Putnam patriot., 1930-02-13
LETTERS TO
 THE EDITOR
No Solution With Liquor

erence Tor law as the supreme oD~ ! ligati0n or citizenship in a republic. He was not originally in favor Of the eighteenth amendment, nor indeed did he approve of the principle of na- t.onal prohibition. He said frankly that he saw no "sin" in an occasional cocktail. and he believed the national application of "sumptuary" legisia- ton impracticable. But finally, when the amendment was submitted by con gress and ratified by 46 out Of as states, after a century of moral agita- tion reaching every remotest hamlet, and a half-century Of progressive leg islation culrinating in the amend ment, all in exact accord with the method prescribed by the federal con stitution itself, Mir. Taft bowed to the will of the people as thus expressed.
 Since the adoption of the amend ment. no citizen has been more loyal and none has more clearly and force fully emphasized the practical mean ing of the obligations of citizenship in a constitutional republic. Taking an active part in upholding the funda- mental law, he has come more and more to realize the essential lawless- ness of liquor and the liquor interest, and the fact that there is world wide organization. with unlimited funds for purchase and bribery, bent upon breaking down prohibition in the United States.
 He realizes that this element of cor ruption is the chief danger of the .sit- uation. He stands for the constitu- tien with open mind. challenging op- ponents of the amendment to suggest q better plan. but that meanwhile they shall realize the fundamental obliga- ton of loyalty. and also realize that personal choice of what laws one will obey is the open road to anarchy. There can be no criticism of such an attitude from a sane American stand point
 His most distinguished brother, former president of the United States, has always emphasized the sacredness of law, the obligation of constitution al loyalty, the significance and prae- tieabdity of representative govern ment, when realized and applied. He stood for these essential principles Of the United States government even in his college days, where he was al outstanding leader of student opinion and action
 In his speeches and letters. prior to the adoption of the eighteenth amend ment. William II. Taft did not oppose the principle of prohibition. He even said that he would prohibit personal drinking, if 1t would do any good His opposition was based on what he con sidered the impraeticability of nation al prohibition. as an attempt Co brush the doorstep" Of the remetest local citizen with the federal arm He did not oppose l0cal=optian. nor even state wide prohibition, emphas zing the necessity of an effective public senti- ment behind the law.
 The evils which have followed the adoption Of the amendment were ma graphically nEad.e5e by him daal William | Tazt probably did net for waa the rapid crystalliza- ton of the world wide liquor power a break down national prohibition
 nd thus render even more iueTcct- i've all attempts at local prohibition. not one whit different from the organized liquor power of the earlier days, when tt even controlled national conventions Of the Republi- can and Democratic parties not one whit different from those days, but now more widely organized and determined, and thus finally precipita- ting the inevitable tissue" between essential lawlessness. and a govern ment Of law and order for the general welfare. Local effort to eliminate the beverage liquor traffic will always be intellectual as long as the organized liquor power Is patronized. This fact. or in the situation is now emphasized by no one mere vividly or eloquently than by Horace D. Taft
 What is the most outstanding truth in this situation? IL is this. Gppon- ents of the eighteenth amendment. even the most conscientious devotees of personal liberty" are striving to find some way out of the dilemma with iiquor-an impossible solutionl There can be no solution of the liquor prob lem with liquor. The only solution of he liquor problem is without liquor U only this great truth underlying the eighteenth amendment could be dis
 iayed lu type large enough Co cover ine first page 0f every newspaper in the land. ii would help nightly to arouse the people to the futility of
 m aHllcation' of vital. incontrover- tible truth. confirmed by all human experience, and in these later days f. naily demonstrated by the discoveries Of modern science.
 Why are We Qa eaUar to hail sha marvellous advances of modern science in the mechanical world and so reluet- ant to accept similar progress as to the truth about the nature and effect of alcoholq It has been my privilege to emphasize this truth in these columns. and it is sufficient to recall here just one essential statement, namely. that "even in minute quantities" alcohol upsets the brain renders even the moderate" drinker unfit for any task requiring a clear brain and a steady hand. The fact as to the effect has always been apparent: modern science has shown the reason why. to wit. it Is the very mature of the beast"- which no delusion Of tself control" can deny or overcomei Moderate drink ing not only renders the drinker unfit. but beyond question often affects his cffspring and results in physical weakness. and degeneracy of charact- CT. The late President Eliot of Har- ward emphasized this fact. Alcohol has been truly termed "a seourge of mankind"
 With Abraham Lincoln. and the emi- Eaf T 4