the proh'hitionists
F.. are concerned. until the people,
through their State legislatures.
shall have expressed their wish.
In the meantime. page. haif-p page
and quarter page Advertisements ex-
tolling their wares are being freely
distributed by the breweries and the
d.s.illeries among the newspapers OF
the nation that have not as yet de-
cded TO refuse such patronage, and
the section of the press that la dis
posed to be reciprocal in q matter
of this kind is publishing "educa-
tional campaign literature" prepared
by the liquor trade publicity depart
ment. Many newspapers. and gener-
ally the most prominent and influen
tial In their respective localities and
sections. are. however. refusing 20
accept liquor advertisements Or to
publish any matter In support OF the
liquor interests Nevertheless. adver-
tisements and reading notices In SUI
ae4eat number to mlsleAd- tina igno=
rant and poorly informed are finding
their way into print.
Kansas Results as Evidence.
The situation IL seen by the brew
ers and distillers to be not only crit
ical. but desperate. and they seem
to imagine that they can turn the
tide In their favor by obtaining pub
licity for exploded arguments con-
corning tho alleged harm prohibition
Is doing In the States that have al
ready adopted it,
Such arguments are summarily re-
futed. Take, for instance. an array
of facts relating TO Kansas upon
which there appears to be general
agreements. OF the half million
small percentage have ever seen an
open saloon. During the nearly
nearly thirty-four years OF prohibit
ton In the State, iiiiteracy has been
reduced from ~ to per cent. with
los counties in the State, eighty-sev-
en- have no insane. ffty-four have no
feebleminded, ninety-six have no In
ebriates. there Is only one pauper TO
every 1000 OF the population, and
there are thirty-eight county poor
farmt that have no inmates. A.
shown by recent report, nifty three
county jails were empty and sixty
five counties had no prisoners serv-
ing sentences.
Moreover. since the adoption Of
prohibition the population Of Kansas
has increased beyond that of any Of
the surrounding States, and its
claimed shrdlu etaoin shrdlu cmfwy
wealth has increased until 1t 10
in the American union. Until 1909
Kansas permitted drug stores to sell
liquor for medical purposes. This
privilege was abused. as might have
been expected. and was the cause
of scandal; in that year a. law was
passed prohibiting the sale of liquor
for any purpose whatever, and with
at least one marvellous material re-
suit. The State bank deposits had
up to that time been gaining an
nually. OF course. but only at the
rate OF about $1,000 900 q year: with
the establishment Of absolute prohi-
bition they made a sudden increase
of S14.000,000. the Jump being from
total Of Ss3.oo0,oo0 TO total OF
$97,00O.000.
Wealth increases Rapidly.
The increase OF wealth In Kansas
during the last ten years has been al
the rate Of $120.000,000 a year. Not
only did the people Of Kansas save
money by abstaining from intoxicants
in every form. but they became ind.-
vidually more efiic!en tand produc-
tive. The moral results Of this
change have been even more strik-