The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1916-11-06
MOTHER TELLS HOW
SON WAS DRAWN INTO
DEPTHS OF DESPOND-
ENCY AND FINALLY
TOOK HIS OWN LIFE.
EXPOSES Wild REVELS
Woman Shows How Low
Cost Of Alleged Harmless
Drink Has Been the Un-
doing of Countless Boys
and Girls Who Otherwise
Would Never Have Tasted
Intoxicants.


aroused interest the energetic cam
paign being waged In behalf ~ the In
itlatlve Measure No. q. and feel COM
PEELED TO enter my protest against this
threatened. cruel evil that commercial
motive In trying to force upon an lg-
norant and unwilling people. for e Is
ignorance alone that even permitted Its
first hideous grip on the throat ~
society.
shall not attempt rhetoric or fig
ures against this menace. win leave
that 20 the organized groups % "antis"
who have made n "A business
My protest comes from personal.
anguisScd knowledge OF tho far-r.arh-
ms. psfnicious results Of the misnarned
harmless beer"
Mother Barss Old Wounds
am writing now thru n mist ~
binding. hot rother-tears am re-
opening the old wounds In hopes 81
saving even one boys white soul from
fate worse than death. shall try 70
tell e 20 you as briefly a. possible.
We are a small family IN moderately
comfortable circumstance ilv'uE
among attractive surroundings. our
son was ~ years old when he entered
high school. HIS first two years there
went by In quiet normal sort Of way.
At fs-thc time when youth Is rio,oua
with IN. very Joy OF living. hs began
his first cvasions as 20 his evenings out.
At first no especial alarm was folt.
as he had always been 30 VERY frank
and honest In HIS homo relations. hu,
as minor osreusea were reported
against necessary school and horis dis
cipiine. we began 90 protest and invcs-
tixa'e
Ns~ Influence Seen
For n year We had n small car that
had been aesourcs % pleasant adven-
ture to US aNand the boy had used II
freely. ~ this time the personnel 90
his boy friends had changed. a new In
fiuence was apparent Saturday even
inws were spent out with n late home
coming REPRESENTATIONS fretted and
antagonixed him at times. A. other
times hc was all repentance and prom
lses. Then came the shock Of rcaliza-
ton and exposure
We were notified by Officers ~ tho
Juvenile court that our son had been
arrested and taken in charge as he was
leaving school Never shall I forget
the look on my boys face as stepped
into the Juvenile court room. He was
white with fear and his eyes were d.
lating in wonderment NJ what had hap
pened Then the whole pitiful story
was told I'm broken. shaken sohs in his
mothers arms. He was just my little
boy again.
Beer is Cheap
II all began 50 easily. 30 simply. Tho
boys found they could buy beer 1T
was so cheap. mother. that even the
poorest chap could afford 10 buy u and
no one thought u would mako us
drunk" he said. So they bought Il.
These children bought II direct FROM
the dealers. on Saturday evening thesh
tauehlng. light hearted boys would I'LL
~. nH vi nj ha
road. At first only boys were In tho
car then they saw other cars fun of
boys and girls and beer. 40 they formed
similar parties. drinking and laughing
themselves into a state Of unexpected
drunken sensuaiity. not even knowing
they were drunk
The result was inevitable beer
shaken hand at the wheel. lily guided
by -befogRed brain. and n crash
into an oncoming car. An elderly wo-
man was cruelty injured. another wo-
man crippled for life. both arms Of the
driver broken and my beloved boy In
Jail. Inundated. heart broken. heart
sick. his youth gone In flash.
Harmless ~ Beer 10 Blame
The Harmless beer" had duilcd his
ssnsibilitlar and had twisted his clean
boys soul all awry This young, crum-
pied thing in jail for men 20 Judge was
All thnt was lett OF tHe HAIH Sun WIN
7 had loved and nursed and suffered
for.
He was given n suspended sentence
and temporarily paroled to me.
The few weeks following no seemed
in a dazed, bewildered state Of mind.
hopeless lethargy made him dumb. and
then the end came. He ala not respond
20 n call the next morning and when
went TO his sunny balcony room his
dear, boyish body was lying very
straight and still. his head turned as II
in sleep. his face 80 exquisltely young
and sweet and only tho sensitive mouth
seemed twisted In pnin.
Empty Bottle Tolls Story
A tiny, empty bottle on the floor and