The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1931-03-01


promoting the beverage alcohol traffic
those who want to drink liquor and those
who want to sell liquor Of these the
second class is undoubtedly the most in
sidious enemy Of prohibition in the United
States today. Alcoholic appetite can be
conquered and, if the supply of liquor be
reduced to the minimum, society can ma
terially reduce the formation of new ap-
petite. The lust for the lucrative profits
to be derived from the manufacture and
sale of intoxicating liquors, however, is
Unsuitable. INSCRIPTIONS men, willing to
crush out the life-blood Of society for the
sake OF swelling their own pocket-books,
we will have with us always.
Concrete evidence which proved that
the brewing interests in this country are
pouring their funds into the Golfers of the
Association Against the Prohibition
Amendment, was brought to light in the
investigation held by the senate lobby In
vestigation committee last spring. Docu-
ments seized from the files of the wet as
ISOLATION revealed among the list of con-
tributors the names of many prominent
brewers and liquor manufacturers of the
saloon era. Even the most ardent wet
hardly would dare to claim that these
former beer barons are fighting the
Eighteenth Amendment to promote what
some of Our wet friends are pleased to call
"true temperance" The brewers have one
and only one-motiVe back of their as
sault upon the national prohibition policy;
to restore the legalized sale of high-poW-
cred beer in unrestricted quantities. Thus,
under the guiSe of a temperance program
the liquor interests are putting up des-
perate struggle to open up the sluice gates
Of booze and once again flood the United
States with beverage alcohol.
turn our attention for q bit to our great
neighbor on the north-the Dominion of
Canada For the sake of illustration let
us consider just one province-that Of
British Columbia.
BRITISH COLUMBIA'S EXPERIENCE
British Columbia has experimental with
three forms of liquor legislation: the
license system, prohibition of sale and
government control.
The license system was essentially the
same as that operative in this country be-
fore the adoption of the Eighteenth
Amendment Saloons were everywhere,
dominant and evil.
As the result of a plebiscite granted by
the government this system was outlaWed
and prohibition prohibition of sale only
was put into operation, October l, 1917.
In spite of the great benefits which
law, the propagandizing of the newly or
ganized Moderation League, a brewers
organization masking as the true tenn
perance" party, began to take effect.
Their tactics were similar to those en-
ployed by the vets in the United States at
the present time. Failures at enforce
rnent, which was rendered more difficult
due to the fact that sale only was pro-
hibited, manufacture and transportation
being unrestricted, were broadcast far and
wide. successes and benefits accruing from
the law were srnothered under prevericat-
ing propaganda.
This Moderation League proposed the
system Of government control as the
Utopian solution Of the liquor problem.
Bookkeeping would cease under such sys-
tenn. they affirmed. Crime would disap-
pear, taxes would be reduced, private
profit would be eliminated from the liquor
traffic, the treating system would be de-
stroved-in fact, British Columbia's
troubles, as far as the beverage alcohol
problem was concerned, would be at an
end.
referendum was taken October 20,
1920. and the ModerationistS secured a
majority The present system of control
became operative June Is, 1921.
LIQUOR CONTROL OF
GOVERNMENT
It is not difficult to discern the hand of
the brewer and diStiller on the throttle of