The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-07-12
BY BRUCE CATION NEA Service Writer

On January Is, 1920, the we'll known evangelist, Billy Sunday, presided at funeral services which were being held in Norfolk Va, for John Barleycorn.
 As the casket containing the re- mains of the ancient toper moved out to what was expected to be it's last resting place, MT Sunday cried:
 "Goodby, John. You were Gods worst enemy. You were hells' best friend. I hate you with perfect hatred"
 And so John Barleycorn was buried, and on the following day the 18th amendment to the Con- stitution of the United States, out laying the liquor traffic, went into effect.
 Today there are signs that the deceased has bene stirring rest lessiy in his coffin-turning over once or twice at least If not pre- pairing to sit bolt upright. And us the two great political parties, perspiring freely, set about put ting Q pulmotor into operation, 1t is worth while to look back to the beginnings and see how prohibi- ton began, what 1t meant to the land that adopted 1t and how the political parties have handled themselves in regard to the mat ter
 Hoty Prohibition Rose
 The temperance movement it. self is as old as America itself, de- spite the fact that the early inhabitants were largely men who liked their liquor strong and knew how to hold 1t.
 By the middle of the 18th cen tury this movement had given birth to a definite movement for the enactment of prohibitory laws.
 Maine went dry first of all, and by 1855 now fewer than 12 addi- tional states had done likewise. and shortly after the Civil War, Maine was left alone as the na- tioifss solitary dry state.
 There was another rise of pro- Iibition spirit in 1880, however, when Kansas wrote a prohibition law into it's constitution and sev- cr:I more statess went dry in the decade following. Again, though. t1ere was backsliding, and by 1905 America contained just three dry states-Maine, Kansas and North Dakota.
 The cause of prohibition had hcen making progress, ncverthe- lsGs.
 In 1869 the prohibition party, revcr really influential but sig nificant. just the same, of a slow ly rising prohibition sentiment, was organized. In 1874 the much more important Woman's Chris tian Temperance Union came into being; and in 1893, in the First Congregational church of Ober- lin, Ohio, was born the Anti-Saloon league.
 The league was founded origi- nally to support local option law; but two years later 1t was organizing on national scale, with u convention at Washington. In q very short time it was making it's influence fetl in no uncertain fashion.
 Power in Politics
 The league was primarily an organization supported by the | I-IOLcoldHl boN AS.' NAAi cials, with their brilliant general counsel, Wayne B. Wheeler, soon demonstrated that they knew as much about practical politics as any men in the country.
 Party labels meant nothing to the league. It applied to every candidate for office the single test was he wet or dry? If he was wet, 1t called on its members and the reparations settlement will not followers to go to the polls and sock him; if he was dry, it de- manded and got. his support.
 At Westerville. Ohio, it estab- lished its headquarters, with q printing plant. In the decade and half following 1909 that plant had printed for distribution to the country more than 114,000,- 900 leaflets. nearly 2,000,000 books, more than 5,000,000 pamphlets. upwards of 2,300, 900 placards and approximately 157,- 100000 copies of weekly maga- zines.
 And the leagues war chest was kept full. In its first 30 years of life it spent fully $35.000.000 to further the cause of prohibition. When the fight was at it's hottest