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stouffville november 25th 1926 advertisement when people like these endorse government control justifying their stand by such sound reasons the proposal must possess real merit they cannot all be wrong let their judgments help you in forming yours sir john aird president canadian bank of commerce toronto stress has been laid by prohibitionists upon the evil effect of liquor upon young people and the claim is made that they will consume more liquor under the conditions proposed by mr ferguson than under the ota if the aim of the prohibltiouista is to strengthen the moral fibre of our youth then in my opinion they are defeating their own object most of the young people whom i have had under me have occupied positions of trust and have naturally been subjected to temptation i have always found that to train a man to resist tempta tion worked out much more satisfactorily for all concerned than to try to devise elaborate means to remove the temptation from him sir alan aylesworth toronto mr v have been voting now for more than fifty years in parliamentary elections and i have never given a conservative vote but i am going to do so this year because 1 think that any measure of prohibition hy law as opposed to prohibition by education is the very reverse of what i have always considered were the true principles of liberalism as well might one try to advance the interest of religion or of christian- uy by legislation that would compel the people to go to church professor alfred baker university of toronto the ota has proved a failure conceived though it was with the best intentions and administered by attorneysgeneral who earnestly desired its success it has not stopped the use of liquor there has grown a contempt for the law it has created a class of bootleggers who have been enriched beyond the dreams of avarice surely it is time to make a change v hon r b hanetl kc mp exminister of finance calgary alberta not only has the alberta act been declared to be legally valid but in practice it does control the liquor traffic in that province the principal w l grant upper canada college toronto ab a total abstainer of twentyfive years standing as one who loves the young men of canada and whose life is spent in doing his best for them i am glad to align myself with canon cody sir thomas whit and sir john wlllison in support of the prime minister in his fight against the evils of intemperance and lawlessness david griffith greening wire works hamilton i travel twice every year through the whole of canada i know the extent of the bootlegging evil in hamilton i do not know that it can be worse in any other part of the province in the west you cannot hear any complaint with present conditions in ontario it is impossible to get away from expressed ridicule and disrespect for the ota mr f barry hayes pres toronto carpet mfg co toronto my impression of prohibition is that whereas the country gener ally thought it would be very much to its interests it has only resulted in making many of our citizens hypocrites and lawbreakers this is having a very bad effect generally drinking in our cities and larger towns has certainly increased to an alarming extent i am not a wet but i am not in favor of repressive legislation the idea of making people good by statute is a delusion rev father c j killeen belleville ont 9 i view with a great deal of concern the increase in lawlessness and crime that prohibition has engendered it leads to a spirit of dis trust it is no use saying to the people you cannot have liquor those who want it will get it fiftyone percent of the people cannot impose their will on the other fortynine per cent rev john lyons ma church of england rector after studying the situation i have become convinced that pre mier fergusons policy is the best solution yet placed before the people of ontario to adequately deal with the liquor problem p d rots publisher ottawa journal ottawa best proof of what can be done is what has been done and in the language of one of the judges of the appellate division of the supreme ven arcluleacon mackintosh dundas unt court of the province in which i reside 1 think the present liquor you never heard of the prohibitionists of control act a good and sound one and has done more in the direction of temperance than any law we hitherto have had ltcol arthur l bishop st catharines ont no good can come from arbitrary and hysterical measures the ota has proved unforceable even under two such dry attorneys- general as mr nickle and mr kaney and where they nave failed no one olio will succeed we are facing facts not theories i think government control should bo given a fair trial in ontario as it has been in the west and i believe the result will be equally satisfactory col herbert a bruce md lrcp toronto it is not a question of dry or wet it is a question of another temperance act against one that has been tried and found wanting i consider mr fergusons proposal reasonable and enforceable and therefore a great advance on the old act as such it should have the support of every one sincerely interested in furthering the temperance causo and reducing the evils of drunkenness police magistrate c h burgess peel county my view of the matter is that the sale of liquor is out of control and is running wild under the ota and it is necessary to try to bring it under control again i ker father j e burke csp st peters roman catholic church toronto it the ota has been no blessing during the years it has beon on our statute books the youth of ontario with singular and beautiful exceptions has gone back the terrifying increase in liquor j amongst our boys and girls even of tenderyears the consequent deterioration of moral standards and conduct the curse of the boot legger the conquest by strong liquor of our parents our homes our clubs our students our gatherings have been begotten and thrived tinder the sway of prohibition mr l n byrns former treasurer sarnia prohibition union sarnia ont there are two questions before the electors in this campaign 1 will we continue government control under the ontario temper ance act as we have had it for the last few years whereby any person wanting liquor can buy all he likes from the bootlegger or 2 will we have it controlled so that a person can only buy it through a govern ment commission house where a person has got to have a permit to buy it and then only a certain quantity at a time i am not a staunch conservative i have voted liberal when i deemed it wise but will not this time col r h a carman belleville ont i am convinced the people have seen enough to lead them to decide they would rather have the distribution of liquor by government regulation than by the unscrupulous bootlegger hon and reverend ii j cody lld dd toronto thcgreat achievements of the control plan in my estimation consist of the following in the first place people were no longer thinking and talking incessantly about getting a drink in the second place there was an overwhelming public opinion behind the enforce ment of the act where in the past public opinion had been strongly divided and illegal traffic had flourished because resorted to by a con siderable section of the public in the third place bootlegging on o large scale was enormously diminished draper dobie toronto having voted liberal in the last general election and dry in the first two referendums why have i decided to vole for premier fer gusons government and policy it is because ontario wants more business and less taxes more honesty and less deceitfulncss more breadth of education and loss narrowness of parochialism more self- respect and less fear jp j fair kingston ont j when the late principal grant was at queens university he convinced mo as probably no other man could of the pernicious evils of prohibition those like myself who remember principal grant will agree with me when i speak of his farseeing vision his profound scholarship and his true appreciation of human values i believe pro hibition is the blackest spot on the wholo history of the province of ontario clara c field cobourg ont speaking from a womans standpoint i fear very much the result our present system of controlling the liquor question will have on the character of our young people who are growing up in an atmosphcro of reckless lawbreaking and deceitful living will it bo possible for them to have thoso feelings of patriotism they should have if they feel a contempt for the laws of their country i feel i can certainly endorse mr fergusons policy as a sincere endeavor to solve a per plexing problem sir joseph flavclle bart toronto if the responsibility were mine i would not choose government control as now stated as a reform for existing evils i believe however there is a weight of public opinion which demands a change in the existing law and which will not bo set asido by the present hesitating body of public opinion for its enforcement therefore with the elim ination of the legal sale of liquors in public houses of entertainment i accept the sale of liquors through government agencies only under a system of pormits as probably the best obtainable change enforclblo under tho existing state of public opinion get t w goodwill presbyterian church cobourg ont j i bellovo tho ota to bo a failure but in this election campaign i regard the act not as a political issue but a moral issue not a question of lack of enforcement but rather of impossibility of enforce- ment i find conditions under tho ontario temperance act to be much worso than they were before i believe that premier ferguson is maklnr a sincere and studied effort to secure a law that will be observed and one that can bo enforced of the provinces which have government control asking for a change to what we call a pro hibition law it shows that they are satisfied with the law and feel that it is useless to ask for a change j c makins kc stratford on in a very large percentage of the cases in my experience con tested in court in these districts waterloo county and windsor bor der perjury has been committed this is one feature that our so- called temperance friends seem to overlook in this respect the cure seems worse than the disease rev w g martin pilgrim united church brantford ont 3 no man unless he is blind can say with sincerity that the ota as a prohibition measure has been the success we hoped and believed it would be when it became law the more i consider the question the more convinced i am that the bringing about of prohibition an ideal towards which we are all striving and to which we are committed as men and women eager for the best moral interest of the community and of the state is a process of education it is the responsibility of the home the school and the church d l mccarthy kc toronto 9 the ontario temperance act has undoubtedly abolished the bar but unfortunately instead of having one bar in a hotel we now have rooms in hotels converted into private bars c g mcghie vicepresident welland vclo mfg co st catharines ont not only labor but the country as awhqle will be better under government control i strongly endorse the ferguson policy maiorgeneral the hon s c mewburn hamilton ont i unhesitatingly state that in my opinion the policy of tho govern ment control of liquor as it is now stated by the prime minister is sound and in the best interest of all the people of the province i have lately beon in the provinces of manitoba saskatchewan alberta and british columbia this is what i have learned the people who were strongly in favor of prohibition will without any qualification whatever say now that sine government control of liquor has come into force they would never for one moment go back upon their present legislation controller william morrison hamilton ont there is more alcohol drunk in hamilton now than at any time in the citys history william mulock kc toronto i have no hesitation in telling the people of ontario that i favor government control in preference to the ota and that i will support the policy of the ferguson government mrs emily murphy janey canuck police magistrate edmonton alberta before government control became the law of alberta i opposed it vigorously both on the platform and by my pen i was fearful that our last state would be worse than our first it seemed only logical that if the restrictions were removed there would be more drunkenness and crime no living person could persuade mo to the contrary after a period of several years in which i have been called upon to enforce the present liquor control act both as a city and provincial magistrate i am bound to acknowledge that my fears were largoly unfounded there was not even a rush of inebriety as i had predicted the people showing a remarkable degree of restraint the condition was steadily improved again i say not fromany degree of spiritual enrichment on the part of our people but because the law was well conceived and is being well enforced dr g j muagrove temperance candidate in 1919 niagara falls ont before 1910 we had 15 bars and jlquor stores in niagara falls now wi have double that number of bootleggers the provincial police and the license inypectors have been very active in endeavoring to enforce the ontario temperanco act but it is really impossible to do so i am nrt only in favor of mr fergusons policy but i particularly endorse the provision that no permit shall be given to persons under 21 yoars of age mr paid j myler pres canadian wcstinghouse co hamilton 0t- as a large employer of labor i see no possibility of room for complaint in ontario when a man shall bo allowed a bottle of beer in his own house long experience with our men in this company is good enough for me on this point g notman vicepresident mckinnon indtislries st catharines ont we havr as much trouble now with our labor as we had before prohibition came into effect thereare the same monday and tuesday difficulties but new they are due to poisoned alcohol our men would be much better if they could have good beer when they want it government control as they have it in tho west is what wo should havoin ontario col w n ponton kc belleville as a lawver i know that the sad fact cannot be controverted that in liquor cases under the repressive ota truth has lost its ancient power the administration of justice has been honeycombed bv perjury and the oath has lost its sanctity despite the conscientious and ablo efforts of magistrates crown attorneys and police officers who have done their best to stem the tide of revolt where the law ends tyranny begins the ota is despotic arbitrary and against the will of the citizens of canada a wis law is the states collected will tho ota nevor was under the ota wo aro all treated as children and weak lings and criminals dr a primrose dean of medicine toronto university they the medical doctors are legally permitted to issue a definite number of prescriptions each month the inference being that the number of sick folk requiring alcohol should not exceed that number and the doctor if he keops within that limit is safe from adverse criticism the present situation is intolerable the medical profession must be released from such undignified servitude government control has operated in several of che the dominion and apparently without grave evil at an out such palpable evil as to suggest that prohibition la a certainty without such evil as la palpable under prohibition in united states it seems to me that the amount of yobuc or prxvax harm which the proposed government control leaves poesfbte need not compel any of us to interfere with the personal freedom of other people dr f n g starr toronto some overzealous people tell ns that government control does not work in the provinces where it is being- tried but such is not ry interpretation as i have found it i have visited each province where there has been a change both under prohibitory measures and under government control and the odds to my way of thinking are all on the side of government control mr edward tellier former liberal member for north essex windsor ont i lo not look upon this as a party fight i think we must an take off our coats and put government control over i am for govern ment control first last and all the time dr j a temple mrcs lld past president ontario medical association toronto there is one fact that is very prominent in my mind and which i think might well be emphasized that is the great increase in the use of narcotics in the last three or four years the man who m addicted to liquor has switched in many cases to drugs while there is always hope for the drunkard it is almost impossible to cure the drug addict the ota was much too sweeping in its provisions most rev g thorneloe dd dcl archbishop of algoma and metropolitan of ecclesiastical province of ontario 1915 there is in human nature a sense of freedom which must be respected ah these considerations have to be weighed by the govern ment and i have very great hope that the measures proposed by premier ferguson will be found if carried out to be a very great improvement on what we have been experiencing the past few years sir charles tupper winnipeg the reasons that convince me most firmly that premier fergusons policy will prove a great boon for the people of ontario are based on my observation of the great success of liquor control in manitoba control in manitoba has brought about the following thrett great improvements there is less drinking by both young and old particularly by the young control has created a higher moral tone in the community at large it has also brought about a deeir- mtrher respect for law l a van skiver formerly inspector childrens aid society picton ont i have been an ardent prohibitionist all my life but in the discharge of my duties as inspector for the childrens aid society i came across conditions that impressed me with their seriousness ini almost every case of destitution which came under my observation 1 1 found that bootlegging was the cause i do riot believe in changing my prohibition beliefs that i am taking a retrograde step prohibition means war 1 rev frank vipond streetsville ont i am not afraid to express the conviction that the greatest enemies of christian temperance of sobriety and of the upbuilding of strong christian character have not been tho breweries and dis tilleries but official and fanatical prohibitionists who have been will ing to make of the christian faith a lesser thing than that of the- mahometan h s white kc- president ontario bar association toronto i am satisfied that there is in the province no such thing as prohibition under it the ota for the simple reason that every persori who wants liquor can get it without difficulty i believe that the premier and the government have followed the only proper courso open to them in asking the people for a mandate to remove our affliction from us rt hon sir tliomas wltite kcmg toronto that the ontario temperance act is not capable of adequate enforcement lacking as it does the strong support of public opinion imist by this time be clear to all who have given any study to the subject the timo has arrived to so amend it as to prevent and limit as far as possible the evils of intemperance under a system of gov- ernment control having a firmer support of public opinion and under regulations which will not lead to the evils which for the past seven years have been inseparably connected with the administration of the ota col rev cecil g williams dominion secretary navy league of canada should i steal commit forgery or break any other law in canada except that of the ota i am punished and upon my release ignored until i have rehabilitated myself by those who know me because thoy are sympathetic to and upholders of the law but if i violate the ota and am punished for the same according to law i have the sympathy of my friends showing that they hold tho law in contempt very different is the treatment extended in tho two instances tho law should bo tho same from coast to coast for individuals and all classes and until it is i cannot see the righteousness or the practicability of the ota most rev david williams archbishop of huron and metropolitan of ontario london ont it the ota has done more to encourage deceit and subterfuge more to demoralize tho youth of the country and to create a general disrespect for law than all the other causes combined during the ten years of its existence government control with individual permits is the only sane system levi williams police magistrate picton ont all my life i have been a temperance advocate but when i saw not only how tho law itself was being disregarded by people who were not addicted to lawbreaking but by the actual perversion of the process of justice i felt there must be some changes i have been magistrate in picton for is years and what has struck me recently is the limits that people will go to perjure themselves when faced with charges of violating the ontario temperance act sir john willison toronto i was wholly unprepared for the unanimity of opinion expressed in favor of government control again and again i was told by those who had opposed the system and voted for prohibition in plebiscites and referendums that conditions were bettor under control and that thoy would not vote to restore the prohibitory enactments no one suggested that bootlegging had been wholly abolished or that there was no unlawful selling or illicit drinking they did insist that boot legging was less common and less profitable that tho law was generally respected and enforced that there was far less drinking in hotel bed rooms and more undesirable places and that there was a greater degree i of social contentment and no such feeling as under prohibition that 1 flasks must bo carried and a secret store of liquor provided for dances house parties and like events albert whitney brother of the late sir james whitney prescott onu the facts stare us in the face when the government dispensaries of this province are in receipt of a yearly revenue of something ioui five mlllloi dollars and the bootleggers aro profiting to tho extent of some twentyfive minion it seems to me that it is time to call a halt and ask ourselves in all seriousness if this wholo business would sot be in far better hands entrusted to a government with the splendid business record of the present provincial government of which thej hon howard ferguson is head the above excerpts from letter interviews and addresses are necessarily restricted also limited in number owing to lack of space vote conservative for true temperance