StarBulletin.com

Editorial: How "Dry Oahu" Is Working


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POSTED: Sunday, May 24, 2009

”;Back in the Day,”; appearing every Sunday, takes a look at articles that ran on this date in history in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Hawaii's oldest continuously published daily newspaper. The items appear verbatim, so don't blame us today for yesteryear's bad grammar.

At the Emergency Hospital there has been a marked decrease in cases usually caused by drunken rows, such as scalp wounds and other lacerations. Police report that there have been no murders committed since prohibition went into effect.

A Chinese storekeeper said “;Prohibition very good. Men before had no money, now buy clothes.”;

A man in the employ of the O.R.&L. Co. said formerly from his place of business he could see from one to three or four men a day unable to walk straight, with bottles of liquor in their pockets or under their arms, but since prohibition went into effect he had not seen one.

A member of the sailors' union said he had formerly been opposed to prohibition, but owing to the change wrought among the men of the union since prohibition, he is now an ardent prohibitionist. Before, there was always one or more of the men arrested every day. Since prohibition came, not one had been arrested.

An employee of a large business house said a fellow worker formerly was often late and innefficient in his work. Since prohibition he had been regularly at his desk and seemed like a different man, attending to his duties with renewed interest.

The Associated Charities stated that in certain cases where they had been helping families whose parents drank, the change had been remarkable. They said that in several instances those helped had said, “;You don't need help us anymore. My husband brings home his money now, and he is home in the evening playing with the children.”;