The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1921-05-20
UTAH SKY PILOT TELLS
EVILS" OF PROHIBITION
Clergyman's Sweeping State
ments Unsupported by
Scintilla of Evidence
FACTS AGAINST CLERIC
Utah Clergyman Called on for
Explanation of His Wild
Assertions

a minister OF the gospel by the
name of Goshen of Salt Lake City is
quoted by the Associated Press OF
May | as having made the following
statement in sermon on The Eight
zenith Amendment"
Prohibition has failed to pro-
hibit, has filled the jails with
drunkards Of a worse type than
were to be found in the wet days,
has inspired a wholesale contempt
for law, and has increased the
drug addicts by 300 per cent. The
only good thing Prohibition has
done is to abolish the saloon but
it has brought evils that are cost
lier, evils that may undermine the
very foundations of our govern
ment.
If the Rev. Mr. Goshen is correctly
Short and Lloyd please move over and
make room for the Utah minister?
The old outlawed booze gang, no
doubt, will extend a glad welcome TO
the new recruit from the ministerial
ranks.
Unfortunately for them, however,
the Reverend gentleman fails to sup
port his sweeping indictment of Pro-
hibition with authoritative figures.
For instance, he says "jails are filled
with drunkards OF a worse type than
were TO be found i'll the wet days"
That would be more convincing il he
quoted official statistics from some OF
our formerly wet cities. Over against
this general statement OF. the preacher
place the facts made public by the AS
socated Press on March Il regarding
crime and Jail statistics from 10 states.
The total prison population i'll the 10
middle and southwestern states, &C
cording to the Associated Press SUR
vey. showed a decrease of pa per
cent, and the story says "wardens and
other officials cited Prohibition more
than any other cause for the de-
crease"
Reports from police chiefs from up
ward of 90 cities show slump in ar
rests for drunkenness from 3lo,842 in
1917, the last full wet year, to l09,7o8
in 1920; and from $50 301 to 856,6o5 in
arrests for all causes.
He says drug addiction has in
creased 800 per cent under Prohibi-
ton This too would be more con-
vincing if he cited his authority. In
the absence of such authority we must
conclude that it is Mr.. Goshen's opin-
ion. So put over against his opinion
the fact that the free drug clinic of
New York city was compelled to close
within few months after the advent
of Prohibition and Health Commits
sioner Royal S. Copeland announced
that the expected increase in drug ad-
diets had not materialized and that
the hospitals were amply able to care
Jor all such cases.
The Peoria (Ill) Journal, paper
published in the city that was known
as the whisky capital OF the United
States, doesn't let Mr.. Goshen's at
tack on Prohibition go unchallenged.
In an editorial i'll the issue of May 2
that paper says:
If the Salt Lake City minister is
correctly quoted he will have
some opportunities to do some ex-
planning for the statements cred
tied to him are at least extrava-
giant. The man of the cloth
has unusual vision if he sees jails
filled with 'drunkards OF worse
type" because all the figures avail
able indicate that the jails are not
filled. How does the Utah minis
ter explain the lack of patronage
for the Peoria house of correc-
ton which during saloon days
was usually we'll filed?
If Rev. Mr. Goshen has evil
dence that Prohibition is develop
ing evils that may undermine the
very foundations of our govern
ment," he is hardly doing his full
, duty to humanity and society and
y America in failing to tell from
the housetops what these evils are.