The Connecticut labor news., 1923-06-15
THE ILLINOIS MINER
Timely and Untimely Observations,
 By Adam Coaldigger.
February 10, 1923.
THE PROHIBITION PEST


 1 never have said anything about prohibition in this column because all my friends are either bootleggers prohibition enforcement officers or booze fighters, and being only mod crate dr1nker 1 did not want to hurt their feelings. But the time has come when somebody has to speak up and tell the truth about prohibition. in the hrst place, the American people never voted for prohibition
 Ih1s calamity was wished upon them like the war, liberty, bonds and Harry Daugherty. Now, law that is, not supported or at least tolerated by an overwhelming majority of a people is not law, but a nuisance And the prohibition law IS worse than that 1t Is a combination of a joke and a nuisance.
 Everybody that ever boozed before Is still booz1ng and some are boozing more than ever. All that prohibition ever accomplished was to deprive moderate drinkers like myself of the little joy they extracted from an occasional scoop of suds.
 Ii used to be when the troubles of the world pressed too heavy on my brow and 1 was sore and disgusted with everything around me, especially people, then l would go over to Splegelmeier' saloon and wrap my exterior around couple of schoon-
 With the expenditure of the small sum of E cents, l could absorb enough milk of human kindness to brighten up the whole universe. After the first schooner had reached it's destination, I started to shake hands all around. By the time the second had gone home. I hugged the first fellow who came handy and after the third one 1 could weep over the woes of my worst enemy.
 On these festive occasions, I could talk like book, sing like lark and perform feats of strength that put Samson and Goliath among the has beens. But them days are gone for ever-' If grouch comes over me now 1t stays until 1t eats it's own head off If 1 get the blues the blueness remains until 1t changes to indigo.
 Of course 1 tried home brew and hootch and moonshIne just like every body else has. But my constitution can't bear anything heavier than beer and all l ever got out of those moon shine sonatas was moral jag married to dark brown taste. can imagine Omar sitting in the shade of the old apple tree, syphooning poetry out of a jug of wine but who in Hades can suck inspiration out of a catsup bottle of white mule It simply can't be done and the result IS that half our people are dying for a decent drink, while the other half are dying from taking too many indecent drinks.
 Joy, laughter, bantering, joshing, kidding, singing and animation have done to damnation. We are rapidly becoming a nation of sore heads and grouches. e The people we meet on the streets look like they had fallen out with themselves. At the least provocation we snarl at each other like mangy dogs suffering from an market. About the only thing to coax smile from our long faces IS when some poor devil slips on banana peeling and breaks his coco. aR
 Prohibition was clapped on this un- happy nation on the theory that sober people make better killers. And they 10.
 Looking at newspapers nowadays a fellow can't escape the conclusion hat murder is rapidly supplanting baseball as the great national game i, of the land of the free. And 1t IS l in the line of husband nurdering that we are leading. In he good old days, some men would l get drunk and murder their wives. 0 escape the monotony of married | ,liss
 However, what sticks in my craw he most is the damnable hypocrisy ,f our politicians A few weeks ago .n old friend of mine went down to on business that brought jim into the offices of Congressman, Senator's and cabinet members. He L1so intended to call on the Presll lent, but by the time he left the Cap tol, Pennsylvania avenue was crawl ng over the Potomac like a snake nd the Washington monument was rying to initiate cork screw.
 Of course, it's easy enough to un- Lerstand why these high government 'f1cials should be strong for prohlb1- ion Before prohibition they had to ,uy their booze.
 Wherever 1 go people talk of booze 1T smell of booze. They used to show ne the family album when l went -isiting And now they show me the amily alcohol The fellow who lasn't got at least half dozen re- ipes for making hootch is branded as
 mental inferior, and the dub who Ion't know where ito get it' is re- ,arded as self-made moron.
 This glorious nation is being di- ided into bootleggers, booze fighters nd blackmailers The bootleggers make millions out of the booze fight ITS and the blackmailers make mill ions off the bootleggers. A constable m a good booze route makes more money now than Annheuser Busch