NAWSA GENERAL CORRESPONDENCE BAscom, Rose 253 CONCORD STREET FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS Dec 6:48, Dear Miss Blackwell, as usual I enjoy your Christmas card, My mother used to revere Lucy Stone and like her worked for the vote for women I often wonder how she would feel today about it to see how women use the ballot for liquor etc. I am inclosing some of my letters which I have been sending out for about twenty years, I am almost 87, and was born in Civil War days, our home was called the abolition Tavern because my parents were so strong on that subject. Our trees were all girdled one night because of their stand on liquor. My grandfather cast the only ticket for abolition in his county. My husband was often kept home from school because there were runaway slaves in the house and they were afraid he would inadvertently tell it. His father was threatened if he held an antislavery prayer meeting but he held it and nothing violent happened. May God bring peace to the world, Sincerely Rose Bascom Alice Storm BLackwell 1010 Mass Ave. Cambridge, Mass. Dear Miss Storie: Let me urge you to get to a copy of LIFE, Jan. 24 and turn to the Happy (1934 0r 5?) drinkers on pages 10, 11, 12, and 13. They will explain better than words that President Roosevelt is still "100 per cent for repeal"; why we as a nation are in the distillery business; why our Secretary of the Interior, Ickes, is president of that organization; why our country is being flooded with rum that can be labelled "our own make"--50,000 cases in a shipment; why this administration is issuing licenses for the sale of alcoholic beverages in dry states; why so many dry states go wet in spite of majority votes to be dry, when we were promised "dry states will be protected"; why the traffic had the assurance and influence to introduce and slip through the House a bill permitting them to send samples of liquor through the U.S. mail. Conditions all over the country, far outweigh all the good President Roosevelt has done or ever can do. These pictures are my excuse for insisting that responsibility for these conditions be placed where they belong--with our President. Apparently America is rising no higher than its head--President Roosevelt and his advisers. In times like these, no matter what one's political affiliations, I am sure you will agree sober minds are needed in Washington. Truly yours, Mrs. Rose E. Upton Bascom Looking back over the years. ALCOHOLISM IS A DISEASE I am told. I agree. What then? Treat it as we treat other diseases. Find the cause and remove it. Where is typhoid fever? Gone. Cause?...Polluted drinking water. A case of typhoid is rare and a death from typhoid even rarer. Personal liberty is taboo in a case of small pox, also in diptheria, scarlet fever, measles, whooping cough, and infantile paralysis. All germ diseases and a strict prohibition is placed about the home and the person of the sufferer for the protection of the public even in a case of mild and usually harmless chicken pox. What would be the attitude of the public if it were found some one was licensing the sale of these germs? Yet that is what the present administration in Washington is doing in the case of alcohol - the known and only cause of alcoholism and collects annually 700,000,000 from these licenses. And that in America! I can remember when tuberculosis was by no means understood. None of the restrictions of today now so common, were even thought of. It may seem almost incredible but I knew of one family where one out of nine children lived to grow up. All eight simply faded, drooped, and died of that dread disease. Apparent no help for the one attacked by tuberculosis. Now after years of research, time and money lavishly spent, some droop and die in spite of care given them, hospitals established at great expense for the care of such, never lacking for patients, shall we remove restrictions and let the patients enjoy their personal liberty if they so choose, scattering the seeds of death down to the end? None of these diseases breed crime. No jails are crowded with them, no auto fatalities are charged to their account, nor do they cause that dread disease---syphilis, but alcohol does. "The more alcohol the more the more infectious deseases. The more alcohol, the more syphilis---the more syphilis the more mental diseases." Effects of Alcohol issued by the New York State Liquor Authority. Page 20. We need these facts dinned into us continually. We repealed the 18th Amendment, our national safe-guard against alcoholism because it was not enforced 100 per cent. Are we any better off with restrictions removed? Do we have less drunkenness, fewer auto fatalities, less crime, less child abuse, less taxes, fewer police, and jails emptier? The lad who was asked by he didn't wipe his nose gae as the reason: "Tain't no use. Twon't stayed wiped," but all must agree that the nose at least looks better if the owner persists in "wipin", now doesn't it? That is the prohibitionist's excuse for everlastingly urging the prohibition of the manufacture, transportation and sale of the one and only cause of alcoholism--alcohol. Alcoholism and drunkenness may not be entirely wiped out just as disease-producing germs still persist. But the public is far safer with these prohibitions. With them as with alcohol, it is better to keep a "wipin". Rose Upton Bascom Bascom Looking back over the years. OUR RUSSIAN THISTLE the liquor traffic. So like it in every way. The seeds came unnoticed among other seeds brought by emigrants, seeds they might not find in untried America. In early spring, if you did not know what it was or the mischief it would do, you welcomed those patches of soft, tender, delicate, tiny sprigs of green. And weren’t we assured constantly all liquors were food and drink? Harmless, beneficial and beneficent. Now follow me. The rains - public opinion - might be delayed or prove inadequate, but this thistle developed by leaps and bounds. Amazing how it could thrive when grain would remain at a standstill. Do I need to call attention to the growth of the traffic in these few years of repeal due to lack of public opinion against it? At a certain stage of its growth, in a pinch, it was sometimes cut for feed - revenue but it always proved a poor excuse. The traffic spent $95,000,000 for advertising in the first five years of repeal, and got back $13,250,000,000. Mighty little nourishment for the public there. Poor feed I would call it. I have seen this thistle take possession of a field of 160 acres so completely there would be but a pitifully few shocks of grain in a green waste of thistles. You have only to look around you to find the same is true of the traffic. A sickening sight. Our thistle has taken possession of our people including even our soldiers and sailors. Then when ripe - legalized - how a single plant will roll along scattering its seeds, defying any obstacle (law) in its path. One I caught measured 32 feet in circumference. Our liquor bill for 1940 alone $4,500,000,000. A field grown over with this thistle was a headache for any farmer. A tangled woody mass when ripe, perhaps five inches thick, that must be cleared before the field could be seeded to a crop that would yield food, shelter and creature comforts. The same for us and all because our thistle got the start through lack of public opinion. The story was vastly different when rains - public opinion - were abundant. Let the grain get the start, and the thistle might be there, but couldn’t make any headway in the shade of the luxuriant grain. I’ve seen those same acres covered with grain so thick and sturdy that a hat thrown on it could not fall to the ground. 40 bushels of wheat to the acre in that field that was once a mat of thorns, for the thistle lives up to its name. You don’t remember the time, not so long ago, when public opinion was so strong against the traffic that in some localities jails were sold. Not needed. You question that? How far back can you remember? I grew up in a town of 5,000 with 35 wide open saloons and a brewery. I lived to see public opinion clear out every saloon and brewery in the whole of Mecosta County, Michigan. I visited New York City in 1888 when every boat, large or small, had a bar. I visited there in 1922 when every boat, even of foreign registry, had to seal its stock of liquors when in an American port. Public opinion did that. The same public opinion cleared out the beer joints you could smell before you came to them that lined the way to lake steamers in Buffalo, N.Y. Chicago’s Clark Street, with its half mile of saloons, gambling hells, dance halls and brothels, made it unsafe to be on that street after dusk unaccompanied. I visited all those places and lived in Chicago after the coming of the 18th amendment. I can corroborate Mary Balcom, Ph.D.’s statement, “I was teaching (1922-1939) in a Chicago High School, among Bohemians, Poles, Russians, etc. During the entire prohibition era I did not see one drunken person.” “Where State and Madison cross is called the densest streets in the world. During that time I saw just one person who might have been under the influence of liquor. Those buildings on Clark Street filled with legitimate business. That was in the ‘Golden period of American life’, as one writer termed it; schools crowded with children who did not then have to work.” “Last five (wet) years average attendance 257,030 per year; first five (dry) years 737,670”- (U.S. Office of Education); our national debt sharply reduced; savings accounts mounted to an all time high; people invested in life insurance, home loans, bonds, etc. The reason? During those halcyon years we were not investing $2,500,000,000 and more a year in liquors but in personal comforts and luxuries. Public opinion did that and lack of public opinion has produced a thick, prickly mass of trouble for every man, woman and child in America. Mrs. Rose Upton Bascom. "ADD THIM UP YERSILF, THIN." He was a new arrival from the owld sod. (My grandfather was born in Dublin). Sent to read the thermometer, he brought back the alarming information that it stood at 160. Sent back to read it again, he brought the thermometer and advised, "Add thim up yersilf, thin". My advice as you read the enormous cost of alcoholic beverages through these years of repeal is the same. "Add them up yourself, then" and see what a miserably poor bargain we made. Early in repeal, President Roosevelt suggested building 5,000 hospitals throughout the nation. "Dry states will be protected", you recall. But with the repeal of the 18th amendment the whole nation was free territory to the traffic, from Alaska to Porto Rico, and the need of numerous hospitals was apparent as the traffic reaped its usual harvest of wretchedness and misery, evident on every hand. Government report of the cost of alcoholic beverages for 1936 was $3,500,000,000. With this fabulous sum I went shopping on paper to learn just what could have been added to the comfort of the nation, instead of the liquor barons. As the years go by and votes are cast, wouldn't it be well to review this shopping list? No jails needed. Note that. With this amount -- $3,500,000,000 in 1936, we could have Built 100,000 houses at $2,500 each $250,000,000 Furnished the same at $500 each. These within the reach of many a laboring man 50,000,000 Aided 50,000 college students with $300 each 15,000,000 Built 480 high schools at 30,000 14,400,000 Equipped the same at $5,000 each 4,400,000 Employed 1,000 extra teachers at $1,500 each 1,500,000 Relieved the taxpayer of the support of 1,000,000 unemployed at $50.00 a month each 500,000,000 Given needy children (10,000,000) each $25.00 worth of clothes 250,000,000 To wage war on bootleggers, blind pigs and dope peddlers 100,000,000 Spent $100 each for the comfort of 1,000,000 crippled children 1,000,000,000 Given 5,000,000 needy children each a vacation to cost $25.00 each 100,000,000 Given 5,000,000 needy mothers $100 each for special care 500,000,000 Kept for annual "banish slum" program 100,000,000 Brought 500,000 new cars to replace or increase equipment 350,000,000 Paid interest on farm and home mortgages 60,000,000 and have left for seed loans 6,000,000 $3,300,000,000 I leave it to you to figure up the vast possibilities this sum could have added to legitimate business spent as suggested. "Add thim up yersilf". It is too much for me, I confess. In my estimate, I found $1,415,000,000 left with which to "balance the budget". At the same rate our national debt could be reduced by $21,225,000,000, and not by taxes either. Wouldn't that lower income taxes? I am reminded right here of the death of a very disagreeable citizen, so the story goes. Asked what was the complaint? the reply was "No complaint. Everybody satisfied." Same here with the traffic dead. Mrs. Rose Upton Bascom. [*By 1948 Repeal had put $60,579,029,908 into the pockets of the traffic. (The foundation say .53 N. Jackson Blvd. Chicago, Ill.*] Looking Back Over The Years. "GET THEM AND GET THEM YOUNG" English brewers advised the "trade". Isn't that the gist of this diabolical scheme Brewers Digest in May 1941 sent out, from which I quote. "Here is the chance (our chance, it might truthfully have read) for brewers to cultivate a taste for beer in millions of young men who will be the largest beer consuming portion of our population." Who would even have dreamed as they read the humane promises if repeal carried, that in a few years (1934-1941) the traffic would have felt safe to give that message to the general public? Where were the moral and Christian forces of the United States when that plan was made public and went by almost without notice? DRUGGED. The drug? MONEY. Yes, MONEY. The traffic would pay the license, and the license would pay the taxes. SEE? Now see how well their plans worked out. No more unemployment. Boston added 300 police to the force. Women and girls found employment as bar maids. Employment for millions we were told. True. Thousands in a year have been killed in auto accidents since repeal. In fact, 378,094 met death in auto accidents between 1933 and 1941. (National Safety Council). Every death gave employment to doctors, nurses, hospitals, undertakers. Every death meant a coffin, grave diggers, funeral homes, police to investigate the accident, employment even for lawyers and ministers. Millions found employment caring for the millions who have been injured in auto accidents by drunken drivers. What an army of employees! Great. But does America expect to thrive with this kind of employment? Repeal was to bring the end of crime. Let's not forget that. Our daily papers report, however, no shrinkage in that line. Are we any better off under repeal mentally, physically, morally or financially? Just when or how are we to emerge from this dense moral fog? It certainly will take courage, self sacrifice, loss of popularity so dear to many, even greater for many than love of our native land. What did America give in exchange for the ease repeal was to give? The respect of the nations of the world as our drunken soldiers staggered and caroused in foreign lands. "I have heard more profanity, vulgar and lewd language, God's name blasphemed by American soldiers in India in two months than I have heard in India in eighteen years of missionary service." Rev. August A. Berg, Baptist Missionary, Jarg Jur, India. I have lived the life of the temperance movement in America since 1873. I was 11 years old then. Conditions were no better then than they are today. Then, a few brave souls, five women, my mother one of them invaded the saloons of Decatur, Michigan, holding prayer meetings. That took supreme courage, but that same spirit of resistance spread and the saloons had to go. In 1947, a state committee, at a cost of $5,000, found repeal had cost Massachusetts $61,000,000 to care for the wreckage - 1,500 children wards of Boston from homes wrecked by alcohol - a part of the wreckage paid for by your taxes and "a tax on beer will pay the taxes". You remember. And Massachusetts received from licenses thru that same period $13,439,266.79. I remember enough of my geometry to know that parallel lines never meet. At this rate will license money and the cost of the wreckage caused by alcohol ever meet in Prosperity? Mrs. Rose Upton Bascom. [*Bascom*] SNAPSHOTS ROUND THE WORLD In a Los Angeles Times some time ago I read of a ruler in ancient China who while he permitted his subjects to smoke opium refused to take revenue from its sale because of its awful effect on his people. That from a so-called "heathen Chinee". But America, the beautiful, in 1932 chose to fatten on the destruction of her citizens who drink her alcoholic beverages, revenue sometimes amounting to $900,000,000 a year, forgetting that "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches and loving favor than silver and gold." (Prov.22,i.) The whole world is bending over in expectation to see what we are going to do with prohibition. If we should fail it would set back the clock of moral progress 50 to 100 years. We must not fail." (E. Stanley Jones in The Christ of the Indian Road.) "What can you say of the American army in India?" Ralph Robert Keithahn, a missionary for many years in India (Advance, July 1945), was asked. "They like them because they are democratic in their way and willing to turn their hands to physical labor. On the other hand, they have been shocked by the open drunkenness and carousing", was Mr. Keithahn's reply. "Our forces in India are supplied with mobile breweries". (Minneapolis Brewing Co.) "There is little to be wondered at that India hesitates about our civilization, great and beautiful as it is in certain lines and weak and ugly in other lines." (E. Stanley Jones). As our drunken, rioting American soldiers demonstrate. For with all her failings, India's 400,000,000 abhor drink. "Thus does our evangelistic work in the Orient depend on conditions at home." (E. Stanley Jones). 40,000,000 drinkers, 800,000 drunkards and 2,000,000 nearing that goal in 1943. (Saturday Evening Post, May 26, 1943.) Both Mr. Jones and Mr. Keithahn went to India as missionaries when America was under the 18th amendment. Returning with repeal in full swing, naturally they are appalled with conditions found on every hand. "Americans, especially, have been very much liked in Italy for their cordiality and spontaneity. Their childishness and innocence in contrast to the false brilliancy and self-styled cleverness of so many of my countrymen, was delightful. Pity they drank too much." (G.A. Borgese, Prof. University of Chicago ) - TIME, January 1946. China of today put us to shame when February 8, 1945, the Ministry of Food petitioned the government for a ban on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic beverages which would conserve grain for food. (Union Signal). "America is drugging herself with drink and the church seems content to have it so." (Ralph Robert Keithahn, Advance, January 1946). "Who are these natives we so lightly refer to as savages?, J. Norman Lodge, Associated Press War Correspondent in the Solomon Islands, asks in a recent issue of Chicago American League magazine. To stress his point he quoted a notice posted in an American mess hall for United States soldiers. "American soldiers are requested to be a little more careful in their choice of language, especially when natives are assisting them in unloading ships, truck and erecting abodes. American missionaries spent many years among us and taught us the use of clean speech. Every day, however, American soldiers use bad words, and the good work your missionaries did in our midst is being undermined by your careless profanity." (This was signed by a talking chief of the Polynesian tribe of Guadalcanal. Are these pictures any that America will cherish? How could we have been so blinded? Can we offer better amends to the world than to again Prohibit the manufacture, trans- portation and sale of alcoholic beverages. We fought and won World War I, but that did not stop the Germans from starting another war. We have won that second war and from all accounts Germany will stay put, we hope Let's use the same tactics toward the traffic. It took "blood and sweat and tears" in our first round with the liquor industry. Let's do it again while we have daily examples of the effect of alcohol on our nation and people. Mrs. Rose Upton Bascom. Transcribed and reviewed by contributors participating in the By The People project at crowd.loc.gov.