The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-05-01

produced such splendid results in our
camps and in the strengthening of
! the moral fiber of the men in those
camps that IL would he strange il
we did not fad any fruitage over
there in our army in the trenches.
And | want to say tonight that no
man can go over there and not be
proud OF our men. There are flies
in the ointment" no doubt. but no
matter what there may be, when YOU
go into the camps where the men
are. when you go into the trenches
where they are fighting, when you
recognize their spirit and their sense
OF genuine devotion to the cause for
which they are lighting. ] say my
heart thrilled with pride that they
were our boys. and that they were
over there to do the service for the
world and for humanity which for the
ages to come they are doing tonight.
Progress In England
Conditions in England have greatly
i'm proved In the prohibition cause.
When the war first broke out you
all remember that Lord Kitchener and
the king and the leaders of the Brit
lish official life practically said. ITO
tai abstinence for us until the close
Of the war" That was a splendid
exa m pie. 1t has been followed by
thousands upon thousands of the very
best people OF England who were not
total aostainers, but who followed in
the lead OF those governing We are
all sorry they did not have war time
prohibition. | think perhaps II they
had had the courage to have deHb-
erately and decisively said thu first
year of the war that no more intoxi-
eating liquor be manufactured or sold
IN Great Britain it could have been
done. Instead of that they put in
certain measures of repression-pro
hibitory measures. And | want to
bear tribute to the British govern
meDt. and say that | doubt whether
any nation in the short space OF three
and one-han years could have done
more by simple administrative nat,
without the vote OF the people and
without the education which We have
given TO our people, has ever made
better progress in the matter of ad-
miniStratiye edicts than the British
government. Now they have done
this:
They have reduced there this COM
ing year the output OF beer about
100000 barrels az over against 80
600 900 barrels the year before the
war. They have forbidden the sale
of distilled spirits to 4 600 600 gal
Ions as over against 81 100000 They
, have reduced he brewing materials
for this year $50 eco tons, or about
10 per cent
They have reduced their beer 10 a
little over two per cent in alcoholic
content as over against two and three
fourths per cent mere in America so
much SO that the people laugh when
they talk about government beer ana
call II government slop"
Effects Are ssrikimE.
The government has done that step
by step. and the people have stood II.
and there has come that tremendous
result thai always comes and which
! always follows the doom of the liquor
trsfic. There has come in this three
and one-balf wears reduction of
nearly seventv-five per cent in arrests
Tor drunkenness and disord~rly con
, duct. Take the principally Of Wales.
| There were i ,0oA arrests the wear be-
fore the var. and there were 5 00h last
wear Even in Ireland where there
were some hftX odd thousand arrests
there were ONLY about 22hoo the last
year From the conversations with
which I was honored with the highest
officials Of the British government and
the liquor control board. il is only fair
90 give TO those men the credit which
the prime minister claimed at the free
church conference when ne said.
We have not done perhaps all that
We ought to have done We have not
done much that some OF US wanted to
d.. ~urlv We have right for the
or what mas been done and it
greatest thing that has been
. Ivu. py any nation"
W rHteVer NAV he the condition Of
ana IRIS, no sane man thinks thst Eng
land Scotland, Wales and AT least the
northern part of Ireland will ever go
back to the conditions before the war,
| They havh reduced their hours OF
drinking to FIVE and half hours as
over against nineteen. There is this
to he sa Id for the British that while
they NAV kick and growl when the
government passes A law. when The
edict goes forth. that law is going 10
be as well enforced as u js anywhere
in the .world
America tw Appreciated.
found that these people appreciate
hat are doing In America | mean
the leaders THEW said II wonder
fui. that they could hardly compre
bend the rapiditv with which we take
these actions They said Furthermore
that they believed that the sentiment
/ Of Amerfc@ with reference to the pro
ection OF our soldiers and sailors
| should be respected wherever those
! men go.
! II il verv d nieult 70 discuss condi-
| tions IN France. The french people
have been hshtins SO gloriousiy in
| defensNe Of their country against the
German menace he-7peFA 81 IN
! righteousness ard injustice and heart
| iessness. which is apparent in all the
movements Of the German sarr,N. for |
! have found no better word to describe
! the whole German armv than heart e
leasness. for II ia regardless Of ali the
finer feelings and senses Of the huma n
! soul say the French people have re
7 sponded so ioriously TO the defense OF
I their country and they are doing such
! magnificent work there alongside OF
/ the British and with our men here and
| there dovetaiied in with both nations.
| that one can very easily overlook some
! fundamental things were 1t not for the
| peril Of those things. | do not feel in =
| clined tonight 10 go amy further than
| ford for one moment, no matter how
! much may admire the courage and
! vaior OF the French men on the bat
| tleheld. or their courtesy and polite
! ness. TO adopt the standards for our
! nation the standards that are largely
| in vosus~in France concerning iBtoxi-
| cants and women.
, perhaps should say no more than
| this, that our vonug men are carried
| into a strange environment. and very
! difficult environment for our country
| boys especially. II is very trying md
| tasting exDerianee for our Vonnc mon.