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PACE TWO THE FRANKLIN PRESS ana THE HIGHLANDS MACON IAN THURSDAY, OCT. 13, KlliX ilxt Highlands ffitxtmxxmx: Published every Thursday by The Franklin Press At Franklin, North Carolina Telephone No. 24 VOL X1.V1I1 Number 42 BLACKBURN V. JOHNSON i . . . EDITOR AND PUBLISHER Entered at the Post Office, Franklin, N. C, as second class matter. The Prohibition Forum SUBSCRIPTION RATES One Year Blight Months Six Months .. Sitile Copy . . $1.50 $1.00 .75 .05 tirnrtTynriresrTardsnCff -jthanksrHributes-t-reswlr-by-individuals lodges, - churches, organizations or societies, will be regarded as adver rising" and inserted at regular classified advertising rates.. Such notice will be marked "adv." in compliance with the postal regulations. The Time Grows Shorter I KSS than three weeks remain before North Caro--1 linians will go to the polls to vote on repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment. In the interim before the election there will be duly two more issues of The Press-Maconian. That means only two more op portunities to express your opinions on this momen tous issue in "The Prohibition Forum." Free and open discussion is helpful in arriving at the solution of any public problem. Your friends and neighbors will be glad to read your opinions on prohibition. Don't be ashamed to voice them. Give others the benefit of your thought. Write a letter NOW to "The Prohibition Forum." We have two requests: Please . wtite legibly on only one side of the paper and try to make your conv merits as concise as possible. We will publish all the readable letters for which space is available. A Happy Choice- 17Li:CTI(.)N of the Rev. Robert Emmet Gribben as 1-J bishop ot the Western North Carolina Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church, succeeding the late Rt. Rev. Junius M. Horner, was a happy choice that augurs -well for the future ol the church in this sec Rev. Mr. Gribben possesses a rare combination of deep spirituality, broad vision, sympathetic under standing and, last but not least, practical common sense. . - - A man of constructive nature, and missionary zeal, he should, if he is moved to accept the high appoint merit, render valuable service in strengthening his church and advancing the Kingdom ot God in West ern North Carolina. An inspiring preacher with a background of learning and experience, he is eminent lv nu.-ilifit'd to U'.T.l his neonle to better things, clearer vision. Since' 1921 Rev. Mr. Gribben has been rector of . St. Paul's cliiirdi, Winston-Salem, one. of -the largest congregations in the Diocese of North Carolina. Dur ing the war he was a chaplain at "Camp Sevier ant since the war has served as chaplain for the Ameri can Legion. Although quiet and unassuming, he nn presses one as a man of innate strength in every fibre. If he accepts the appointment, he will be a val uable factor, not only in his own church, but to the spiritual j i re oi.inis enure section. Against Repeal we have little to hope for in im proved conditions. For the states separately cannot hope to cope with the liquor traffic when it is legally entrenched in neighboring states. Prof. Clark Warburton of Columbia University, says in "Eco nomic Results f Prohibition," pub lished October, 1932,' page 202. Under prohibition, the working classes are consumincr not more than half as much alcohol per cap ita as formerly," and "The ex penditure of this class is probably a billion dollars less per year than it would be without national pro hibition." As regards our young people, let us hope they will be nded rather by their admirations, by imitating their hero, Colonel Lindbergh. The following item is from cable news dispatch from Berlin, September 13: For Repeal At the Mayor's banquet in Stockholm, so, the dispatch relates, - . ... n,t a glass ot nre water cuicu aquavit" was placed before the Colonel. ... He took one look at the glass of aquavit and asked for milk, although, ihe dispatch can- chides, , "Such a choice was con sidered 'inconceivable' by his drink ing fellow banqueters." While the states are voting for repeal, it is an alarming fact that less than one-third of the total possible vote in tweny-nine repeal sates has been recorded on that' question. Thirty million men and women must be regarded as "stay-at-homes." Can jt be possible that America is having a national moral slump similar to Germany,' but evidenced in a different way, by an indiffer ence td so vital an economic and social question? a distillery and made (he mention ed a famous old brand.) There is plenty of it in my basement." Later, at a Republican state con vention this man, although he re frained from drinking himself, was frequently seen in the "entertain ment room," where liquor of ' va rious varieties was freely dispensed. A few months later this same Republican politician was appoint ed to direct the national enforce ment agency. BY MRS. HEN J. W. C. JOHNSON the best attempts of Wanted More Foreigners "U'R 1iaHsTrff-to-Josei)h-Ashearr His--ne'wbiiild-Vlng on Main street and the Public Square im- finiToc fl-in 'jiiiworniii'o rf flip town i m tllPIl 1 ' Klir- thennore, it is a valuable addition to the community's 1 C ' , ' 1 f , a . i 1 I uusMiess racuities ana u mam tests a constructive -spu--it indicative of progress. It is expected and hoped that it will bring a de served profit for its owner,, whose faith in Franklin and Macon county has caused him to make such an investment here. The building should' serve to in crease Franklin's reputation as a trading center for a large-mountain region. Incidentally, it will mean a considerable sum to the county and town in the way of taxes. Whatever success Mr. Ashear achieves as a result of his new venture will be. richly deserved. Mr. Ashear is a long wav from his native land. He came here from his native country, Assyria, with that faith in America which many. immigrants possess a firm belief that liere he would find a land of -has. built up a substantial business bv dint of hard -work, hone s i - ( 1 ea 1 in rs ancl.c a re f u 1 i n ve s t m en t s. He has always been a good citizen, furnishing an example to tho.-of us who claim this as our natiye land. He has proved a good neighbor, ever ready to do his share of neighborly service. We lAmericans are sometiirics a, bit egotistic and prone to boast of our "one hundred per cent Ameri canism." With a feeling of superiority, wc sometimes say. things uncomplimentary to foreigners. But here is an object lesson, which has a parallel in almost even: community of anv size. Here is a foreigner whose deep sense of -loyalty and love of 'country,- transplanted to America, has made a dis tiuct contribution to our community, county and 'state. ' It should humble us a bit to reflect that the racketeer list is full of very American names. Few o i i lu'ii i arc foreigners, as we sometimes are inclined -4-u--Lil4u'a' - - : ' L i i - i i: .i - c r : ...i l ir -c i h i h hi a l IK'- a -4 ( mg -4 1 isi . o i u t h e i g n e i n u 1 1 ay c dnm-.wvll bv America. -. A foreigner shot at-. Roose velt.' 'bur i-t also was a foreigner who was the martyr iw save ihei life of our President. : . The average American needs to revise his opinion of foreigners and to be a lit-tle more humble in his L'stiiiia'iioii of himself. The Kingdom of God will .never conn- until we stop looking upon each other 'as 'foreigner's,.' until :we act upon a principle of broth erhood. . ' . .Any community 'is richer for having citizen's of Mr. Arli ar's type, and we reflect that one of our needs is a- K w .more such foreigners. ' ' ." . r . .. - X. C. D. 117 YY fact finding, employing scien tific and non-partisan meinous research like the Wickersham re port and the research committee of the Federal Council of Churches, for instance can give only tenta tive conclusions in regard to the effects of prohibition laws, it is not possible for partisans of either side to draw just conclusions from any statistics used without relation- to all the factors .involved. For instance, the figures cited last week in support ot .repeal, showing the increase in the crime bill of North Carolina, prove noth ing in regard to the failure of the Iftth amendment. Too many fac tors enter into the commission of crimes to state categorically that 1,1,7 nnp muse is resnonsible. If wc want to get back of the mo tives of the criminals operating in the crime wave that has swept over the nation since the early 1920's wf will find one of the ugliest of human passons; namely, greed, the "love of money," the desire for easy, unearned wealth which "is the root of - the evil." The fact that a criminal needs the stimulus that liquor gives to help him commit a murder does not prove that liquor was the primary cause. Men are in the liquor business, legal or illegal, for the big money that isinit., Just .asthe men were in the. Teapot Dome oiPsteal for the big money that was in it. Human ..rights and human life are as nothing in the face of greed. If we look back to the crimes com mitted by some of the highest of- ficialsof -the-nation m -Harding s administration, and the efforts put forth to whitewash criminals at that time,., we... put . our. .finger, on one -of -the most powerful. factors creating the spirit of lawlessness with resultant crime. When the source of government becomes cor runt, the ooison extends down through the entire social fabric, to the smallest official. No wonder there is no respect for the law when so many whose duty it is to enforce the law are in league with the law breakers, and are law breakers themselves! , ' An excellent article in the new Encyclopaedia Britannica gives in teresting statistics and reviews the working of the prohibition laws. -This -allows- that the records do not exist over a "sufficiently long period or over a sufficiently wide area""tc7appraiselhcocial7and economic results of prohibition, "the jiroblem being too complicated to isolate and measure the many controlling factors." However, an swers from social workers, a group of people best situated to judge of the practical workings of the law, show a large preponderance of favorable replies as to the effect of prohibition in the homes of working people; better marital re lations, less children's delinquency and malnutrition. Likewise the Federal Council re port, says the Britannica, '-'gives no support to the theory that pro hibition has caused a moral break down among ydung people, and this conclusion is substantiated both be fore and since 1925. The whole sale charge that respect for law is being broken down by the want of observance of the prohibition law rests upon a gratuitous as sumption." Jane Addams, founder of Hull House, a social settlement in 1he slums -of .Chicago,, testifies ; "Here we used to watch whiskey and beer being left at saloons by the drayload. The poverty and suffer ing from drink, were appalling. There is such a difference now. that it seems like another world. Our poor are moving away into better places. ... . Drinking has decreased and so has our work for! rehabilitating families wrecked through intemperance." Wilfred W. Fry, president of N. W. Aver and Son, one of . the largest advertising agencies in the world, in a statement under date of September 14, says, "We have cancelled our ten year old agree- BY BLACKBURN W, JOHNSON ALTHOUGH prohibition fails miserably to accomplish its purpose, it is costing the ' federal government (tb say nothing of . the state and local governments) mil- ment with the Canada Dry" Ginger !ios f dollars each year and i.n- imcmir an nnfurpc:TirilK' hrivv hiir- Ai T .. v.:l,t.. .. l...,.l ni I' ' rvic, in., a iiiuiy vtutiiu nam, The record of prohibition en forcement is revolting to the senses of straight-thinking Americans, The great majority of the people, as manifested by the repeal votes in 33 states, are sick and tired of ttiis "noble' experiment," which . has bred nothing buT corruption and disrespect for law. The borie-drys still plead blindly, for another chance to show, that prohibition can be made effective. But hasn't twelve long years been a fair trial? following the client's decision to engage in the manufacture and distribution of beer and whiskey after repeal. "-''.-" In explaining his position, Mr. Fry continues "The return of liquor will divert an 'important' share of America's mass purchasing power from essen tial commodities. Jl'hiij diversion may run as high as twenty per cent, based on pre-prohibition ex perience and ..the. trend of economic and sociological conditions' since the eighteenth amendment was adopted. . "The moral question involved in repeal can be left out entirely, but from a purely business standpoint, we still cannot see a very happy result in the return of liquor. . It is true that revenue from al cohol will contribute many millions of dollars to Federal, State and local treasuries, but this contribu tion, in the main, will be made by that class of the public which can least afford to make it. This was true before prohibition, and it will unquestionably be true when pro hibition is repealed, "The liquor business has not changed. When the thirty-sixth state has been lined up, it will be run by the same old crowd in the same old- wav. x x x x "Furthermore, we do not wish to classify our other clients with the liquor business.". Space does not permit our quot irig other.Inoted social thinkers and workers wtio deplorethis backward step being taken by the United States, not only for the sakc"Trr -rrar own nation-,- but -for j other nations who were watching with keen -interest-the working ..of proh ibiti' m in this, conn try. Lady A stur, the Virginia-born 1 member of England's Parliament, has al ways bce-f an eloquent supporter of the cause of prohibition, speak ing in this country as well as in Europe for the. cause, and working for it in England for the promot ing of better conditions among the poor and ihe protection of the child life of the nation. Many who are advocating re peal in the hope -of securing bet ter conditions for temperance in America, should give- pause when they read the following: "The advertising of American brewers, now staring the country . . .. ..... --LV- . in ine jace, ami leauinng aiiracuve voting women, is in line with the antmHiiGe-4 policyof British brew ers," plainly declared - by Sir Ed gar Sanders, ''Director "of the Brew' prs-Socictyr ; He says: "We want to get the beer drinking habit instilled . into thousands, almost millions of young men who d'oi in t at present know the taste of beer. Unless you can attract the younger generation to take the place of the older men, there is no doubt that we shall have to face a steadily falling con sumption of beer. It does look as if vthey .(the working classes) . . . prefer to devote . . surplus motl ey. ; . . .to . . . other attractions, and let the brewer j go bv the board." .. - . ' ' It is regrettable that . a . recent beer advertisement, illustrating a. young mother with a baby in her arms, and advising beer "for nurs ing mothers," employs unwarranted use of the name of the late Dr. Harvey V. Wylie, famous . former Chief of the Bureau of Chemistry of the l'.' S. Department of Agri culture, ( 1 1 spite tTt e Fa rt th at t 1 r Wylie -re u-: iu illy - war tu d-thcJuac rj ican people against the-mischievous qualities of beer. Under the headline "Duhith Drunkenness Arrests Jump 4n Per Cent During July," the Duluth Press says: "Thai drunkenness has greatly increased since the advent of beer is no longer seriously de nied even by the wets who are iu touch with conditions. . . . The liquor traffic's main hope is ''"now that the facts may be kept from the general public. Hence the reticence of the. wet press on the subject of liquor, arrests and the prevalence of drunkenness." In going back to state control, den on taxpayers. The budget estimate for the Bu reau of Prohibition 'of ihe Depart ment of Justfce for the current fis cal year amounts to $ty,250,(X)0. Such an expenditure would be justified, if it accomplished its pur poseto prevent the manufacture, sale and consumption of intoxi cants; but the facts show that the liqiiurl.ra.ffic. ...continues with little or ho abatement. As Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, president of Columbia University, recently pointc-d out -in an article -in Liberty magazine: "If we had wishel to find a w:iy to aid the liquor traffic, the Eigh teenth Amendment has shown 'it self to offer the precise method by which we might best do so, Under it the traffic in alcoholic liquors has become nation-wide. In the Wickersham report the low est estimate of this traffic for a single year was $2,H15,(KK),()(H), which ranks it one of the country's great est industries. This traffic is highly profitable and wholly free from tax, except, as. forced pay ments are made , illegitimately by violators to public officials. If the federal and state governments tax ed this traffic, we should "not be called upon for any income taxes whatever." . v While a large item, of expense in itself, the cost of ( maintaining the Bureau of Prohibition is a mere drop in the bucket compared 1o ihe amount of revenue the government is losing because of its failure to derive n-y-TeA'einie-whatswv"r from the liquor traffic. Revenue Lost Suppose -4he gmxrnment placed a tax of 25 - per cent, which would Writes the Wickersham coinntis sion : "Whiskey of good quality is ob tainable substantially everywhere at prices not extravagant for persons of means. It is true many per sons cannot afford these prices and for them a large amount of cheap, poor grade, or even poison ous liquor is constantly produced and is iu general circulation. The conclusion is that enforcement is not' reaching the sources of pro duction and distribution so as ma terially to. affect the supply." Doubtless, many of the employes of the Prohibition Bureau are con scientious, upstanding men of. good judgment ; but it is also true that nranyTif- them haver had unsavory rucords and have deported them selves in shameless manner. . A Bloody Record One of the darkest pages in our governmental records is - the list of killings, many if not most of them utterly un warranted. Time and again dry sleuths have been reported firing on innocent per sons, in numerous instances with fatal results. But , whether the quarv be innocent or guilty, it is difficult to understand upon what ground a prohibition agent has the right to take human life, unless it be in self defense. . Records show that 175 civilians had been killed iu connection with the enforcement of prohibition up to June 30, 1932. The number of prohibition . investigators slain was 79. less than half the number of civilians. Suclr a record, in . our humble judgment, counter-balances any of the vaunted claims of extreme drys that prohibition has been a great civilizing influence Indeed,-aviation is in a bad way when it hires and "amis men to menace the lives of jts citizens. Corruption By its very nature, prohibition invites corruption in many forms and both in hrghlmd low places. not be exhorbitant, on -all alcoholic The -writer lmakes - this statement, A "BONE DRY" RECANTS The Prohibition Forum, , Franklin Press! Franklin, N. C. In differing with the senior ed itor I wish to assure her that her ardent stand for the present law was once my own. I think the " only reason she holds to hers is that she has no conception of the amount of. alcohol consumed in this one .trifling area, (it being the in stinct of Evil to sneak lo cover when tiood passes by), but which is a fair index of the nation-vyide situation. The city where I was brought up had very high license, so there were only a few saloonS, well reg ulated. MeilhefTT nor any" rnem ber of niy immediate family used limuhiiiK i if :itiv kind I first lie- : "'":.;".-"( '. i. i ..: .i... Idim dual nil nit; mil i ine traffic in Si. Louis, where the suffering of destitute women and children was appalling. Traveling iu North Carolina I recall especially, the environs of various railroad stations. It is not likely that, any lady ventured af ter dark on those squalid streets. When this state "went dry," I was very tlianktul, and 1 saw the same transformation take place in Miami when. Dade county voted. out the saloon. It did make a vast improvement : respectability re-possessed foul streets, and as there were, at first, no organized purveyors of poison, drinking ac tually did decrease. Then the ex perience during mobilisation built up a great but deceptive hope in the hearts of millions of us, cul minating in the eighteenth amend ment. . What we "Drys" never consider- en, aim vvuulu ivui ntw a, ic LIEVED. POSSIBLE, has happen ed. Otherwise eminently respect-ablcxttizens-have leagued them selves with criminals for the sake of a drink ; arguing their right to any urrrrage ncy aesire, ana beverages. Accepting the conserv ative .estimate of the Wickersham commission as a basis for .Figuring," we find that such a tax would bring into the government coffers more than $700,000,000 a year. Instead, we have been throwing this revenue to the winds and . pay ing out many millions of dollars more in futile efforts to enforce a law which is unenforceable by iK very nature. A "noble experiment," indeed and such a costly one that this country cart ill afford to continue it! Now let ns review the accom plishments of our expensive pro hibiti"n sleuths. During the fiscal years '1920 to LQ3ZJ,n elusive, t h r v brou ght. a grand total of . 595.104 ...cases., in the . fed eral courts, according to statistics published ni thcWorldAlrnana.C. The number of convictions for this period is not given. But for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1932, there were 18.8 convictions for each acquittal. The .federal ."prisons have been filled to overflowing and in the last few years the federal govern ment has found it necessary to ap propriate S7.XK),(HH) for new or en- up larged prison facilities. The De partment T;T " Justice reports that there - are' three times as many prisoners now as in 1921. Nearly two-thirds of the cases clogging not from hearsay, but from - his own knowledge. I have" seen policemen "in a Torth Carolina city drink freely of liquor which they had seized in a raid and which they were holding as evidence. I have" seen the chief of police of a .large city curry the favor of a man of influence by sending him "choice stock" out of his own locker, which contained the best whiskey his men seized in their raids. " In Albany, N, Y where the Writ er worked for several years, speakeasies' and beer flats flourish ed openly, although a number of federaj enforcement officers were quart ercd in - thi . c i t y On a corne7 Hear " my '-"i rooming house was a neighborhood res- faiirnhO also dispensed - beer. .--There were a number of German families in the neighborhood and the propriet or of the restaurant found that they demanded beer and, unless he could supply it, he might as well close his business. He prided him self iu the quality of the beer he sold; in fact, sometimes he turned his customers away because he was unable to obtain beer which came to his standards. He never sold hard liquors and never al lowed rowdiness in his place- The writer admits frankly that he visit ed the place many times and found the food delicious and the beer de- our court machinery aiid congest-1 light fill ing our prisons are said to be due to violations of the Eighteenth Amendment. All this means more unnecessary expense for tie gift" crnnictit. It is estimated that 'Su per iVnt of all federal, government funds for the administration of criminal justice goes toward pro hit.) ition mf ' vr ami en t . Liquor Still Plentiful Despite this record, however, In to xi c a n f s" ft" rii Milt e a s i 1 y "Tib t ai n -able.' " Attracted by. the huge prof its in an unlicensed,, -unregulated and untaxed business, more and ni'ire men enter upon the nefarious careers of bootleggers, moonshin ers, rum runners and hijackers. They aer undeterred by the chance of arrest, conviction and a term in prison. Dining the fiscal year ended June 30, 1930, the federal prohibition department seized 700 per cent more illegal liquor than during the first year of prohibition. But did that put an end to the Time and again prohibition agents name to the cafe for- their meals. They nol only ate heartily, but drank , of the beer in large-quantities. . When Ihey were through, they paid the proprietor, not with money, but with .smirking "Thanks." About ; once a year the proprietor pi...i r.'. t. o. . (-W .1 -.II I-, i.r iJ.I-LlLI ...Lite. ..'J O" hibition laws. It was a matter of T 1 1 rt 1 1 ,1 i "? ie e't n Fd , To r "Tli(riTrys1etiThs to" -turn him -up -ever -so .often. But he always managed to avoid going to prison. Another incident ..which occurred in Albany: prominent' Republican leader of the Stale of New York waa talking with a (group. of newspaper men. Some of the reporters were -iiying him about his pronounced dryness. "Well," said the . Republican poli tician," you know J have to stand by my party's platform. But you boys come to see me sometime. never, acknowledging ..that ..you. can-, not render ONE law impotent, without jeopordizing ALL. Exact ly - -what has '""happened, as our crime wave demonstrates, . rolling higher and higher, day by day and year by year. . If you suggested 'to, a neighbor that he was backing a chain bur glary system, with a few incidental murders thrown in, he would be righteously indignant. Yet that same man will brag of his patron age of the arch fiends of bootleg gery. That is why prohibition has no chance of being inforccd. Mr. anil .frs. John Doe and the junior Does, millions strong, arc support ing the greatest Criminal organiza tion the civilized world has ever tnH"-l'H-yiaavF"ahhrJnclf country in its most vital spot, the Constitution tunuul -trailbr toas- suage a thirst. Since it is proven that neither patriotismnicrTerigion, nor char ity toward their fellow-men, will dissolve this sinister partnership, we "Drys" are forced to abandon our glorious hope, and do what ............ i - we can io salvage our country s I honor, to restore confidence in our courts and security to our high ways. . . . Let us vote to restore liquor, sold through dispensaries, and con tinue to work -for' genuine temper ance through the coming genera tion.' Kipling was wrong about "the white man's burden" which is not responsibility for the black or brown or yellow nian, but the curse of his own insatiable thirst. With all respect to Madam-J Editor; I continue to remain her admiring friend. BONE DKY. liquor traffic. Indeed, it did nof. You know my folks used to own Letter-Press "Friends' of Mr. BrySotv,-as "we'll as -The Press-Macoiiiau will at - preciate this message of good will Iroin across the continent. "Sedro Woollev, Wash. "Oct. 9, 1933. "Editor, Franklin Press, "Franklin.- N. C, ' . "Dear Sir: "The Press is still a welcome visitor to our place, so find en closed a P. O. money order for $1.50 for which please set my sub scription ahead for another year. "Best wishes to you, and all my old friends in good old Macori county. . ' ' "GEO. E. BRYSON."
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