Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-04-23
|PRED|CTSENCLAND
DRY IN TEN YEARS
''Pussyfoot" Johnson, Back
Home, Optimistic Over Fu-
ture of Prohibition.

| NEW YORK. April 23.-William E.
| (PussyfooD Johnson Of Westerville.
| Ohio, returned here yesterday from
| Liverpool on the steamer New York
| after literally having given an eye
/ to make England dry. The crusading
agent of the American Anti-Saioon
i League was met by host of prohibl-
ton advocates.
| Mr.. johnson predicted that Eng
land would have prohibition inside
! Of ten years and he further stated
| that other countries would follow the
lead of the United States in less time
than that The economic situation
1 alone. he said, would force Great Bri-
| tain into the dry ranks lie said
| leading business men there had in
| formed him that England was now
exporting only one-half of what she
should. and that exports of the United
States had doubled
! 1T is recognized" Mr.. Johnson said.
that much of this advantage OF the
| United States over England is due to
| the fact that this country IS Tree
| from the handicap of liquor, and 1t
| is further realized that with this ad-
/ vantage on our side Europe cannot
| compete with us.
+! Dry Sentiment in France.
| Mr.. Johnson declared there is a
strong prohibition movement IN
/ France, and in India the movement
has reached the point where the liquor
traffic will pass to government con
| troll next year and in two years the
greater part of the country Will
/ be dry.
! Success Of the prohibition move
| ment in this country encouraged the
league to begin work in Europe ana
| last year Johnson was detained 70
| open an Office in London. There ne
| soon made it known that vigorous
! movement was afoot to make the
British Isles .'dry" Public OPINION.
as expressed through the daily ana
! periodical press. ridiculed him. His
i nickname soon was discovered. ana
editorial writer's and cartoonlsts pop
ularized it throughout England.
! Mobbed. But Sentiment Changes.
| Last November he was "mobbed
| by London medical students, who pa
| raded him through the streets on
rail. In the struggle which preceded
| this a missile struck him in the eye
and ruptured an eyeball. Infection
set in and an operation removed the
Ieye. Johnson at once ordered sia S.
| eye and wrote the students ne mad
enjoyed their lark and entertained
no hard feelings.
! From that moment the tide of pub
| lie opinion turned. The press and
/ people in the street called him a
good sport" and in the place OF ridi :
Guile Johnson found respect and ad-
| miration for his good nature and res
olute spirit. King George expressed
regret over the ''ragging of INN.
Since he lost his eye Johnson has
visited, in the interest of prohibition
southern France, Paris. Copenhagen
and Algiers.
Origin of "Pussyfoot" Name.
I johnson won his nickname OF
"Pussyfoot" as a federal agent !. In
| the far west after President Roose-
welt had appointed him to run down
| liquor peddlers in the Indian reser-
vations and adjacent territory There
! his methods gained fame for their
| quiet success. He 'toted gun and
| knew how to fight in the open. but
| his subtle stalking of his quarry fea-
| tured all stories of him.
| Although his home is in Wester-
vile Johnson spent much OF his boy
! hood in Smithville, n. Y Thirty
! wears ago he was student at the
| University of Nebraska. 1t was after
/ leaving the government service that
! he became a general agent and pup
| licity man for the Anti-Saloon League.
| Johnson continued his anti-saloon
| work on the steamer coming nome
by addressing the cabin and steerage
| pa ssengers. He said in his european
| and north African travels he had got
as far as the Desert Of Sahara before
he found a real dry country