The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-10-18


 daughters and federal agents And remembering, they can't con- | ceive of the nations being fooled again
 But they're wrong, according to an article in the current issue of Esquire Magazine. The hen-and- bluenose minoritieS are at it again, and it's up to each and every one of us to prevent a repeat of the w. c. T. U. putsch they put over when the doughboys were in France.
 Now that our two-fisted lads are proving the stuff that's in them by going into uniform, prepared to defend our side of the ocean in the interests of liberty we'll. it's strategic time for the Anti-Saloon- ists to figure how to flich chunk of that liberty from them. Esquire points out that the same pretext that worked before is available again namely, the notion that men in the service need to be gov- erned against contamination by al- coholic beverages.
 CAN'T STOP DRINKING,
 MERELY RE-ROUTE IT
 Sister, says Esquire, you've got to recognize that putting uniform on our he-guys doesn't change the shape of their tonsils. By closing up the legally operated bars and package stores you wouldn't stop his drinking, you'd merely re-route it, away from control and reliabil- ity and into the shady realm of the half-pint. up the alley. Furthermore, you'd be demolishing the social standards, all the nicetieS of drink ing that have developed since Re- peal. To rob him of this normal, casual enjoyment and consign him grimly to the tender mercies of the blind tiger, the bootlegger and the gangSter would be stupidity such as only Mrs. Ella Droole and her petti-coateries would take great pride in. So wake up America, warns Esquire. When the cats yowl, have that bootjack readyl
 If what they were trying to take away from us were merely the in- dividual's right of enjoyment, that would be serious enough. But, con- tinues Esquire, aside from that they are aiming at one of the pillars of our national economic structure, re- stored seven years ago after an ab- sence which had cost us approxi- mately twenty billion dollars, or ahout half as much as our present national debt.
 PROHIBITION WOULD
 BE DISASTROUS
 Should they succeed this time, emphasizes Esquire, the blow would be, even more disastrous. Now, reckoned in investments, tax reven- ues, payrolls, etc, there is far more to smash than there was in 1920 when Prohibition began it's career of Dry Rottenness.
 Today our. brewers are buying farm products as raw materials to the extent of around hundred mill lion dollars worth a year; our dis tillerS are forty miliion-dollar GUS toners in the same market. Think of the jolt to agriculture and to everybody who sells to farmers-if those purchases were subtracted from the picture! The contrast be- tween crop utilization under Pro- hibition and under legality is told in blunt figures of acreage: Then, for near-beer, etc, less than 100000 acres; now, for present annual re- quirements of brewers and distillers alone, 100000 acres!
 As for persons directly employed by establishments which manufac- ture alcoholic beverages, the total is close to 75,000 and they receive over $100,000, 900 a year in wages. Besides these, there is sizeable army of jobberS, wholesalers and distributors. And a vast army of retailers.
 HUNDREDS OF INDUSTRIES WOULD BE AFFECTED
 But it is impossible to consider the drink industry as thing in itself. It carries hundreds of big and little industries along with it. Coal, for instance. Making bottles alone has used 100000 tons of it., not to mention silica, soda ash and lime. Lumber for barrels pours profits into eleven states. And there are aluminium and steel barrels turned out by the metal people, who also have the hoops to play with. Cans take 150,00O tons of tin plate each year, plus much lacquer for in- ner and outer coatingS.
 When it comes to corks, crowns, neckbandS, labels, boxes, cartons, wooden cases, promotional litera- ture, advertising, trucks, gasoline, oil. tires, batteries, vehicle licenses, transportation by railroad to and from distillery or brewery = when it comes to these items, we're knee deep in impressive statistics.
 Riding along side by side with our spirituous and malt friends, continues Esquire, are the mineral wears, the ginger ales, the bitters, oranges, lemons, lines, ice, sugar, olives, cherries, toy frankfurters,