The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1924-04-04
LIQUOR IS FURNISHED To
BREAK DOWN PROHIBITION
Vets Disclose Plans to Corrupt
School Children and Young
College Men and Women
WOULD CONVERT YOUTH
If There's Drinking Among Stu
dents it is Not Fault of Pro-
hibition, That's Clear

Wet propagandists are saying much
about the amount of illicit drinking
going on among the boys and girls
OF our public schools and also about
the drinking by college students.
They use this alleged drinking on the
part Of the young people as an ar
gument why the sale OF liquor should
be legalizcd as it used to be and
thereby regulated. They argue that
the saloonkeepers would not be guilty
of selling booze to children. OF
course there is not as much drinking
on the part OF young people as the wet
propagandists say there is.
However, there have been reported
few authentic cases where school
children have been supplied with liq-
uor. Some such drinking has been
discovered in Detroit, but there is also
evidence in connection with these
cases that indicates that such liquor is
being supplied the children for the dc
liberate purpose of making it appear
that prohibition is resulting in Great
ing the habit of drink among school
children. 1t recently developed that
pupils of an Intermediate school in
Detroit were obtaining liquor from
some source and an investigation by
drys convinced them that this liquor
was furnished the children by the wet
interests.
The Michigan Anti-Saloon League
has made public facts which it claims
it can substantiatc. Some months
ago according to the statement. Sc
cret meeting of vets was held i'll Co
lumbus, Ohio \ representative OF
sc drys gained admission 10 the
meeting. One OF the leaders in his
address as to the future course - &C
ton asserted two things must be done.
The one was to furnish liquor to work
ingmen as chcaply as possible, and
the other that liquor should be fur
nished high school and college STU
dents, thus recruiting the ranks of the
drinkers from the young generation.
To Aid Bootlegging
1t was planned that Bookkeeping
joints should be set up at convenient
locations near high schools and col
leges for the making OF new custo-
mers. Police in Detroit are round
ing UP between forty and fifty boys
and girls OF intermediate school age
who have been lured into bootleg
dens in single neighborhood. Can
any person conceive OF a more devilsh
scheme? r. n. Holsaple, superin
tendent of the Michigan Anti-Saloon
League, says OF it:
II there is any lower form OF
endeavor for one in human form
than enticing mere children into
bootleg joints until the alcohol
habit is formed. it has never been
written As tenacious as the
stretching arms of that kindred
octupus, the drug habit, arc the
arms of this new monster. The
expose OF the depths TO which the
wet and dry fight has been
dragged will convert thousands
OF fathers and mothers who have
heretofore been liberal i'll their
views on the liquor situation INFO
eager crusaders for temperance
and law enforcement. For every
child convert to the liquor taste
gained by such contemplate prac-
tices, a hundred new votes have
been made to oppose any modih-
cation of the dry law to favor an
clement which would resort to
such vicious tactics.