and Untrue!"

"Speaking at the English-speaking Union luncheon, Lord Lee said the
statement attributed to the famous country-woman of his now in the
United States was as cruel as it was ludicrous and untrue. He added that
he could testify from thirty years of personal observation in America,
and from reliable information from various quarters; and that he was
speaking seriously."

Lord Lee has only got to travel over here for ten days to change his
opinion. I, also, am speaking seriously, and am strongly in favour of
temperance. Liquor control has been, among many other reforms, the
political ambition of my husband ever since he became a Cabinet
Minister, but as what is called "the Trade" has the votes and blessing
of the Conservative Party in England, all our bills to control it were
frustrated by the House of Lords.

We drink less than our forbears, not because we are more moral, but for
reasons of health. Our people are fond of sport; and you neither shoot
or ride as straight if you indulge in champagne, port, liqueurs,
brandies, and other drinks over night.

The first question I was asked when I landed upon American soil was
whether I approved of Prohibition. I said I thought it was a fine idea
and an example that would ultimately be followed by the whole world; I
presumed that light wines and beer would in time modify this somewhat
exaggerated measure; but as most of the men convicted of crimes of
violence had been proved to be under the influence of liquor, the
prisons and asylums would gradually be emptied. I added that many of the
famous, as well as young men of promise, and some of the best servants I
had known in my life had been ruined by drink, and that it was a subject
upon which I felt deeply.

I could see at once that what I said was unpopular, but I repeated the
same opinion in all my early lectures, adding that gout, rheumatism,
arthritis, and other nervous diseases have been, if not contracted,
certainly assisted by alcoholic poisoning inherited from generations of
men who drank too much.

A very short visit over here has convinced me that Prohibition, as at
present administered, is both "ludicrous and cruel." The well-to-do can
get the drinks they want. Young men and women, as well as adults, share
with their friends and admirers all the pleasures that go with defying
the law. I have no doubt from what I have been told that the power of
the Saloon League lobby had to be smashed, and th