Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1919-02-08
18TH AMENDMENT IS
CELEBRATED IN fine
WAYAT CONG'L CHU'H

Sunday evening to tittingly celebrate
| the amendment to the Constitution of
the United States making the nation
! bone dry. After the usual opening eX-
ercises, including Scripture reading APP
| propriate to the occasion and the sing
! ing of victory songs and violin Sc
lection by Miss Heulah Barker and an
anthem by the young peoples chorus
choir Rev. Noah c. Cause spoke brief
ly. AS he had previously announced,
he answered every argument Of the
state senators of New York against
the amendment. One of the statements
of a senator was that the prohibition
amendment was only war time hysteria.
Mr.. Cause replied that on the contrary
the amendment was the final culmina-
ton of a growing sentiment Of the
American people covering a period of
two generations that they had simply
become weary of bearing the cost of
economic waste and paying the cost of
the crime and poverty that are prod
ucts of the liquor traffic. TO the state
ment that the amendment was the re-
suit of Il minority holding a threat
over the ma iority and forcing the is
sue Mr. Cause showed how the move
ment for the past % years had slowly
and persiStently advanced from town
ship and borough to counties and to
whole states. making the vast ma iori-
ty of the United States territory dry
by wave upon wave of anti-SalOon SEN
timent as a result of simple facts bear
ing upon the Ubiquitous traffic.
''The American saloon dug its own
grave" he stated, 'by its violation of
law and unspeakable corruption, and
there was nothing left to do but give
it decent burial and then sing Praise
God From Whom All Blessings Flow "
Then followed speaker after speak
er, the celebration lasting for two
hours without a dull moment.
John r. Fridlington said, in answer
to the argument that men would be
thrown out of employment, that the
men engaged in the traffic would be
absorbed into other industries. He
cited an incident of the candy trade.
which is already increased owing to
the fact that with the leSSening of
liquor consumption more candy is con-
sumed, thus giving thousands of men
additional employment. He stated that
the government had shipped 10000
600 pounds of candy to the boys in the
army abroad, but not Il gallon of LID
, uor, and that we had the best fighting
force overseas.
Professor George Donaldson stated
that there was good authority for the
assertion that 90 per cent. of disease
would be stamped out; that alcohol
was not food, but a tissue destroyer
He quoted Lincoln, who said that there
were two kinds of slavery-chattel
slavery and the liquor traffic.
Charles Leeger then spoke, saying
that for the past % years he had had
the courage of his convictions to
speak and work against the saloon,
and he rejoiced that the Grantwood
Congregational Church had stood for
the prohibition movement, the greatest
movement in the interest of good gov
eminent and the American people ever
known. He went on to say that the
greatest institution that came into eX-
iStence in modern times was the Anti
Saloon League, which succeeded in CO.
ordinating all anti-SaloOn forces in
America into a mighty force for right
eousness and destruction of the vilest
traffic that ever fixed itself upon the
American people. He said: "The
amendment to the Constitution is the
expressed conviction of the vast ma
jority of the American people, and it
is the greatest thing that has ever
transpired in the world"
E. j. Van Wagner stated that we
could no longer fix the blame of re-
sistence to the prohibition movement
to the Democratic party since the
amendment to the Constitution was
passed during a Democratic admins
tratiOn, and that the south, always
Democratic in politics, had long since
become bone dry territory.
Rev. Salvatore C. GOzZo then spoke,
relating incident after incident of the
evil influence of the open saloon caus-
ing poverty and crime. He stated that
in Italy, though wine grape and wine
producing country, where much wine
was used there was little drunkenness,
for they did not have the menace of
the open saloon as they do in this
country.
Albert Van Dusen said: SIN the long
run right always triumphs." Mr.. Van
Dusen, who is himself a young man,
said There are thousands of young
men who will be saved by the nation
going dry"
Attention was called by the next
speaker, Mr.. Gerald r. Thayer, that if
one wanted to hear ringing testimo-