Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1917-05-11
Nations Greatest Men Demand
War Prohibition.

A growing demand for war prohibition
is coming from wholly unexpected, in
fuential business sources. Governor
Harris of Georgia after consulting with
other governors, sent out a call for gov
errors congress which met in the national
capital on May 4th and considered effect
i've state prohibition purely as a war
measure
kilograms urging national war prohibi-
ton have been received at the Capitol
from governors Brumbaugh of Pennsylva-
MIA, Aldrich of Nebraska, Cats of Flor
ida, Alexander of Idaho, Capper of Kan
sas and Bilbo of Mississippi, while more
than 600 Geographic demands have been
received within the last week from such
men as Howard Elliott, President of the
New York, New Haven and Hartford
Railroad, F. A. Vanderlp, President of
the National City Bank of New York,
David Forgan, Chicago's leading banker,
Joseph Boyer, President Of the Burroughs
Adding Machine Company, H. G. King,
President of Oberlin University, F. L.
McVeigh, President of the University of
North Dakota, N. F. Hintt, President Of
the Washington and Jefferson College,
Geo. f. Bogardus, President of the Uni
versity of Southern California, Simon
Patten, economist, of Pennsylvania.
Among big contingent Of editors de-
handing prohibition are Van Valkenburg
of the Philadelphia North American City,
and Holt of the New York Independent
Out of group of nearly 50 authors may
be named Upton Sinclair, Booth Tarking-
ton, Ray Stannard Baker and John Bur
roughs
When the Democratic caucus by vote
of 81 to 60 declared for national prohiOi
ton during the war, the world was dazeC
and amazed. There is no occasion for it
1t is the logic of events The nation il
confronted with an alarming food short
age, and we must feed not only ourselves
but our allies. Prohibition will diver
enough foodstuff from the waste of tn,
= liquor traffic into its legtimate use to Civ
every one of the twelve million men in tn,
armies of our European allies a pounC
loaf of bread every day.
The best actuarial authority wa
brought to Washington and asked wha
effect moderate drinking had upon life
and told in the cold calculation of scienc
that $50 men die among moderate drink
ers for every 100 that die among abstain
ers. We need men. This presented
practical proposition. No sentiment. n
moralizing. This is language that tn
brusque business brain grasps. We nee
more men for farms, factories, and tn
ranks. Congressman were told that ther
are some hundreds of thousands of me
engaged in the manufacture and sale c
! liquor which, with the traffic prohibite
for the war, would help meet the labo
crisis. In addition to this it is said tina
the use of liquor decreases the efficienc
of labor from Is percent to 80 percent
9 Then the doctors came with the test
Il mony that the liquor traffic is largely re
sponsible for those forms of contagio
that are most prevalent and most di'
aiding among soldiers. The demand fc
war prohibition comes from newly arouse
e business interests that are seeking, in
y practical way to help adjust the natio
to the strain and stress of the war
h Committee on War Prohibition,
Irving Fisher, President,
Y Washington, d. G.