The Connecticut labor news., 1923-01-19
NEEBE ADVOCATES THE SALE OE
 BEER AND WINE
Tells Meriden Church Forum Pro- 1ibition Is Responsible for Unrest
 Throughout Nation.

Fred L. Neebe, treasurer of the Connecticut Federation of Labor, was the speaker at the open forum of St. Paurs Universalist church, Meriden, last Sunday evening taking for his subject the modification of the Vol stead act to permit the sale of light wine and beers.
 The audience, while very attentive to the remarks of the ex-senator, were far from being in agreement speaker had finished he was bom- barded with questions and statistics which kept MT. Neebe very busy in attempting to answer.
 There was a preponderance of dry adherents in the audience and par ticularly enthusiastic section of 1t was composed of members of the w. C. T. U. which led in the barrage of questions which were fired at MT. Neebe.
 One of the members asked MT. Neebe if he said that the prohibition amendment was railroaded through congress by lobbying and when he replied in the affirmative he was told that if he made that statement in Washington he would have his nose punched.
 During the course of his address Mr. Neebe called attention to the fraud in enforcement circles, the con- nivance between enforcement agents and bootleggers and told of an in- stance in which five cases of whiskey were taken by enforcement agents. The agents were told to return these cases before a certain time or there would be trouble. "At that hour not only five but TO cases of liquor were delivered by the enforcement agents" said MT. Neebe, but he failed to state whether the 10 returned were as good as the five which had been taken away.
 There is no such thing as pro- hibition," said MT. Neebe. eff a man wants to get liquor and has money he can get it. But it's poor liquor There cannot be prohibition because the people don't want it, The states, not the people, passed the 18th amendment. And as result we have the bootlegger and the sale of a mess constitution. The smuggling of liquor into this country is not to be com pared with the redistillation of de- natured alcohol.
 "I do not see how the law is in saloons in two city blocks in this city all being maintained on profits from the sale of near beer I cannot be- lieve that the demand for near beer could possibly support these estab- lishments. It is foolish to talk about repeating the amendment The boot 1eggers are against it's repeal What | we want is a modification to allow the sale of light wines and beer.
 "Aind we want good beer and wine; not this stuff that burns man up. Beer is advocated by physicians as a medicine and food. I'll admit some people drink too much of 1t. But some people eat too much I know a fellow who eats a whole duck or a whole chicken for Sunday din- ner. Should we pass a law prohibit ing his chicken and his duck, not only for him but for everybody else?
 ''The prohibition law as it exists has led to governmental and official oppression, unlawful search and seiz- ure of personal property, unlawful ar rest and detention of individuals and a score of other evil practices. It has created more drunkenness and crime than existed without IT, ana Has the narcotic traffic. l would rather see 100 men drunk from liquor than one addicted to drugs.
 "There is a great volume of un- rest and discontent against and as a result of the 18th amendment This would be done away with by allow ing the sale of light wines and beer. This prohibition obsession has no bounds: you cannot tell where 1t will stop. Tobacco will be the next thing to be prohibited if these blue law advocates have their way" Here MT. Neebe told what effect a prohibition of tobacco using would have on Con- necticut and spoke of the revenue loss to the government through prohlbi- ion.
 Following MT. Neebe's address: Mrs Nellie Rule Arnold, president of he Meriden w. C. T. U., read stat1s- ics obtained from the local police [ She compared the years 1917 and 1922 and pointed out the decrease in arrests for drunkenness IS a result of prohibition. i!