The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-03-08

:
wines SO marked has been the moral and
economic Improvement. revealed in social
conds ions, that the people themselves are fore
ing absolute prohibition.
But the most astonishing manifestation of
the new purpose that has taken hold of the ma
tons was the statement made few days ago
by David Lloyd George. chancellor of the Brit
ish exchequer He said; \
Most Of our workmen putting every
ounce of their strength into this urgent work
Loyalty and patriotcally. but there are some
who shirk their duty. But to be perfectly
did, 1t is mostly the lure of drink. They refuse
TO work full time; and when they return. their
strength and efficiency are impaired through
the way they have spent their leisure.
Drink Is doing more damage than all the
German submarines put together Russia has
stopped drink. NJ Bark, the Russian minister
of finance, with whom / conferred in Paris. told
me that the output OF Russian workmen had
increased from 80 to Sc per cent since the sale
of vodka had been prohibited. Hesadmitted that
he had lost S2S0.0 900 in yearly revenue,
which he certainly could not afford: but he
added that if he proposed to revert to the old
conditions, there would be revolution in Rus
STA France abolished the sale of absnthe by
1Q-to-I aiority in a single afternoon
I'VE propose nothing drastic. but have
great powers to deal with drink; and we mean
TO them. We shall use them in spirit Of
moderation and wisely. but quite fearlessly.
The public is accustomed to strong terms of
denunciation from anti-Hquor agitators. But
never before has statesman Of worldwide re-
nown put forth upon the subject utterance so
sweeping this There is nothing more deeply
rooted in the British character and govern
mental system than a devotion to personal lib
erty' Yet the time is at hand when even this
must give way to the larger needs of nationai
safety. When of the chief members Of
the government declares that the liquor evil Is
more menacing to Great Britain's security than
The dreaded submarines of the enemy. the be-
ginning of u revolution may be discerned.
More detailed testimony concerning Russia is
niS Ibnkr tod no
Outlook by George KEENAN,.
The Russian Village has become trans
formed that il is unrecogniza bile. 1t is difficult
to describe in words the transformation mat
I peasants have undergone. They have be-
come better dressed they are more industr.ons,
they show more intelligence.
1T as If people had become different.
You don't sec men gong barefoot as formerly,
everybody is respectfully dressed and we'll shod.
We seem to be living III another world There
tare no disputes, no fGhts, no robberies ami no
fires sohriety has carried peace aud
quiet into social life; II has brought Eladness TO
families. it has increa sed prosperity"
But sentence against liquor has been passed
! by the forces of peace as We'll 1t is
implied in the remarkable spread Of the great.
rational demand for safety first in industry,
transportation and all the physical activities of
life. As one of the leaders in the movement
has declared
+ III is inconceivable that any man body Of
men proposing to take active interest in
all in their power t. assist the work of back
with the saloon Saloons licensed to be
located next door to factories, to sell employees
drink that will weaken their limbs and befuddie
their intellects and thus render them liable to
accidents that the be-; safety appliances and
the watchfulness of superintendent cannot pre-
vent
The campaign against this dangerous condi-
ton has been taken up in Philadelphia, and
nowhere could it be prosecuted with better eff
feet than in the worlds workshop" In The
license court few days three great employ
i ing concerns. the Mdvata Steel Works. the Link
Belt Company and the george w Blahon Com
pany, formally protested against the licensing
of saloons near their plants. Their counsel told
the Judges.
III requires the consumption If a very small
quantity Of alcohol to deprive workman of
perfect self-control and thereby mper his life
For this reason these three esta bshments are
strongly opposed 10 temptation being placed in
the path of their men near the works
. And behind this determination of industry to
ria itself Of the chief cause Of !neflfcency and
preventable accidents stands the medical pro-
foSsion. In i:ue with their high conception OF
their duty to humanity. especially in promoting
the prevention Of disease AS we'll its,
physicians arr throwing the weight of their
scientific authority against the liquor traffic,
7 While industrial employers in Philadep ha
were resisting saloon licenses near their plants
1.-The leading physicians Of West Chester were
presenting 10 the license court in that city
memorial, in which they set forth the evil ef-
fleets of alcohol upon the human body, and de-
IClared.
To accomplish succa Ssful results in the treat
ment OF inebrety the door of the saloon should
be closed and the saloon itself made to suffer
such isolation is legally applied by quaran-
tine TO a place infected with contagious dis
ease: and We DO not de I'm its sale for the salts
faction of morbid appetite more of a
necessity than the sale cf any other poison"
Signs multiply that the liquor traffic is DOOM
cd-not only because Of an awakened public
NOT because q to nd
the needless suffering Il inhicts upon the limo
cent, but because of the economic wrong 1t en-
tails in producing social losses through waste.
nefficiency. disease nnd death--Phila delphia
North American.
Sportsman--Is the hunting good here?
Guide-Yep. Better than the fndin'.-Coium-
bian Jester