The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1931-04-01

ness heretofore described and demon
strated to be the enemy of intelligence,
the enemy OF morals, a source of crime
and misery and a corrupt political power,
were the old saloon and the old liquor
business, and while the vets charge that
the Eighteenth Amendment which closed
up the old saloon and the old liquor bust
ness has become a curse to the nation.
yet they all proclaim that the old saloon
shall not come back
The vets would have us believe that If
every dry in the nation should drop out
OF sight and the vets we're left wholly
free to go as far as they please, they
would never permit the old saloon to
come back. They charge that prohibition
is a greater curse than the old saloon was
and claim that the re-legalized liquor
business which they would establish would
be not only harmless, but actually con-
duciye to the general welfare. They guar
antee that the new rattlesnakes which
they propose to introduce will have no
poisonous venom. We accept their decla-
rations for what they are WORTH but re-
serve the right to doubt their sincerity
in some cases and their accuracy in
others.
VETS TESTIFIED
The writer has read carefully every
by the vets in the extended hearings be-
fore the judiciary committee of the house
Of representatives at Washington from
February u, to April "a $780, as printed
under the general title of 1.-The Proaibi-
ton Amendment" parts l to 4, by the
government printing Office Something
over one hundred different vets of more
or less prominence testified argued and
detained on every conceivable phase OF
prohibition.
The chairman of the judiciary commit
tee, himself q wet, announced at the
opening session of the hearings that the
drys had made use of the open churches
In carrying on their long war against liq-
uor. and indicated that as the vets had
had no opportunity to answer the dry ar
gIlments in the churches, the object and
main purpose of these hearings are to
open up the door at least for the spread
OF knowledge on this subject, the purpose
being to make these hearings educative
and have them go through the commune
ties. reaching the individual.
In other words, the purpose was to
make the judiciary committee of the ma
tional house Of representatives the means
for procuring and distributing the propa-
ganda of the vets. And this use of an
important committee Of the congress was
TO be justified by the fact that the drys
were given an equal chance to be heard.
This volume of wet propaganda Is about
Ehe latest compendium, and also about
The most complete pandemonium, OF ar
guments ever issued in behalf OF the eX-
piring liquor business in America
As the writer finished reading the
mass of matters presented by and on be-
half of the vets, two facts stood out with
distinctive boldness:
THESE FACTS STOOD FORTH
First, that no man can drink liquor
for any length Of time, or defend liquor
for any length OF time without getting
himself into ridiculous and illogical posi-
tons; and,
Second, that when prohibition was
adopted, liquor and the liquor habit had
obtained an appalling stranglehold upon
the life and politics of the whole nation
BY an analysis of this wet propaganda
let us see what the program of the vets
means to the general welfare. Before we
can concede anything whatever to the
vets they must answer some serious queS-
tons and demonstrate that their pro-
poSals will better promote the general
welfare. Let us find out, If we can, what
the vets propose to do and the means OF
carrying out their plans to secure TO
America the blessings Of liberty vouch-
eafed by the constitution
Our first question is, just what kind OF
Il harmless iYStitiYfjon thu IuntS nr0r10Se tn