The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-06-14
CLARENCE TRUE VS.. SIR
PHILLIP GIBBS

Glare True Wilson, general secretary Of the
board on temperance, prohibition and public morals
of the Methodist Church. calls upon the pastors OF
his denomination to charge the assertion that pro-
hibtion is out of place in the Constitution
Then he proceeds to instruct them how to argue
This side of the question Here is sample Of his
argument:
'@The Constitution is to establish justice. But
the licensed policy protected fraud and filled the
treasury with revenue from a trade which corrupted
politics. defed law and proted by the distress of the
people.
'eThe Constitution was designed to insure 'domes-
tic tranquility but the Government licensed trade
which inevitably produced riot murder, robbery de-
hatchery and disorder" =
And so on The inference is that by putting pro-
hfbtion into the Constitution the evils complained
of we're corrected. But were they?
Here is the testimony of a gifted foreigner
"In America" says Sir Philip Gibbs, one Of the
gentlest manner. and of the most temperate men,
zone hears the frank admission that prohibition has
resulted in wholesale violation of the law by the
most intelligent classes corruption and bribery and
crime which is weakening respect for all law and an
epidemic of secret and excessive drinking which
threatens to wreck the health and morals of the
younger generation in all the great cities.
at is impossible to keep out the booze There
is a conspiracy Of Judges police and public to let
it in
"As saw for myself from one end of the United
States to the other there is lack of it for any
who can afford to pay. It flows at private dinner
parties and because forbidden by law, assumes an
Importance which would be regarded as. disgusting
IN British homes Women. well as men, drink
as though it is their on chance of mental elevation
81 went to party at one of the best houses of
great city in the West and every woman there, IN
Guiding beautiful young girls became hopelessly in
toxicated before the evening was out College boys
carry TASKS in their hip pockets and give drinking
parties to girl friends.
"The mothers of well-to-do families-boys and
girls in good societyare terror stricken at this hor
rible evil which has invaded their homes"
If putting prohibition in the Constitution "es-
tablished Justice" would say it distinctly
worth while If it insured domestic tranquility" if
it took corruption out Of politics, stopped defiance
of the law; or prevented "rot, murder robbery de-
bauchery and disorder any of these, it would
have earned itsg place in the great American docu-
nent But it has done of these things. There
are many good people in this country who honestly
believe that because we have prohibition in the Con-
stitution we have prohibition in the United States.
There are many good people who still believe
the Volstead act has about banished booze.
Then there those chiefly professional or paid
reformers, who simply refuse to admit the facts
which Sir Philip wildly depicts.
For the sake of our sons and daughters, however
we must face the facts as they and not what
we would have them to be Nobody fight
evil the existence of which he refuses to recognize
And one Of the biggest and most disagreeabe
facts before the good people Of America today is
that putting prohibition into the Constitution and into
Federal statutes has seemed to produce results
Numerically opposite to what its sponsors hoped.
Until we have the courage to admit this there is
little hope that the rotten conditions which the dis
tnguished Englishman quoted above describes stand
mighty poor chance of being corrected.