New-York tribune., 1918-04-21
QUESTIONABLE Brings Out Arguments
Seldom Heard in Liquor Controversy

of alcohol, but believes that prohi
hlbltion would Eventually" result in
great benefit, mentally and physi-
cally, to the country.
DIR. Arthur Twining Hadley, presi-
dent of Yale University, says frank
ly that he has doubts as to the wis
dom of national prohibition, and
adds: II belong to generation
which emphasized self-control more
and public control less than is habit
ual at present."
George S. Webster, Secretary of
the American Seamen's Friend
Society, favors prohibition because
of its ECONOMIC, moral and religious
value" and James Bronson Reyn-
olds, because he finds "society un-
able to enforce moderate drinking
One striking deduction to be made
from the replies is that the possibil-
ity of a practicable and final COM
promise on the liquor question hard
ly seems to be considered. Appar-
emily the discussion has been so
violently conducted that no middle
stand has ever been discussed. Some
correspondents, who see validity in
the arguments on both sides, state
frankly that they are obliged to take
decided stand on one side or the
other against their wills. But the
majority seem not to consider COM
promise as even a theoretical pos
sibility.
Would Give 1t
Trial Marriage
Eugene Lyman Fiske, M. D., med
lcal director of the Life Extension
institute of New York, is strongly
in favor of a trial marriage" for
prohibition during the war. He
draws an analogy between the al
legged stimulation derived from meat
and the stimulation of alcohol, and
concludes that both may be profit
ably dispensed with. And as a phy-
sician he protests against the tenn
porary eXpedient of the unhappy in
dividual with an artificial solace. He
says:
am in favor of at least trial
marriage" with prohibition for the
war. Why waste valuable time and
energy and keep busy so many useful
brains in discussing this question
when We can settle it for our posterity
for thousands of years to come by an
experiment that will save money and
food for our fighting men?
Before the war was more interested
in securing information regarding the
effects of alcohol on the human race
and bringing this information to the
attention of the public in a thoroughly
unbiased way than in engaging in any
propaganda for prohibition, and
steadily avoided advocating prohibition,
although | frankly advocated total alb
stinence. was convinced that when the
public thoroughly understood the real
place of alcohol in society any neces-
sary laws would eventually be enacted
to meet the situation as viewed by the
majority of citizens
Old Ideas in New Dress
Some of the arguments now adj
vancei by psychologists in favor of
old ideas in new dress. The sugges-
tion that there are large masses OF
men who would drift into psychoses or
various forms of mental alienation if
it were not for the resource and safe
guard OF alcohol is simply expressing
in scientific terminology what John
f'ske long ago expressed in common
language when he said that alcohol
bridges over the pitfalls which the
are constantly digging for US" This
is really the only excuse that could be
offered for alcoholic indulgence. 1t
breaks down the barriers between men
and eases life strain. Unfortunately
John Fiske and other pro-alcohol es-
saysts did mot know the high NOR
talitv attendant upon this easing"
process. He did not know what the
Investigations Of forty-three American
life insurance companies have shown;
namely, that the steady daily drinker
who exceeds two glasses of beer or
one drink of whiskey. even though not
Incorporate in the popular sense, has
an extra mortality of Sc per cent. We
have to consider such experiences
when assuming to say what does or
does not constitute "use" or abuse"
There is vast amount of involved
logic in these pro o-school arguments. Ir
one breath we are told by leading
exponent of beer drinking that the
withdrawal of alcohol in Russia
caused widespread misery and an in
diligence in alcoholic substitutes of
poisonous character The tune is then
changed and we are informed that
Russia broke down because she could