New-York tribune., 1922-12-17
10 u, Edltor o. Ths Tnbuns.

10 the EDITOR OF Ihe lrouns'
Sir: We have read the remarks from
yeur correspondents In high Bridge.
N. J., and Brooklyn ansnt yeur newS
article on the general disregard Of the
Eighteenth Amendment Will you now
give space 10 an opinion which Is based
not opoA lndividusliStie desires and
deals, but upon observations gathered
during . seven months trip, recently
concluded. which covered that part Of
The Union comprised between the Mis-
slssippi River and the Rocky Noun
tains and between the Gulf Of Mexico
and the Canadian border. and included
some Eastern states a. Weilf
In my psregrinations stopped at
many hotels Of varying type, but In
nearly every new room ! entered one
Of the frat things I did was TO remove
the empty Gin OF whisky bottle Ger
bottlss) left b. the previous oeeu-
pant; they arc usually found IN one
Of the bureau drawsrA spent week
at a convention In one Of the large
cities ef the Niddls West. and during
that time liquor was to be found In
most Of the reoms In the hotels pat
ron.fed By the crowd, and not In drib-
lets, but In good. generous deses.
made Il q practice 70 Hst ali and
sundTy casual acqusintancss on trainS
and In hotel lobsisS Tor a opinion en-
tAe prohibition susstion-i may have
asked afty, ] may have asked . hun
dred. and have not an idea who they
we're nor what their stations IN life,
but ont Of the whole number only two
we're IN favor Of the law; ell the rest
we're definitely opposed 70 It. Who're,
then. doss this vast majority Of the
bone dy keep itself Of vhieh your
High Bridge correspondent speaks
Evidently Il does not travel, and Il Ger
tsinly ls not In evidence IN the cities
nor IN many Of the country districts
Of ths Eas, or Of the Middle West
From Brooklyn We are told chat the
police records Of cities "where the law
10 enforced" reveal various improve
raents. Maybe; personally have been
unable TO locate such a city. But, on
ths other hand. We hear from all points,
from spotless Town and from Sodom,
that slmshouses are being depopulated
and bank savings are Increasing And
why noii Unsmploynent at present In
this country 10 almost nil. while Il was
large 3 year ago and the dollar has
a lower value (which means that more
dollars must be on deposit TO represent
the same purchasing power). The
death rate throughout the country has
been slowly decreasing for many years,
and not only since prohibitionlsts
found ths\phnaeeA As TO eriminality
we'll. my reading Of statistics does
net arree With the Brooklyn version.
There are those who claim that pro-
hibition has raised the general moral
level Them I would advise 70 stroll
down any Of the less srequsnted high-
wsyp IN the neighborhOod Of village,
town or city. and pssp-if they have
she nsrve-lnto the ears they will find
parkod there. That the prevalence Of
che automobile has made these eondi'
ssons possible do not deny. but !
elsim without fear Of effective contra
dietion that liquid bait Is frequently
potsn, In securing q companion and
that Il Is potent chiefly because not
openly obtainabls.
Ts alter slightly the words Of your
Droctlyn correspondent, denoeraeies
have erumbled and fallen because or
CANNED ninorities have tried 70 fores
tks inert majority 20 abide by unpePu-