Norwich bulletin., 1917-07-16
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
A Reply to Mir. Williams.

jams seems to be '-seein' red" on the liquor question,
 He intimates that a large share of those who are urging "bone dry" pro- hibition are meanwhile quietly stock ing their own cellars so as to avoid the coming drouth. As I am now try ing to reclaim an abandoned farm where the old house has suitable cellar as vet, it may be a favorable time for me to answer Breer Will jams while my cellar is so open to the weather as to render it above suspi- cion,
 Of course the elimination of the al- cohol drink traffic will put out of bus mess those who are depending upon it indirectly well directly; that is, farmers who furnish grain for liquor, the lumbermen who supply the coop CTS, the glass men, the carpenters and masons who build and repair breweries and distellers, etc. etc.; to include the entire equipment of the liquor trade. There can be no dispute about this point
 I am just now living out in the country. and Bre'er Williams somehow reminds me of stage coach days. What bee anne of the property and oc equation of the stage drivers and stage coach owners, when the rail roads came? And how about railroad stocks since the advent of electric motors and trolleys. and jitneys?- Who is going to compensate the widows and orphans and others who were de- Consolidated" railroad stock
 Tn brief when some esta blished in- dustries of various sorts have gone to the rocks, because the promoters and sponsors were not up to date and did not put themselves in line with mod them How soon will automobile mak- CTS have to enter upon the manufac- ture of airships or else go out of bus mess, the old-tin1e carriage makers have been compelled to do? There is no occasion for hysteria about tiie liquor business on either side. The plain truth is that the peo- pie are getting ready to quit the use cause they are gradually finding out that the stuff isn't what it is crack ed up to be-"
 The practical question confronting those liauor dependents of whom Bre'er Williams so feelingly writes is whether they will pursue longer q de- destructive business, or get out from under, transferring their produ ctive energies, capital and brains to some thing that will benefit their fellow men instead of undermining the social order. If they who are now at work in the liquor industry directly or in directly. were to quit it and engage in constructive industries, the difference for the welfare of the community is so manifest a proposition that I shall simply state it for the consideration of Bre'er Williams and any others who will face the facts candidlv.
 Now just a word about the alcoholic drink traffic. Let me ask Bre'er Will jams to consider the three following statements:
 1. No man can take alcoholic drink into his system with any considera ble degree of frequency without damage to his entire being. Modern science has exploded the oldtime theory that alcohol is a food or even 'stimulant." is a delhsion. I do not care to argue these statements. Bre'er Williams doesn't have to accept them if he doesn't wish to; simply let him try drinking a few glasses of even beer CT wine as a practice and he will soon be convinced by the affect on his own nervous system; even if he has not al- ready observed the effects of alcohol upon others sufficiently to be con- vinced of the truth of statement mum Der one above. There is no such thing as moderate drinking. What we have called by that name applies to those who do not take enough liquor to show the damage. The physical eff feet is there just the same; and every candid drinker who will observe the ef- feet of alcohol on his own nerves these statements. Modern science has revealed why alcohol has certain effects. The practical question for today is, are we intelligent enough to perceive the new revelation and let the stuff alone for our own benefit.
 ?. Neither Bre'er Williams nor any one else can point ont one single place where alcohol is sold drink. from which there does not proceed for more harm than good-no matter whether it be social club, hotel bar, high license saloon or low down dive, the effect is the same. It's the alcohol that par alyzes and drags down and finally kills
 3. If no man can drink alcohol con- siderably without damage. and the prevailing effect of every place where alcohol is sold al a drink is dama ging to the social order, these facts mean inevitably that the alcoholic drink traffic is against the general welfare" and therefore an un-American un-pa- triotic institution, and for the public good should be done away and that means prohibition, bone dry,"
 How can you or any other candid citizen get away from these facts, Bre'er Williams? Let us not get excit- ed and denounce each other. Come, let us reason together.
 Cordially yours,
 ALLEN B. LINCOLN.
 Wesfford Conn T11ty 13 1917