| Show poor old john barleycorn old john barleycorn has so many enemies that a few more or less had not ought to make any difference mr barleycorn as private secretary to king alcohol has been kic kicked ked and cuffed and beaten from pillar to post by countless social and economic reformers until he has become immune to the ordinary line 0 of f attack and nd it is no until something new bobs up that any attention is paid to the rumpus but the red nosed happy go lucky gentleman has quietly acquired a new enemy in the last few years that bids fair to cause him quite a bit of trouble said enemy being the federal and the state governments and the weapon with which they are attacking him being the workmans work mans compensation pensa tion law the adoption by the federal government and by most of the large industrial states of laws making employers responsible financially for injuries suffered by employees has brought the drink problem to the fore again for alcohol according to statistics plays a large part in causing accidents Fur furthermore thermo re it is the moderate drinker not the rummy that causes the trouble A workman obviously intoxicated causes few accidents simply because he is sent home to sleep off his jag and not given a chance to work it is the moderate drinker entirely sober so far as external evidence shows but whose impaired perception weakened attention and muscular and mental listlessness carries carries the inherent possibility of an acci accident or a tragedy who is the great danger I 1 the new liability and pension laws give the employer no option he must pay for injured crippled or killed workmen of the cause if he tol tolerates orates alcohol users on the premises he must pay the co cost st of his mistakes and the refusal of employers to carry this unnecessary burden of expense explains the amazing growth of industrial prohibition during the last few years and forecasts an even more rapid spread in the future poor old barleycorn has been given another shove down the road which leads to oblivion |
