The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-12-27
Union Must Decide Soon How
They Stand on Prohibition,
Declares Commission.
FIGHT IN FEDERATIONaN
IS COMING SHORTLY
More Married Men Than Sin
gle Said To Be Found IN
Saloons; Conditions Must Be-
Met BY Both Sexes.

st. Louis. Mo, Dec. 26.-The att.
tude of the great labor ORGANIZATIONS
of this country on the hruor guess
ton must soon be decided. according
to the commission on Umperanceaso1
the Federal Council of the ChurcNen
of Christ in America, which reported
at the quadrennial meeting of'stha
council. ATM
In its report the commission spe9i<S
of "a big fight in the labor federA-
ton coming soon" it says:
Various groups in the ,federaunn
have, from time to time, made an sAt-
tempt to open the discussion. and at
the convention of the American Fed:
Grafton OF Labor held in San Franz
cisco during November. 1915. num-
Der of resolutions were brought to.t tho
convention by various delegates seek
ing to have action favorable to the
liquor business taken by the conven-S
ton. But these resolutions wSrAs
hastily withdrawn when the conse-g
quence of such action was brought
home To the leaders of the conventions
However, there is no doubt that In
the near future. the entire questinn
will he discussed by the Americana
Federation of Labor. Such presx1ros
Is being brought to bear by the iidhUr7
interests. that tho federation must -
eide definitely where II stands. This
Will result in the hifterest fight t1ss4t
has ever taken place at any convgn~s
ton of the federation. Becauseascfs
this it is supre mely important that q
paign of education be enga gedf4n
(by the churches) which will not only
furnish material for those who must
make this fight on the floor OF the
convention, but for the benefit of-thes
rank and file of wsorkingmen Mi1os
Il Il ~ <~
labor men who will be called upon TO
make this fight. and against whom all
the bitterness of the liquor traffic will
be hurled"
Married Men in Saloon.
Discussing Married Men and the
Saloon" the commission says:
1T is a striking fact that marrisd
men spend more time in the saloon
that single men. This is somewhat
startling. because married life is s1p-
posed to have a SOLDERING effect upon
man. Can it be that in manysa0f
these cases the home has failed TO
function? For let it be said withv'Aii
the emphasis possible, that in fa1o
last analysis the home must be,stha
best substitute for the saloon Itsaa
very generally true that men do mft'
do their part in making the home
what il should be from the social
standpoint; and perhaps too much hna
been said about wives failing to make
themselves and their homes more, -!
tractive, thus driving their poor hNE-
bands to drink, but the fact remains
that careful student of the subject
revealed that about twice as many
married men go to the saloon as do
single men. This may be due to the
higher idealism of the younger men,,
and it may also be attributed to- the
fact that they spend great deal Of
time in the company of their sweet
hearts who naturally would not VISIT
the saloon with them. Perhaps no
sttisfa Glory solution may he found OF
this particular aspect OF the problem
until in some way it becomes posstnfa
to provide more cheerful homes for
working people. in point of ventura
ton. light, space and general outlook.
This condition must be met by M1n
and women OF large social sconCeD-s
tons. 1t may be taken up by the ns$a-
nicipality or the State---sonae body
must do ii. for 1t is unfair and shDrt-
sighted to charge up to married Men
and women social sins and omissions
for which they are only in part Ee-
sponsibie."