Prohibition Agitation at the National Capital
By L. A. H.
IN the week beginning December 7 was witnessed the greatest antiliquor agitation ever known in Washington, D. C. On Sunday afternoon, mass-meetings were held in two prominent churches and in one of the large theaters. These meetings were presided over by officers of the National W. C. T. U., and on the program were prominent temperance workers and speakers. Full capacity audiences gave attention and enthusiastically applauded the sentiment calling for national prohibition at as early a date as possible. A unanimous vote accorded support to the resolution recently introduced in Congress by Richmond P. Hobson, calling for national prohibition. Plans were laid for a mass-meeting to be held under the dome of the Capitol on the next Wednesday. Wednesday night a large meeting was held in Continental Hall, at which a number of prominent temperance speakers again gave addresses to an enthusiastic audience. This meeting was under the auspices of the Anti-Saloon League. On the afternoon of December 10, Senator Sheppard, of Texas, introduced in the Senate a joint resolution calling for national prohibition. In a speech of some length, he presented forcible facts and strong arguments from various sources, calling attention to the terrible havoc caused by intemperance in various nations. Portions of his speech will appear in Liberty, Life and Health, and the Youth's Instructor. We give herewith a brief quotation:— “Before the popular judgment of almost every country the dealers in this terrible drug must answer the following arraignment: Your traffic crushes every moment some home, some heart. The poison you distribute is an ever-spreading pestilence. It impedes the physical and mental growth of children, distorting the moral sense, promoting disobedience to parents and disregard for law. It curses the future generations of its victims—the crazed, the maimed, the palsied, and the blind—into whose blood the fatal taint is inevitably transmitted. It wrecks domestic happiness and betrays the most sacred vows. It contains no nourishment, it gives no strength. It impairs the vital processes, and injures the vital tissues of the human organism. It destroys moderation and self-control, releasing every low and savage impulse. Instead of satisfying1252thirst, it leaves a greater thirst, suggesting the agonies of hell. It is the cause of practically half the accidents in industrial occupations. It lowers the efficiency of labor and weakens the foundations of industrial progress. It increases the liability to disease, particularly to infectious maladies like tuberculosis. It diverts the earnings of mankind into channels of economic waste, causing a loss that far exceeds the revenue it provides for governmental use. It is an obstacle to human advancement that should be no longer tolerated.” “As the facts become more vividly impressed on all mankind, the conviction rapidly grows that temporizing policies must be discontinued. The world is quickly coming to understand that humanity must destroy the liquor traffic or welcome moral degradation and economic ruin. The overwhelming issue is whether men shall conquer the liquor traffic or the liquor traffic conquer men.” On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Hobson presented in the House of Representatives the memorial representing about one hundred national uplift organizations, religious, social, and civic, calling for a Constitutional amendment for national prohibition. He stated that over fifty-five per cent of the American people now live in prohibition territory, that between seventy-one and seventy-two per cent of the area of continental United States is now what is called “dry” (prohibition) territory, and that the memorial calling for national prohibition practically represents a petition on the part of a majority of the American people. The argument against alcohol made by various speakers on the above-mentioned occasions was based largely on the scientific proof of its deteriorating, demoralizing, and destructive power. Convincing facts and figures were given that could but carry heavy weight. In view of the recent agitation, the outlook for prohibition seems more favorable than it has ever been before. We hope to be able to provide our own people with suitable material, from time to time, bearing on the temperance question. Surely, we should take advantage of proper occasions to add our own strength to true temperance movements. We have considerable ammunition ourselves that could be put to good use in this battle against alcohol.