Many of those who have lately invested a dime in a ride on the subway that so conveniently links Cambridge and Boston must have noticed the advertisement, paid for by the W. C. T. U., which, accepted as truthful, would carry a pofgnant and commanding appeal. "Protest your children," it reads, "Make out highways dryways. Vote No for the repeal of the Bady Volstead Act on Nov. 4th." To make the message more arresting, the advertisement carries a realistic picture of what seems to be a drunken driver, a smashed automobile, and a mangled body of a boy.
It is not a pretty picture. One can readily imagine a mother being influenced by its message. Unfortunately, however strong the emotional appeal of the W. C. T. U. 's propaganda may be, the rational support of the advertisement is sadly lacking.
The repeal of the Bady Volstead act, while it would probably have very small immediate effect as far as actual conditions go here in Massachusetts, would have the advantage of serving notice to the rest of the country that the voters of one of its most populous states had become convinced that the present Prohibition situation was far from being the best solution to the vital difficult problem of intemperance.
It has been shown, under the Quebec system, for instance, that the pro rate figures of arrests for drunken driving where there is government liquor control are less than similar totals for this country which is legally completely dry. Certainly advices from visitors to Canada indicate that the authorities across the border are considerably more vigorous in dealing with intoxicated automobilists than are out own gendarmes.
It would be appreciated by a large number of citizens if the influence of the W. C. T. U. could be counteracted by advertisements representing the other side of the case. A possible advertisement might be:- "Vote Yes for the repeal of the Baby Volstead Act on Nov. 4th., and help relieve our country of crime, graft, hypocrisy, racketeers, wholesale disrespect of law and order--in short, of Prohibition."
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