The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-09-19
TEMPERANCE OR PROHIBITION?

Ii seems improbable that the question OF ia
tionwide prohibition or any other question Q
equal magnitude and Importance Will be pefma
Iently settled until after the war when GU
millions of voters help to settl
t. Broadened by their experiences, cosmopoll
tan in their outlook, they will see many thing
more clearly than those who stayed at home
and their enlarged views, their prestige, an
the fact that they have seen and that they hav
been part of the wider lie of the world, Wi
make them a potent Influence in national at
fairs for years to come. That is the view 0
Charles A. Enfield, NJ d. of Jefferson, Iowa, a
expressed in communication printed in tn
Chicago Tribune of last Sunday. DIR. Entiel'
says:
We are apparently approaching period of ma.
uonal prohibition for the period of and because OF
the war. If this drastic measure was passed sole
ly as war measure. and if other equally useless
industries and equally needless uses of food ma
terias are to be likewise curtailed, certainly
find much ground to deplore the measure,
To the outsider, however, it has appeared that FRO
hbition end not means of winning the
was the dominating idea with most OF the sup
porters of the measure. 1t is unfortunate that the
use OF alcoholic beverages should have been to so
great an extent political issue, and that SO many
persons restrained from expressing their real
congi ctions this subject through fear OF pubic
opinion.
Fairly careful observation in an average middle
community which has not had saloon for
thirty years has convinced the writer that the man
who consistently practices total abstinence from all
alcoholics period of years is almost as rare,
and probably quite abnormal as the hopeless
chronic drunkard. But because of public opinion,
of their business connections, for some other
reasons, large percentage of these truly moderate
and occasional drinkers would publicly deny the
practice.
There seems to be fairly good ground for the
view that the chronic drunkard is always also an
abnormal individual mentally, and that ne becomes
a drunkard because of the faulty mentality and not
vice versa. In other words, probably the man who
fhn 1ftarh It he
btion is not worth saving anyway, and Will be
substandard citizen in other ways even though ne
has no chance to become dipsomaniac.
The legal regulation of saloons In many states
has been such encourage the most harm1ui
forms of drinking to discourage the temperate
social drinking which much may be SAID Laws
compelling the entire bar to be in view OF the
street prohibiting service in cafes restaurants,
preventing the publican from providing seats OF
food for his customers, encouraged the shot OF
whiskey" Of drinking by discourag1ng every
other kind This of drinking is, OF course IN
defensibe and has about the social attraction
as taking hypodermic of morphine
The prohibition politicians feel, OF course, that
the country will remain dry. One wonders, now
ever what effect the return of a few million young
Americans will have their program; young man
who have spent some months in country where
prohibition is unheard Of and temperance IS uni
versallv practced, who have found 1t easy to get
beer and wine, and difficult and undesirable 10 get
hard stuff There is no DOUBT that our returhs-
army will get what wants, in this as in other re-
snects and 1T is perhaps not unreasonable to nope
that II will want something of the sort provided TOT
IN the Brrce bill-that is, light wine and beer but
no distilled liquor. program OF inns solt wouu
at once remove most Of the evils OF the liquor
and take the matter out OF poIIlcs
Doo.,od NV those who threaten t,tel