Milford chronicle., 1929-10-04
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Some Economic
Aspects
Of Prohibition
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BY Thomas Nixon Carver.

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he says in an article written for use
by the World League Against Alco-
hoIlsm, on Some Economic Aspects
or prohibition" Part 1 of the ar
ticle is as follows:
"One of the best definitions of civ
lIlzat1on l have seen is that it is the
art of living together in large num-
Ders. II we are to live together in
large numbers we must learn to be-
nave In such ways as will make it
possible. We can no longer behave
as we might if we lived alone. or
even sparsely populated regions. We
must regulate our conduct with a
view to our close proximity with
other people, otherwise we shall have
much interference and many COL
lisions.
If we are going to live together
IN large numbers we must manage
to produce enough in relatively small
areas to support those numbers. This
requires organization and teamwork.
There can be no effective teamwork
except among people who are willing
to work together in some sort of
order and under some set of rules
and regulations. Individuals who in
slst, each one, on doing as he pleases
without regard to what others are
doing, can not carry on effective
teamwork. Needless to say. they can
not produce enough in small areas
to support large numbers.
Effective teamwork, in the modern
sense, means specialization, each
member of the great team doing
what he can do best, and depending
upon others for what they can do
better than he. Without this kind
OF specialization we never could
have produced enough to supply our
present population with all the di-
verse things which it needs. If every
one had to be his own farmer. his
own gardener, his own house build
er, his own spinner, weaver and
tailor, ETC., ETC., not half of us could
manage to live within the territory
of the United States and the few who
did manage to live would live very
poorly. Living together in large
numbers requires a great deal of
specialization.
"But specialists are mutually de-
pendent upon one another. If any
one fails to perform his special func-
ton all who are dependent upon him
will suffer. Unless we feel that we
can depend upon given specialist
or group of specialists, we will not
put ourselves in a position of de-
pendence upon him or them. We
must be prepared to do for ourselves
what we can not depend upon him
or them to do for us. In short, with
out this feeling of dependability we
can not specialize at all. 1t is almost
a truism to say that there can be
no interdependence of parts where
there is no dependability.
"It follows from all this that any
thing which destroys dependability
will either destroy civilization or
prevent it's development. Certainly
it will make it impossible for large
numbers to live together. They could !
not produce enough to support them
selves.
1.-THE necessity for dependability is !
so overwhelming that every tribe or |
group that ever became civilized, /
that is, that ever succeeded in living
together in large numbers, has been /
compelled to develop dependability
in some way. Laws against dishon-
esty, violence, and disorder of all !
kinds have had to be made and en-
forced In the most fundamental
sense possible, dependability is ethi-
cal and independability unethical. ,
The tribe which did not succeed in .
developing dependability simply per-
ished. 1t could not possibly sur
vive.
Nothing short of killing, stealing
and lying so effectually destroys de-
as drunkenness. The
country which does not repress .
can no more flourish /
than can a country which does not
repress killing, stealing and lying.
We are so dependent upon one an
other in our civilization, as to make
in every rational sense,
a most destructive vice. We are be-
coming more and more dependent
upon one another every year. More
and more, therefore, does it become
that drunkenness be re-
pressed.
Drunkenness, in these times,
needs a stricter definition than it
needed in older and simpler times.
In these times, the man who is dead
drunk is less of menace than the
1ne who is only what is sometimes
called one-fourth drunk. The man
who is dead drunk is dependable in
4 sort of a negative sense. You can
depend on him not to do any mischief
until he comes to. But the man who
IS only one-fourth drunk is very
uncertain person. He will do unpre-
1ictable things, to the danger OF
every one. If he lived alone it would
be different, but in a great factory,
in a crowded street, or anywhere in
an interlocking civilization, he is
very undependable creature, and
therefore menace.
"a gradual realization of this sit
lation is coming over the civilized
world. The world is sick and tired
If drunkenness, and the more pro-
parts of the world are de-
.ermined to get rid of it. Every civil
lied country is alarmed and is try
ng more or less constructively to
curb it or to get rid of it altogether.
They are drawing the lines of legal
ty more or less closely around the
liquor business, and they are going
Is far as public sentiment will per
nit. The general rule is, with
scarcely an exception, that the closer
he liquor business is restricted the
1etter the results.
"To the unbiased student of eco
lomics, it is becoming more and
more apparent that the great handi-
zap upon European countries is