New Britain herald., 1919-06-03
COMMUNICATED.
LABOR AND BEER.

In a leading magazine under the above title the president of a great labor organization has published an article against prohibition. He stands for temperance but not prohibition. He says: As a worker for temper ance I consider the foisting of prohibition upon this country against the palpable wish of the large mass of the people to be, in times like these, worse than Crime,;>it is a blunder." Question, How dan a man be said to stand for temperance when he advocates the continuance of a condition which leads directly to in temperance? Question, How does MT. Gompers know it to be against the wish of a large mass of the people? Has he secret sources of information on this point? Has he consulted a majority of voters throughout the land? Has he con- suited the fifty millions of women, who are the greatest sufferers through the use of alcohol? Does he even know that majority of the labor organization he represents opposes prohibitiono
 Again he intimates that the prohi- blt1on law as passed is an invasion of personal liberty. Is this something new? Are there no restrictions now on personal liberty? According to law a man may not run amuck like a Malay savage with @ naked knife in his hand, slashing and murdering whoever he meets. A man may not take another's property by stealth or by force. A man though starving may not take the food he sees dis Dl9Np6 a firm stands if he has no means of pay ment. According to union labor law a man may not even work unless he is a member of some union in the trade in which he labors. He may not commit suicide by quick poison. Yet it is terrible infringm ent of per- sonal liberty to prevent him from suicide by slow alcoholic poison. It is a dreadful blow against his liberty to prevent him from spending over the bar the money that should feed and clothe his wife and children. Is not this personal liberty argument a little OVerWOrked?
 Listen again to Mir. Gompers: ITO save d mparatively small number of people from overindulgence in one evil habit. MT. Gompers says so. If wrecking the social and economic fabric of the nation.'
 i The use of intoxicating drink is an evid habit. Mir. Gompers says so. If so it not any indulgence therein over | indulgence? We have heard of the 1 wreclling of many governments, both socially and economically as well as politically and intemperance always i took leading part in this destruc- l ton. Has President GomperS infor- 1 nation of any nation that came to social and economic wreck through ! the non use of alcoholic drink? If | this happens in the United States will it. not be the first case on record?
 Does any man in his sober senses
 really believe that it will come to pass here through the legal preven- tion of an evil habit?
 In Italy, France. the Balkan coun- i tries and Central Europe water may
 be scarce as MT Gompers says. But | it is said to be very plentiful in a | large part of the United States. Where
 it is scarce on the deserts it is usually
 sought for with considerable eager
 ness. A cache of Whiskey would be
 but mockery to a man dying of
 thirst in a desert
 Immigrants from foreign countries | come here to better their condition
 in life. They are not retained here against their will. If the benefits
 they came here to gain do not com. | pensate them for the things they
 are required to sacrifice in obey
 ing our laws they can return whence
 they came. While many of these
 men are voters a great many of then
 are not voters as was amply proVer