Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-27

office, at 10 East
Fiftieth street. New York City, busily
immersed in affairs.
She will take time to say a word
on prohibition, because she feeis III
tenselv about it--intensely for 1t, but
amiably and automatically so.
Is Against Modification.
81 am for the eighteenth amend
ment." Mrs. Roosevelt says, and,
while it works imperfectly, | don't
want it repealed or modified, for. with
all it's faults. its virtues make 1t good.
"If admitting light wines and beers
would really lead people to drink low
percentage beverages, / would be tor
modification. But I'm not convinced.
/ fear neople would still want gin and
whisky, so bootlegging would go on
just the same.
advocates of repeal insist that be-
cause prohibition forbids, it tempts
people to violate the law. I think not
to any great extent. There are more
law-abiding citizens than the vets be.
lieve. In time we shall have general
abstinence.
LESS Drinking Among Young"
prohibition makes it harder to get
alcohol. The younger generation will
soon tire of the effort and Of the risk
Of bad liquor. There is less drinking
now among young people than there
was among our fathers.
1T is the example of the parents
that is so dangerous. / used to think
schools and colleges had more to- do
with the habits of youth than par
ents. Now / am sure parents are the
more OowerflIl influence"
Mrs. Roosevelt. went on to tell OF
certain parties she had attended
where young and old meet year after
year. The generation which used to
be young is now the older generation.
To paraphrase the adage about the
State of Maine. one might say. las
go these parties, so goes society.
Mrs. Roosevelt insists there is less
drinking at these parties than there
was when she belonged to the young
err generation.
when I was a girl certain
amount of drinking by the men was
taken for granted. Today many girls
frown on it," is how she states 1t.
Habit Soon Passes.
'There are always a few" she con-
cedes. who do a thing because 1t is
forbidden. But the habit soon passes.
College boys-largely because OF lean
allowances given them by parents
even Of ample means-will in time
stop drinking. And girls will give II
up because liquor is not enjoyed by
them, anyhow. and after few tryoufs
the fad will die .....--
| Mrs. Roosevelt is sure the increased
savings banks accounts to which pro-
hibitionists point do not consist OF
'honflpppnrc' money"
"They are noticeably small &C
counts" says she, "in the names OF
workingmen, housewives, clerks and
the rank and file of salary earners. A
man once in our employ drank q
great deal. He has altogether stopped
since prohibition. He disapproves OF
the dry law on principle, but has
nevertheless stopped struggling
against it.
Wives Are Benefating.
"He tells me he has lot Of money
| in the savings bank, and adds, with d
/ cheerful grin. And I'm able to dc
more for Maggie His is typica
case. and the 'Maggies' everywhere
are benefiting."
Regarding the working Of the
amended dry law in Canada. Mrs
Roosevelt is not optimistic. The
Roosevelts have a cottage on an Is
land off the northeast tip OF Maine III
Canadian waters. Canada Is theil
neighbor, and a few years ago Mrs
Roosevelt took her two youngest boys
on a motor trip through the Province
of Quebec.
1.-THE first thing they remarked,
she related was the enormous mum
Der OF signs advertising whiskys. cor
dials. etc, which, of course, were to
tally absent from the United States
But what impressed me most was tina
my children saw there. for the frs
time, drunken men. They kept talk
ing about it for days afterward.
This may prove nothing excep
that one sees less drinking in tn
| United States than where liquor is cas-
lily obtainable and the traffic legal.
"You may argue that while a few
cannot drink without going to ex
tremes, the vast majority do so II
| moderation and there are no i'll eff
fects. either to themselves or others
| Drinkers think they are not obnox
ious to others, or their example harm
full. but, most decidedly, this is no
the case!
personal Liberty" Impossible.
personal liberty? We cannot hav
personal liberty IN commonwealth
such as ours. The policy of prohibi
tion makes up a good part of our sc
cial philosophy. We must have a pre-
gram of life, doing certain things an
refraining from certain things-a pro
gram which produces best results L
our neighbors as well as to ourselves
Society cannot be organized for tn
individual. The freedom of each mus
necessarily be limited by the freedom
Of all. One mans liberty stops wher
another's begins. We live so closet
that every mans habit overflows. a
1t were, into another mans life,
ITO my mind. the difference betweel
prohibiting liquor and prohibiting col
fee is that liquor cannot be take
without its affecting the poise of tn
. drinker whereas coffee cam Whethe
he realizes it Or not, the drinks take
by one individual make his conduc
just that much less safe. less sane
less useful than before In one wa
or other he becomes detrimental t
everybody he comes in contact with.
This is why / am In favor of pre-
hibition."
GWWz