Milford chronicle., 1931-05-08
SAYS STUDENTS
DRINKING LESS
THAN FORMERLY
DIR. ThOs. F. Manns Finds
Conditions Improved I'm
der Prohibition Laws
CONDITIONS BETTER

DR.. Thomas f. Manns, of the Uni
versity of Delaware, speaking at q
meeting of the Wilmington Fact
Finding and Law Supporting Com
mittee, said that virtually all the
reports concerning wholesale drink
ing at parties of college students is
only gossip.
DR.. Manns said that is years SER
vice at the college, had given him
an opportunity to compare pre-VOl-
stead days with the present.
He was introduced by William E.
Skellenger, a member of the COM
mittee, who said he was proud to
be identified with men and women
who desire to learn the facts of pro-
hibition and not fiction.
"Your speaker has been actively
associated with college an duniver-
sity life since the days of 90, a per-
iod of some 35 years." said DR..
Manns. "My undergraduate work in
North Dakota OS96 to 19OD was
pursued at the State College located
at Fargo, town at that time of 10,-
600 population with no saloons. be-
cause the State (admitted to the I'm
ion in 1880 was cOnstitutiOnally
dry. However, since the college was
only mile from the little town of
MOOrhead, Minnesota, place which
was sOpping wet, it (the college,
had dozen or more saloons with
which to contend.
Drinking parties were not COM
mon among the students, although
the students of German extraction
would occasionally bring in a pony
of beer for a night party. The Scan
dinavian element would indulge in
whiskey, but not many cases OF eX-
cesses. AS a 'Y' worker in college,
our organization was not so much
concerned over the beer parties as
we were anxious about students who
were becoming weekend habitues of
saloons and the associated dives of
the so-called 'red-light' district. Our
committee would make an effort to
head off such students, but as a rule
their terms of matriculatiOn at the
college did not last long. Our dor
mitOry group was made up of about
60 students and of this number from
five to ten would become frequent
ers of the saloon, and we soon came
to recognize the victims, and kept
on their trails week-ends. On two
occasions we rescued from billiards
student drunks, who had fallen in
snow drifts attempting to reach
their rooms with too heavy load.
"The day of the saloon visitation
is over. The road side inn and the
clubs in some instances may be
functiOning, but nOthink like the cid
saloon.
Eighteen years of service at the
University of Delaware has given
me opportunity to observe and COM
pare pre-Volstead days with the
present. Not only has there been
great change for the better in the
student body, but the present re-
turning graduate groups carry less
of the elixir of life in bottles; very
seldom now does the visitor forget |
the work of the late Senator from |
Minnesota. We hear great deal of |
gossip about wholesale drinking at |
the college parties. Let me tell you |
that ninety-nine per cent of these |
reports is pure and unadulterated |
gossip, started sometimes by the |
students themselves trying to pull |
'whOOpee' stuff before the INITIATED, |
frequently before the weaker sex.
What was the situation in New
ark prior to the 18th Amendments?
We lived on Main street opposite
the Opera House in the Old Hamil |
home during the years 1916, 1917
and 1918. Every weekend, Saturday
night up to three and four o'clock
Sunday morning the noise of carous-
ing groups and drunks was very
much inevidenCe. Our front yard
was literally strewn with whiskey
TASKS and bottles every Sunday
We could pick up bushel
basket Of bottles any Sunday morn
ing.
I'm these times there were three
wholesale liquor places, two of
which were retail bars. and five to
six speakeasies. The manager of one
Of these speakeases told me that he
sold more liquor than his owner
who ran wholesale place. Prior to
1914 for two years we lived on Pros
Dect avenue, and back of us just one
DlOck was speakeasy that had
brawl every other evening"