New-York tribune., 1921-07-31
Maxim Voney
= the Editor of The Tribune.

Sir: While | am not n teetotAlcr. I
have been a temperance man all nv
life and have always been opposed to
the saloon. l am a hard-workin1
aid man and hate to waste nv
sweetness on the desert air, but
since the Sahara Of Prohibition Is
desert which we must I'LL cross il wr
are ever to enjoy that personal freedom
again which the fathers OF our coun-
try gave us when they framed what
they conceived to be e Constituti on
founded on personal liberty, feel it
my duty to reply to the letter of Sam
uel Wilson in The Tribune of the nth
instant, under the heading Discuss
ing Prohibition" written in answer to
q previous letter by D. R. Browne.
chairman of the Determination
League OF Liberty
Mr.. Wilson has, think, the facts on
his side, in support of his contention
that the Eighteenth Amendment is now
Chat the Nolstead art, which has been
pronounced constitutional by the Su-
IRENE Court. is also q law which we
all must obey or become lawbreak-
ers-
Mr. Wilson's contention that light
wines and beers are intoxican4s, in the
scnse that drunkenness is intoxication.
is perfectly sound l. il unuuestiou-
all the Drunkenness Of historic times
down to the eleventh century was from
the use of light wines and beers beers
containing up to Pc cent OF alco-
hol, and wines up To II per cent Of
alcohol; but intpxication has q two
fold meaning. To intn1ica.e means,
primarily, TO poison with a toxin, and
the term intoxication spplied to drunk
enness is q secondary use of the term
Alcohol is not a toxin any more than
COMMON table salt is q toxin An over
dose OF salt is even more harmful
than an overdose OF alcohol.
Poisons and Possons
Light wines and beers do not intoxi-
cate in the sense o. poisoning the user
of them, as do arsenir. bichlo-ide of
mercury and cyanide OF potash, Tor, as
matter Of fact light winss and beers
Gre actual food and s-e no rore poi
scLous than potatoes o. hor.i1y. Tea,
cofee and tobacco, On tie ot..e-- hand
arc narcotic poisons, regardless of the
quantity taken. although nabi.ual
rsage accustorls and imrnunisss the
system to such an extent taat they r,ay
he largely used with bus little harm, If
any, The human economy is wonder
fully adaptable to the moderate use o.
Toisons, and nom poisonous Light wines
and beers may be ussd with moderation
a. safely and as hsrnlezsly rs potatoes
may be eaten and mill. 81 d-rnk-cer-
tainly With no more harm than results
from the moderate use o. tea and
coffee.
Mr. Wilson calls attention to the fact
that it is not likely that the Eighteenth
Amendment will be repealed in our day
and generation, for he doubts il q Con-
greSs Sufficiently venal" could be
elected for the purpose. He assumes
that there can be no presumption Of the
vcnality of the Congress that passed
tie Eighteenth Amendment, and that a
Congress that would repeal that
amendment would have TO be bought.
Il is practically certain, e. any rate,
that the Anti-Saloon League had at its
command more money, by very many
barrels, than any opponents of the
Eighteenth Amendment are ever likely
to raise to restore our liberties. There
Is certainly as much ground for pre-
sumption that Congressman were
bribed to vote for the Eighteenth
Amendment as there is that they might
be bribed in the future to vote for its
repeal.
1t may be possible that a few Con-
gressmen can be directly Influenced by
the use of money, but l do not believe
tAat very many congressman can be so
influenced. 1t was not money that in
fLenced congressman to vote for the
Eighteenth Amendment; it was the
blackjack of intimidation the threat
tnat the entire organized forces of the
Antl-Saloon League and the Woman s
Christian Temperance Union would be
welded against any Congressman who
did not vote for the Eighteenth
Amendment That was why the Eigh-
taenth Amendment was passed The
Congressman was made to see that if
re voted against the amendment he
would have strong organized forces
against him, while his friends, on the
ether hand, though much more numer-
Gus, were unorganized.
Those fanatics who are now seeking
to aftict US with iniquitous Sunday
blue laws recognize the truth that such
were the methods used by the Anti
Saloon League, and they threaten to
Use the same methods to pass their
blue laws, and We must realize the fact
that there is very grave danger of the
alue law fanatics making good their
threat.
''Ihe La,o Of the Land
Mr.. Wilson raises his hand to the
cbJectors to prohibition, with the cx-