New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-05-23
Liquor and Crime.

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: On May you published letter
from H. J. Kaltenbach. president Of the New
York State Wholesale Liquor Dealers Asso-
citation, taking the Rev William Milton Hess
to task for saying that so per cent Of crime
is due TO alcoholic beverages Mr. Kalter.
bach offered to pay $1,000 to any charity Nr.
Hess might name II he would furnish in
support Of his statement any statistics COM
piled by the Federal or state governments or
by any other reliable authority
Mr.. Kaltenbach has been shreking TO- sta
tistics on this subject compiled by the Fed
eral or state governments" in numerous
other papers also. II is a perfectly safe
pastime. He might as we'll shout for Fed
ersl and state statistics as 20 the number
OF spotted hefers in the land. There are
no Federal or state" statistics on the sub
ject Police authorities book offences by
name. They never inquire into what has led
to the commission Of crime What has NJ
Kaltenbach 70 say, however, about the aver
age so per cent reduction in crime when
cities pass from the license 10 the prohlbi
ton status? What has he 20 say about the
drop in arrests in Parkersburg, " Va, from
1876 the last wet" year-July !, 1918, TO
July /, l9l4-to 632 the frs, dry year
July 1, 1914, TO July /, 1915?
What does Mr.. Kaltenbach think about
the drop at Wheeling. W Va. covering The
same periods and conditions. from 2,sOl TO-
tai arrests to 1875 total arrests-and Hheei.
ing, just across the bridge from "We'
Ohio community which makes a specially o.
getting Wheeingites across the bridge iof
jag?
Or what about 1.666 fewer prisoners in the
Jail Of jefferson County, Ala, during "dH
1915, az compared with wet 1912
Would the record OF Birmingham, Ala,
appeal to Mr.. Kaltenbach? That city. we
in 1914, had 724 assaults In "dry' 1919
it had 3o3. It's arrests fer disorderly con
duct in wet" 1914 were 1850. They were
761 in dry" 1915. DRINKS arrested in 1871
were Las. There were 29l in 1915. Nuf.
ders dropped from 40 in wet 1914 20 ~
in dry" 1915, and arrests for vagraney fron
295 to 81.
On March 81, after Denver had been "dr'
about three months, Alexander Nesbit, COM
missioner OF Safety, said:
Denver hasn't had murder since tns
first of the year. We have had eonsldersVi
fewer suicides / don't know what has caused
it, / simply know the facts show an entire
ly different condition in this city since pro
hibition went into effect, and ! didn't 70"
for il. Since this town went dry theiv
hasn't been man made drunk and h'
money Aeeced from him By those VINO -.
him drunk We have about three-tiths =. -
many arrests as we formerly had. l'
mileage of the ambulance and patrol wagyl
is less than 50 per cent Of what 10 formel,y
vas. The places where crime was iorn''
Matched are gone. and the city Is better -.
in every way so far as its Police Department
and its work is concerned. am not
swering the question as 70 what orous".
about this changed condition; am o"'
stating the facts that exist"
What Mr.. Kaltenbach's letter was mesD'
10 imply was that there was no large
lationship between drink and crime. IT ~
is really looking for light on this subject ~
can find enough that is reliable 20 nSN
clear that the traffic he represents rs h'''
Gus anachronism in an enlightened land.
ROLLIN o. ENERHARl'
Editor The American Issue New YORK cur
tom.
New York, May Is, 1916.