The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-02-26

I
prohibition . year old in this civ
1t remains subject Of leading in
terest and Of hot debate. The vets
Claim that prohibition has failed IN
New York, and the drys retort that
1t has succeeded elsewhere. and
that the future belongs to the 18th
amendment.
It is generally Admitted that
New York is about wide open. With
the exception of the large hotels
you can buy drinks in nearly ali
the old places that operated before
the 18th amendment went into ef-
feet, as well as in a large number
OF new places. Saloons are again
hourishing all over the city; the
foreign table d. hotes have rein
stated red ink" on their menus,
while the pocket flask has become
ubiquitous.
II you are wealthy, you carry a
neat leather-covered flask with a
silver, initiated top, and if you are
proletarian you carry a plain
gil IS bottle, often labeled with
SINE degree of truth-"Poison.' -
Sometimes the flask may be empty,
but at least you are keeping up ap-
pearances.
The manufacture OF homebrew
mas taken a rapid decline since it
mas become SO easy to secure sun
plies from the large bootlegging
enterprises. Delivery wagons, car
rylng huge supplies of strong Ii
Quor Tor home consumption. dash
carelessly about the town under the
very noses of traffic cops, and a
case OF whisky is dropped off at
your door as nonchalantly as if il
were a bottle of milk.
The assortment of liquors is not
as varied as it was in the old DAYS
OF unrestricted traffic, the quality
IS not SO good, and the price is
more than doubled. But these draw
backs do not seem to dim the pub
ilc's keen delight in securing some
thlng it isn't supposed to have.
What the liquor market lacks in
variety, moreover, the patent medi-
cine market is almost certain to
supply. Thus, the cocktail has
again returned to popular favor
since the discovery of a patent
medicine which contains yery
fair grade Of vermouth.
Many Down and Out,
Not only is the population of
Manhattan drinking more excess
lively than it ever has drunk before.
but the evil effects of excessive
drinking are distressingly appar-
ent. During the past six months.
for instance, alcoholic cases have
doubled in the hospital wards.
While Bellevue hospital of this city
handled 653 victims of alcoholism
between July l and Dec. l. 1919. it
treated LAB during the same peri-
cd for 1920.
According to Commissioner Bird
s. Coler of the department of pub
lie welfare, the first three months
OF prohibition showed a perpendic-
ular drop, and it appeared almost
as II the millennium had arrived.
This impression was somewhat
misleading" says Mr.. Coler, "and
looking back. l think this due to
three facts: First, the fear put into
the people by many deaths from
wood alcohol; second, the saloons
having liquor for sale were timid
and took few chances; third, the
bootleggers had not become so well
organized as at present.
The doctors also inform me that
the new type of cases is different
that there is no fight in them
that they are just completely down
and out and very unpleasant to
handle"
From the condition of many pa
tents, picked up unconscious on
the streets and taken to Bellevue
hospital. it is apparent that much
OF the liquor sold in the cheaper
saloons still contains wood alco-
hol. This would indicate that the
fear instilled into people by the
mortality rate from this poison is
not as great as is imagined. The
drug addict does not consider the
consequences when he takes his
drug. and the man who is con-
firmed alcoholic does not argue
about the quality of the liquor
when it is offered to him. Thus
Bellevue is not. only swamped with |
delirium tremens cases, but with |
patients who are practically IN
conscious for days at a stretch, |
after which follows a period of |
hYSfaria from which fhaxr onornni