The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1917-06-05
sPAReo ON LIQUOR PROBLEM
Favors Prohihitory Legislation as
Measure of Relief

Measure of Relief
Whatever your opinion may be on
liquor legislation, the following ad-
dress in favor of prohibition, delivered
by John Spargo at the congregational
church Sunday night, ought to inter
est you:
When | was asked some time ago to
be one of a small group of public men
to wait upon President Wilson and
urge that the manufacture and sale of
Intoxicating liquors be entirely pro
hibited during the war, | was very
glad to consent, just as little pre-
viously ! had signed a memorial in
favor of immediate national prohibi-
ton. That memorial bears ] think,
thousand names of men and women
eminent in many different ways.
Now, ! was not always a believer in
prohibition Indeed, | am rather
new convert to the principle. ] have
always believed that the liquor traffic
was an unmitigated curse, and as a
Socialist l have believed that it was
very great obstacle to the progress
of democratic movements But
have believed that hope for relief
from the curse lay, not in repressiye
legislation, but in education and in
the steady improvement of the condi-
tions of the wage-earners.
Some years ago. the Socialist Party,
of which ! was member wanted 10
determine its own attitude upon the
subject OF alcoholism and the liquor
tra n q resolution CptfinC
forth my own views and that resolu-
ton was adopted by the party and re-
mains its attitude to this day. Be
cause | know that there are some men
in this community who hold a similar
view, | am going to quote that resolu-
ton to you, in part, and then set forth
the reasons for adopting changed at
titude. The resolution reads: we
fully recognize the serious evils incl
dent TO the manufacture and sale for
private profit of alcoholic and adulter-
ated liquors. We hold that any ex-
cessive use of liquor by members of
the working class is serious OBJ
stacle to the triumph of our class
and we urge the members
of the working class to avoid any in
diligence that might hinder the pro-
gress of the movement for their eman-
pipation
"On the other hand we do not be-
lieve that the evils of alcoholism can
be remedied by any extension of the
police powers of the capitalist state
Alcoholism is a disease of which
capitalism is the chief cause, and the
remedy lies rather in doing away with
the underfeeding, overwork and over.
worry which result from the wage
system"
Well. there is much in that reso-
luton with which | still agree. But
it is only partly true. And it is not
true that the evils of alcoholism can
not be remedied by prohibition-for
that is what is meant by the phrase,
extension of the ploice powers of
the capitalist state" ! have inyesti-
gated the problem enough since ]
wrote that resolution to know better.
Two years ago | was made Chair
man of a special committee of the
Socialist Party to investigate the
whole subject of alcoholism and tenn
perance legislation and to report up
on it to the party That appointment
forced me to make a somewhat exten-
siye study of the subject, and that
study led me to the conclusion that |
most of the objections to prohibition
are unsound and purely academic |
And of all the unsound and purely |
academic objections the weakest is |
the objection that it is an infringe
ment of personal liberty"
IL is no more an infringement on per
sonal liberty than is the body of leg
islation which forbids suicide, drug
taking and many other things which |
are properly forbidden by law. The |
truth is that freedom grows within |
the boundaries of law. AS Rousseau |
once said. men gain freedom through |
their selfimposed compulsions to be-