The Brecon Radnor Express Carmarthen and Swansea Valley Gazette and Brynmawr District Advertiser

We Hold a Splendid Selection of Ladies', Gents'Boys' and Girls' Winter Goals and other Winter Wear. SCHOOL CLOTHES k SPECIALITY. M. Davies & Son, LONDON HOUSE (Opposite the\ ?Market HaH ) TALGARTH. There;BREAD" and "bread" jH but bread made with RED RING W J Self-raising /kjL7/*A FLOUR is t V? nfil always the same- Always GOOD BREAD. With 2 lb. of RED y RING FLOUR < you can make four 5MT delicious loaves in f-hour. The recipe is given with every packet of RED RING FLOUR. If you follow the directions you will be surprised and delighted to find that you can so easily make your own bread. No yeast no baking powder no trouble at all. REDRIN S?E L F RAISING Best for a!] kind ofpastry, cakes, and pnddincs. V"59 Gives light who!eiome, digestible results e "rr; time. Send for free book of over 3? Recipes to I Edit, ess, .1-, Upper Thames Street. London. K.C.??? ti Enclose 111. stamp for postage.

Howay War Savings. WHAT IS BEING DONE. HOW TO 11ELP TO WIN THE WAR. The montlily committee meeting was held on Satur- day. The secretary (Mr W. 15. dr Winton) reported pro- gress up to date as follows :lauuary 17th. 54 mem- bers, f254 subscriptions,* 328 certificate's purchased February 17th, 71 members, £ '370 subscriptions, 476 cer- tificates purchased. The number of members paying small subscriptions weekly had risen from 23 to :M. but mamy who might subscribe if they had the will had not started yet. It was hard to believe that there was a single man or woman in the district who could not, if they would, subscribe at least 6d per week. If they had not got it, they had only to give up a little beer or tobacco, or something else to which they were accus- tomed, but which was not necessary for their health, and they at once got the power of helping their country and themselves. There were, it was thought, two reasons why many people did not subscribe—(1) they didn't trust the Go- vernment, and fear they will never see their money again; (2) they have not got 15/6, and didn't believe in the advantage of subscribing 6d a week to the asso- ciation until they do get it. With regard to (1) noth- ing in this world could IK, safer or more certain than that the British Government would pay its debts with very good interest added. With regard to (2) atten- tion was called to Rule II.. which showed that if they subscribed weekly-, instead of keeping their money till they got 15/6 they received a certificate dated many weeks earlier than tiien otherwise would, and. coon- quently, received their money and interest back ju.-t so many weeks earlier also. Some people also seemed to think that war savings crtificates were coming to an end at the same time as the war loan. This was not 1"0, There was no present intention of stopping them, and they were likely to go on as long as the war lasts, be- cause they were such an excellent method whereby all could help their country, and at the same time learn to save. The secretory also reported that Mr J. Griffith. man- ager of Lloyds Bank, Llandrindod Wells, had audited and passed the accounts of tire quarter ending Decem- ber 31st, 1916, on January 27th. His criticism and ad- vice were exceedingly helpful. The method of slotting clertificates was then discuss- ed, and the following rules agreed to:-(I) No certifi- cates to be allotted to any member which is dated be- fore the date of commencement of that member'- sub- scription; (2) when a member completes his 15/6 a cer- tificate shall be allotted which is dated, as nearly as pos- sible, half way between the dates of commencement and completion of his subscription: (:i) when any thing more than the above. rules is required, the certi- ficates to be allotted by drawing lots.

I BY "UNCLE TOM." l Brecon. February 27th, 1917. My dear nephews and nieces,—I have to announce, this wce], ,tha,t the first prize-winner in our February's essay competition was Miss Eleanor G. Evans (Council School, Chapel), and the second, Miss Lilian M. G. Wil. liams (also of the Council School, Upper Chapel). The competitors sent in first-class compositions, and I ap pend copies below for the persual of you all. Eleanor" marks were :-Writing. 77 out of 80; English, 76 out (ji ■">0; spelling, 60 out of 80; and intelligence, 150; total. .(So out of 400. Lilian's marks were Writing, 74; spel- ling. so; English, 74; intelligence, 150; total, 378. Eleanor also writes :1 am sorry that this com- petition limited us to a number of words, as there are many more famous musicians of these counties of whom. I COllld write. "Carnhuanawc" was a clever harpist and constructed a harp. Other faniou- musicians of the counties are John Thomas (Llanwrtyd), Wylor Owen (Llandrindod Wells), Miss Ethel James (Hay), and the late lamented "Eos Crick" (Brecon). I have much en- joyed this competition. With kindest regards and best wishes," With sinecrest regards to you all. Your affectionate UNCLE TOM.

FEBRUARY COMPETITION. MI'SJCIAXS OF BRECON AND RADNOR—PAST AND PRESENT. First-Prize Essay Brecon and Radnor are noted for their gifted music iaiis. The Queen of Sozig-31-,t(laint, Pitti has made home in our beautiful county. The late Professor David Jenkins, Mus. B., was one of our most eminent musicians. His home was near Trecast le. He composed many beautiful anthems, etc. "Alaw Buallt," of Beiilah, was a talented musician. r IL had the honour of singing before Queen Victoria. Builth was the home of the famous "Hew Buallt," known throughout Wales as a clever musician. He was a conductor of choirs which won prizes at the National Eisteddfods. He was also a famous teacher of music. His talented daughter, Madame Bessie Evans, R.A.M.. was the winner of the prize at the "World's Fair," Chicago. Mr A. P. Morgan, of Builth, is a celebrated conduc- tor of choirs and a composer of national fame Beulah should be proud of Mr J. Price. G.T.S.C., who is a musician of a very high order. He has composed many very fine anthems, glees, etc. Mr Hadley Watkins ((.. and L.) is the composer of many beautiful pieces of music. Brecon is proud of the musical talents of "Eos Honddu," a member of D'oyle Carte's Opera Company, for many years. Mr W. T. Davies, of Talgarth, is a noted tenor soloist. "Llinos1 Fach"—Miss Sarah Davies, of Trecastle, is a charming singer. Miss Llewela Davie-, of Brecon, is a well-known pianist. Mr W. Thomas, Rhayader, is a conductor of children's choirs. Principal Lewis, Mr Evan Evans. Mr Rhys Jones, Mi- W. T. Jones, and Mr Oscar Watkins, of Brecon, are all gifted singers. Mr Rhys Jones is an able conductor of choir-.—Miss Eleanor G. Evans, Council School, Upper Chapel, near "Brecon, aged 12. Second-Prize Essay. "The Queen of Song"—Madame Patti has made her home in our beautiful county. One of the eminent musicians of this county was the late Prof. David Jenkins, Mu.s. B. His home' was near Tnecastfe. He composed many beautiful pieces of of music. "Alaw Buallt" was a famous singer. He had the hon- our of singing before Queen Victoria. "Llew Buallt" wasi known all over Wales. He was a great leader of choirs, and, also, a teacher of music. Madame Bessie Evans, R.A.M., is his daughtr. She won the champion solo iin Chicago. Beulah is the home of a very clever musician, Mr J. Price. G.T.S.C., who has composed many beautiful anthems, glees, etc. Mr A. P. Morgan ,of Builth, is an able musician both as a conductor of choirs and a composer. Mr Hadley Watkins (G. and L.) is a native of Brecon. Tk, too, is a composer. His brother, Mr Oscar Wat- kins, is also a good musician. "Eos Hondllu" is a singer of renown. He also is a Bi-econian. Mr W. T. Davies. of Talgarth, possesses a splendid tenor voice. Mr Rhys Thomas (G. and L.). of Ystradgynlais, is now a professor of music in Winnipeg. "Llinos Fach," Miss Sarah Davies-, is a charming soprano singer. Miss Llewela Davies, of Brecon, is an accomplished pianist. Mr W. Thomas, Rhayader, i- a conductor of children's choirs. Principal Lewis, Mr Evan Evans, Mr Rhys Jones and Mr W. T..Tones are talented singers. Mr Evan Evans ha.s appeared on the stage at the National Eisteddfod. Mr Rhys Jones is an able conductor of choirs.—Miss Lilian M. G. Williams, Council School. Upper Ch. p I near Brecon, aged 11.

I PRUDENTIAL STAFF.  BRECON DtSTRtCT CATHER!MC. AGENTS SERVICES RECOGNISED. As briefly reported in last wed i-sue, the stafT of fix Brecon district representing the Prudential Assur- ance Company, Ltd., together with their wives, met at. the Lion Hotel, Builth Wells recently. Dinner was served, after which a meeting was held, presided over by Mr J. Hunt (inspector), and there were speeches in- ter .-twsed with songs, etc. Mr Hunt, in an eloquent address, traced the history of the company from its comencement down to the present time. Mr Lambert, superintenednt, Brecon, al "0 addressed the meeting, after which prizes were presented by Mrs Lambert to the agents who had ob- tained the best results from the beginning of July last to the end of December, this being the* period for which the competition ran. Mr H. Arthur. Rhayader, won the first prize (a marble timepiece) in the ordinary branch. andM,r C. H. Williams, Llanwrtvd Wells, gained the second (a Gladstone bag). Both these agents well deserved their prizes, as their results were remarkable, especially those of Mr H. Arthur, who established a record for the district. Mr W. R. Williams, Hay, won the first prize (a marble tiinepWe) in the orinary branch, and Mr C. H. Williams, Llandrindod Wells, the second (a lady's gold bangle). Mr W. S. Williams was also successful in winning the prize (a lady's gold bangle) for combined results in both branches. A consolation prize was presented to Mi.-s Newell, collector, Talgarth, for her excellent re- sults in both branches. Mrs Lambert made a neat little speech, which was heartily applauded. Speeches hy Mr Morgan, assistant superintendent, Talgarth, Mr L. Taylor, assistant super- inte-nen-t. Llandrindod Wells, Mr E. Price, Rhayader, a.nd the prizewinners followed. The singing of the XationaJ Anthem terminated a very pleasant and en- j joyable afternoon.

Brecon Infirmary converted a deficit ofe94 into a credit balance of £ sl during 191fi.

HAVE YOU PAIN? J, Swift, Atterclifre, Sheffield, says: "The first dose gave me great rekif, I can confidently say that one box of these pills has done me more good than all the medi- cine I have taken." Mrs A. Wilkinson, of Nelson, -tates: "My sister, who suffered from weak kidneys, took one box, and it has done her more good than pounds spent on Medical Men," HOLDROYD'S GRAVEL PILLS, a positive cure for Grave!. Pains in the Back, Dropsy, Bright's disoases of the Kidneys, Gout Sciatica. 1/3, of all chemists. Post free, 14 stamps. HOLDROYD, MEDICAL HALL, Cleckheatcn.

The Farmers' Part. Mr Lloyd George on the New Policy. IMPORTANT AND FAR-REACHING STEPS. Mr Lloyd George, in his grave speech in the House of Commons on Friday last regarding restricted imports and increase in the production of home-grown foods, outlined a new and highly important agricultural policy. He said: Now I come to the third and most important item, the food tippl)- of the country. Twenty years after the Corn Laws were abolished in this country we produced twice as much wheat as be- fore. Since. then 4,000.000 or 5,000,000 acres of land had gone out of cultivation, and a great part of the agricultural population had emigrated. No doubt the- State showed lamentable indifference to the importance of the agricultural industry-( cheers)— as the very life of the nation. It is a mistake they never again will make. (Cheers.) No civilised country in the world spent less on agriculture or even as little directly or indirectly a;s we did. Between 70. and 80 per cent of our food supplies have been imported each year. .\t the present moment our food stocks are low, alarmingly low. They are lower than they have been iil recollection. That is very largely due to bad harvest. It is not al- together due to submarines. It is essential therefore for the safety, maintenance, and life of the nation that we should put forward every effort to increase production for this year, and do it immediately. The immediate consideration is this year's harvest. It would have been easier to have done that if we had done it some time ago. (Cheers.) But some of the measures we have had to take have been crowded into a few weeks, and I do 1bk that some measure of in- dulgence should he given to my colleague, the Presi- dent of the Board of Agriculture, who has been work- ing under great difficulties—(cheers)—and crowded into six weeks' work, work that ought to have been done two years ago. (Cheers.) There are only a few weeks in which to ow the spring wheat, oats, barley and potatoes. The winter wheat season has gone, and it is urgently necessary that the farmers should be induced to increase the area under cultivation at once, otherwise the nation may have to choose between diminishing its military effort- and that would be a disaster—and under-feeding its population. That is the. choice which Germany has taken. That is a choice we wish to avoid, if we possibly can. in this country. (Cheers.) Lack of Labour. The obs.tacie to inducing the farmer to increase culti. vation is partly lack of labour. In some counties under the voluntary system labourers flocked to the standard. and farmers were left deserted. Some of those were the most important corn-producing farms in this country. There was no system. When the labourer chose to go there was no one to stop him; and there is no doubr the farms were left deserted owing to the zeal and patriotism of the labourerers themselves. (Cheers.) Since the Derby scheme there has been discrimination. and may I say, with regard to the 30,000 men called up out of 60,000 when the tribunals were dispensed with, only 10,000 were taken. Travel across France, and you will find no able-bodied men of military age employed anywhere. All the cul- tivators of the soil are engaged in defending the soil, and there the farmer is dependent almost entirely on men over and not under military age, and women work- ing on the farms, and on substitutes. But the greatest obstacle to their taking this action is the timidity of the farmer when he begins to break up his farm. He has been caught twice with too much arable land-one" in 1880 and once in 1890, both years of agricultural depression. His ssvingvs were absorbed, and in many cases he himself for ye :s was water- logged. There is no memory so tenae: IUS as that of the tiller of the soil, and the furrow in the agricultural mind is still there. Those years have given the British farmer a fright of the plough. It is no use arguing with him. You must give him confidence, otherwise he will refuse to go between the shafts now the plough is our hope. You must cure the farmer of his plough fright, otherwise he will not break up his land. A Minimum Price. I do not believe myself prices are going down imme- diately after the war. I believe the farmer is looking 1 at distorted facts. Germany, after the war, will be a great purchaser, because her land has been let down. and it is the same with all the .land in Europe. It will take years to work it into as good a hardest-raising soil as it was before the devastations of the war. So IHT demand will be greater than ever after the war. Then, there is the demobilisation of the Army and the use of shipping, and all that must mean high pricb for some, time after the war. But you cannot persuade the fanner of that, and it is essential that he should be persuaded, and persuaded in the next few days, and it is no good to argue with him. There is only one way of assuring the farmer, and that is by guaranteeing a minimum price for the crop he Before I come to the actual price we guarantee. I must say there are two or three corollaries to a guaran- teed price. The first is that if the Government guaran- tees a price, wages must also be guaranteed. I do not believe that any farmer looking at the prospects will fail to see that the old wages have gone—and a good thing not only for the labourer but for the farmer. The best farms in a district pay the best wages, and a guarantee of a minimum wage would not, for instance, touch Scotland. There is no doubt that the Scotch farmer i- the be-st in the world. Another fact is that under Mr Neville Chamberlain's scheme a. minimum wage of 25/- has been fixed, and we have decided to take that figure. A wage of 25/- a week will be guaranteed to every able-bodied male between the ages indicated in Mr Neville Chamberlain's speech, and exceptional cases where men were taken on in charity, and who could be dispensed with, will he de- cided under the rough-and-ready machinery set up for the war. The guaranteed wage, of course, is only during the period of the guaranteed price. Another corollary to the guaranteeing of price is that there must be a guarantee that if the State is going to put up a, minimum price it shall not inure to the ad- vantage of any individual or any class of individuals. We must not have the sort of thing that liappened in the Boer War. that when there had been an increase of prices rents were doubled. Fixity of Rents. But when the House of Commons is asked to guaran- te.e prices, it is entitled to a guarantee that rents shall not be raised in consequence of this guarantee fund Tilde are some cases where rents have been raised even in peace an old tenant has been al. lowed to remain for 40 or 50 years at a very low rent. | That is just and fair. In those cases there is not going to be interference. It is obvious the landlord ought to have the right to adjust the rent in consequence of rise in prices which bring better profits to the farmer him. self. We propose that the landlord shall not be al- lowed to raise his rent except with the consent of the Board of Agriculture. Now I come to the powers to be given to the Board of Agriculture of interference with cultivation. It is un- just that a man should be allowed to sit on land that is esential for the production of food and refuse to do any- thing. (Chee-rs.) The Government must have the right through the proper departments to enforce cultivation in these cases. (Cheers.) Next, the question of prices. The price of wheat in 1915 was 52/10 per quarter; 1916. 58/5; and in the last quarter it went up to 68/2. It is now 76/3. A Member: What was it before the war? Mr Lloyd George: 34/11. But let me say this, the price of everything has gone up, and the farmer has had to pav very much higher wages. Oats in 1915 were ?)/ in 1916, 33/5, for the last quarter 38/4, and for the week ending February 17, 47/3. Barley ha. gone up, and potatoes—well, the House knows fairh well about them. (Laughter.) Potato Prices. A Member: Where are they? (Laughter.) Mr Lloyd George: I can assure, the House that I know fairly well. (Cheers and laughter). But let me say a word about that, because there has been a good deal of talk about the price of potatoes. If we could have avoided it we would not have interfere with the price of potatoes at all. The moment you begin to in- terfore you find it is a very difficult thing. If we had not interfered the price would have gone, up to £21) a ton. They have been Old at £ 20 a ton. Were we to allow that to be done? There is a shrrtagtl of potatoes, That has nothing to do with submarines. This is the guarantee we propose to give: We propose in the present year to guarantee for wheat 60/- per quarter—that is the minimum—for 1918 and 1919, ;'5/ for 1920-21-22. 45/ Then the guarantee comes to an end. In the case of oats we guarantee 38-/S for 3361b. That is higher than the minimum price we arranged with Ire- land some months ago, without a minimum wage guar- ant-ee. In 1918-19 the price will be 32/ and for the next three, years 24/ Potatoes we simply propose to guarantee for this coming season it t6 a ton. The only guarantee of a maximum we have given is this, that if the State, commandeers either potatoes or cereals the price will not be fixed without the consent of the Boards of Agriculture in England, Scotland and Ireland, and that therefore there will be an opportunity for consul- tation before the price is fixed. Although it is now very late, the farmers can in- crease, even now, by hundreds of thousands of tons, the food of this country this year, and thus they can help to defeat the grimmest menace that has ejer threatened this country. (Cheers.) I do not believe they will fail us. (Hear, hear.)

*Theee columns are freely open to the ventilation of any matter of public interest, local or general. Offensive personalities or abusive epithets are, however, rigidly excluded. Every communication must be duly and properly authenticated. In cases where anonymity is desired, the writer must privately and confidentially furnish the Editor with his name and address, as a guarantee of good faith. The Editor cannot undertake to return any rejected communication. Letters received on the Saturday preceding the week of publication are more likely to be in- serted than those arriving later.

ASTONISHING MEMORY. bir,-There was an entertainment given at Salem Bap- tist Chapel, Hay, on Shrove Tuesday. One item of the programme was of wonderul interest—not only to the persons there present, but as a concrete example of the way history, ballads and legends were handed down the ages, when writers were few, and writing materials of parchment, etc., scarce. Fanny Price, of Hay, born October 4th, 1834, when she was 7 or 8 years of age, was orally taught a poem of 72 verses called "The Gospel Chariot." She never saw a printed, or any other copy of the verses. On Shrove Tuesday 1917, Fanny Price, now Mrs James Ammonds, in her 8rd year, recited with the greatest fluency the 72 verses of the piece she had been taught about 76 years ago—and she has had no copy from which to refresh her memory. About four years ago Mrs Ammond's son in America wrote to his mother and asked her to get some one to write out "The Gospel Chariot" from her dictation. This was done fortunately before the writing was sent to Amer-, ica, I saw it, and made a copy for myself, of which Mrs Ammonds was not aware, and this is how I am able to vouch for the astonishing accuracy of her memory. I don't think she deviated one word from the copy I made of her dictation of the verses to her neighbour about the year 1913. It is curious in this twentieth century to come across this living confirmation of the way history, poetry and literature generally was trans- mitted from generation to generation when the world was young. Yours, etc.. Tre'r Gelli. Hay, Feb. 21. 1917. R. M. BROAP MORGAN.

GIVE THE FOOD PROVIDER A CHANCE. Sir,—Yesterday I read two conflicting statements. In one paper the writer says unless plenty of land is tilled we shall probably have a famine. Farm work cannot be done without men who can manage horses, and in hilly Wales ploughing is hard work, and cannot be done by a novice. In another paper giving a report- of a county tribunal, one would think some of the members had temporarily parted with their common sense, as we read of a. grudgingly given exemption till 1st Mav to the only son of an old man of 78. In fact more than one old man had to sue for the help of the boy he had brought up, who is doing work of most vital national importance. One farmer of 73 being so nervous, he could not remember his correct age. Now these old men have worked hard all their lives, often with very little return, just enough in many cases to bring up their families, on the plainest food and clothing; but work must be done bpth on Sundays and week-days, and now if the son goes, ^how can he raise extra food? In one of to-day's papers, we are told "food comes only second to men and munitions!" I wonder what men and muni- tions we should have unless food came a good first? And what substitute can be as good as the boy who knows the work at home, not to mention the fact that a stranger would have to be paid very high wages these days. There are still a good many men in uncertified occupations—offices, shops, breweries, etc., who ought to respond to their country's call, before we think of taking the sons of widows and old men who are tr.ing to keep the wolf of starvation from our doors." We may picture to ourselves their feelings, with the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. No encourage- ment is given to cultivators of the land, when exempt, ion is only doled out bit by bit. How can a farm r prepare his land when he never knows the day his c v man will be called away? The Minister of Agricult • knows this, but often tribunals forget it; not alw;, some tribunals understand. In most other oecupati, a certain duty can be done on a certain day, but fann- ing is dependent on the weather. Last spring the sea- son was wet, this will probably he backward owing to the continued frost. If the food the country needs is to be grown, there must be men left on the farms to do the work. Yours, etc.. n_, ROOIEFRO.N.

DRINK AND THE WAR. Sir,-Your correspondent "D. Rees," of Brynllvs. ap- pears to think that he has. by twisting my statement-, made out a case for total abstinence as the end, and for Prohibition as a means to ensure that end. If he doe- so. think then -lie again is hopelessly in the wrong. s Tie is wrong also in the second place if he thinks for a moment that those, who, like myself, believe that alcoholic drink, taken in moderation is food for the system, object to being treated to that measure of re- striction which the, Government in its wisdom decider is necessary in the interest of the nation at this critical time; and, in the third place he is criminally in the wrong when he assists in the exploiting of the war to force upon the people of the country views and schemes which he knows would never be tolerated in normal times. Your correspondent may, among other teetotal extremists, sneer at the idea of any danger in tamper- ing unduly with the liberty of the citizen, but I warn him, in all gravity and seriousness, that he will find lurking here a very real danger. What are we at war for to-day? Is it not for that great birthright of free- dom, handed down to us by our forefathers, and which the term Britisher looks upon as sacred, and for which he, is prepared to sacrifice his all? I cannot believe that any friend of mine can ever have said that "the people of England would rather lose the war i in do without their beer," but, what I do believe is it would be criminal to continue the great sacrifices w ■ are making to-day if at the end of it all this country and its people were to be deprived of its liberty and governed by the fanatics of the country. In a phrase, let me make it clear, that what we do object to is. not the taking away of our glass of beer, if this is necessary, but, that it should be done at the. bidding of a political body of men which has never, since the truce was es- tablished, made any attempt to observe it. Yours, etc.. CnlRo.

Sir,—Will you allow me to state a few facts collected from reliable sources. "Drink has destroyed as many live's during the war as submarines, and absorbed as much tonnage. The liquor bill for 1916 will be up bv another £ 18,000,000, and will exceed £ 200,000,000. Since the war began, more than t450,000,000 will have been spent in alcoholic drinks. Few, even among those who in the past have opposed Temperance reform, would be inclined to deny that the immense sums swallowed vear- ly by the trade represent a waste of national power. How far, at a time when the duty of economy is being enforced from the house-tops, can such a waste be al- lowed to continue uncheckedr Yet the manufacture of beer is a direct as well as a vast indirect waste of bread. Is it reasonable to call upon the individual to restrict his consumption of bread, and yet permit an industry to diminish the available supplies uncontrol- led ?" "Alcohol can only be made by the destruction of starch and sugar, the two great energising foods of the human race. The breweries and distilj?rie,? are there- fore nothinK more and nothing less than destroyers of food. The plain fact about drink and foed L that since the war began we could have had three a.nd a half millions mere tons of food in this eountrv if there had been no drink trade. (Last year 65,000,000 bushel- of grain were used in the drink trade). The drink trade uses directly the labour of 500,000 workers; one and a. half million tons of coal; and a million acres of land. In Kent, 30.000 acres of the best land in the country are devoted to growing hops to make beer. Since the war started, 50,000.000 tons of stuff have had to he carried by road and rail to keep the drink trade going." Who can deny that breweries and distilleries are a source of deterioration in every wav. and' are Productive of neither food nor raiment? A clergyman who did not believe in total abstinence was once asked to take the chair at a temperance lecture. On rising to give his operiins address he remarked that though tlw teetotalers were a. very respectable and 'well.mean- ing people, he had never seen his way to join them. Meanwhile a drunken man had staggered into the room and on hearing the reverend gentleman's last words, he cried out. "Hurrah, the clergyman's on our side!" The chairman stood till for a minute, and then said. "Well John, I never saw it in that light before, that is the best argument I have ever heard. From this time forth I haIl not be on the drunkard's side, but on the side of the Temperance Cause. If I only take a few glasses during the year I shall be on the drunkard's side." 'Cvmro' would do well to quit the drunkard's side also. He need not think that a good and able man like Air Llcyd George is too busy to pay attention to one of the greatest evils of our country. I hope he mav be abl^ to abolish the production of drink, and bring about thf greatest reform for our Island. Yours, etc., A VOICK FROM w.tl LS.

Sir.—Reply ing to a few statements in some of vour re- cent issued regarding the prohibition question may I ask, does prohibition prohibit? Of course not. there isn't a law I on our statute books that prohibits. We have law, against murder, burglary, arson and rape, but they do I not prohibit. A law will prohibit to a certain extent, provided we have authorities to enforce it. We can make a law against liquor prohibit as much as any law prohibits. Mention was abo made that the liquor traf- fic was entitled to the same just treatment as any other legitimate traffic. I think not; because the liquor traf- fic is a curse, God himself having pronounced his woe upon it; because no drunkard.can enter heaven, and the saloon makes drunkards; because the State has no right to legalise, foster, or receive revenue from that which sends men to perdition. Then why should we compen- sate the liquor people' The Government has a right to condemn property in the interests of the people. I should like to give a few figures pertaining to the State of Kansas, U.S.A., which otters the strongest and most convincing proof of the widespread benefits of a saloon- less State. Compare Kansas annua! expenditure of $1.25. per capita for liquor with$21.00 per capita average for saloon state. Forty-eight counties did not send a single criminal t-c the penitentiary in 1915. or 87 counties did not send a patient to the insane asylum, 53 counties were without a prisoner in their jails, and 83 counties without a pauper. There are more than a dozen counties in Kansas in which no jury has been called to try a criminal case in the last ten years. Kansas has the lowest death rate in the world and the lowest percentage of illiteracy in the U.S.A. The liquor traffic is a curse, and the only remedy is prohibition. Wherever it has been tried it ha" proved a .success. Canada has adopted it by huge majorities, until every province from the Atlantic to the Pacific is dry. with the exception of a portion of Quebec. Col. H. J. Grasett, chief of Toronto police, said:—"Since prohi- bition has been enforced Toronto has become a changed city. The police stations are almost empty. From Sep- tember 15th last year the arrests from drunkenness to- tailed 1,059, while, in the same month this year, it had decreased to 214. Toronto is the largest English-speak- ing dry city in the British Empire. Canada has given over .400,000 of her best fellow s to uphold the honour of I the British Empire, and will give thousands more. She i has banished "booze" chiefly for their sakes, that they may be physically fit to do their duty in this terrible war. Yet. when they arrive in the motherland, they find her clinging tenaL'i()il"I'" to this social evil of drink. After Britain's Ailie- have renounced it as a hindrance to their objects in this struggle. Why, this mockery. that in fighting for freedom and liberty, that the sons of Britain should have to face this curse, which saps the manhood of the nation and deteriorat-c-s its fighting abilities. Recently an appeal was made to the British Cabinet, signed by 1.000 representatives of the lira in power of the nation, to the effect that the power exerted by alcohol cut through the efficiency of tl1.- nation—it weakens our fighting forces and must length- en the war. Mr M. Bark, the Russian Minister of Fin- ance. with whom Mr Llcyd George conferred, said that, since Yodb had been proliibited. the output of Russian workmen had increased from 30 to 50 per cent. Prohibition may seem a great sacrifice to many, but no sacrifice is too great when freedom and honour are at take and when the brave boy are gh ing tin it- lives in the battlefields. It is our duty that we place no hind- ranee in the way of our fighting forces, that they may effectively throw their whole strength against the • enemy. There is no doubt that the liquor question was one of the reason- which brought about the collapse of the late Cabinet, the failtirt- to recognise this hind- ) rancein the way of our fighting force*, and that they mav who had the courage of his convictions to confess that i the enemy was within the nation's own camp has hl.Pl1 called to lead the way and aY" his nation in time of j peril. He saw what other- -aw, that the liquor traffic must be restricted or prohibited, if the cause of the j Allies should triumph. I believe Britain has found her j man—"the man of the hour." He finds a nation stand- ing on the parting of the ways. On one hand, ineffi- j briety. efficiency and victory, and, on the other, ineffi- ciency and defeat. The task of the new Premier is al- most overwhelming, but. with the support of a nation freed from all hindranoas and the abolition of the greatest of them, the sturdy Welshman from the hills of Wales will not falter, but will bring England from the mighty conflict a better and a nobler nation. As to Alberta's prohbition success, the result of pro- hibition was to the effect that in six of the largest towns, during the last six months .of the year, 1915, there were 1.159 arrests for drunkenness, whilst, during the same months in the year 1916, under the prohibition law, there were 155 arrests, representing a decrease of 1.004. or 87 per cent. Yours, &c.. Warna, Alherta, Canaa TOM M. WILLIAMS. Warner. Alberta, Catiadii, Jan. 30'17.

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