Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1841-09-10

wards, as intelligent and as enterplslng chi-
liens, perhaps, rs any other, who can douol
for moment, that good order. peace, virtue,
and freedom, from the thraldom OF lntemper.
ance, will ultimately preval---that we should
meet with opposition and dIscourageIneh. is
not at all strange--that we should be req uised
at some points, is not to be wondered at. we
are surrounded with the elements Of opposi-
ton to all that is fair and virtuous. In our
midst are eleven places where intoxicating
| drinks are vended, while some only swell the
| fountain Contemporaries by the Dbl. and gall.
others keep up the small streams by the small
er measure, and by the glass, where man
cae get drunk for, from to 25 cents, according
to the strength of his caIibre. To sustain the
houses of those who sell by the dram, 1t takes
from fifty to seventy-fve of our citizens, who
drink daily, and pay regular tax from cents
upwards, according their ability or appetite.
Some, perhaps, ale encouraged or countenanc-
ed in drinking by those who fill places in some
of the respectable and useful professions, and
who know, If they are at all versed in theirpr
fessioH, that there is poison and death in the
cup.
Your co,nmitte believe that one great him
drance to the temp cause, is the pernlclous
practice among some Of our physicians, in re-
commencing ardent spirits to be used freely as
tonic in cases of debility, incident to the sea-
son. With all due difference to their skill and
judgment, yet we notrefrain from express
ing our decided disapprobation of the practice,
we believe that we are borne out In the asser-
ton by the first medical writer's Of the present
age, that ardent spirits is not necessary, nei-
Their is it pruden. to administer it, except in
cases of extreme debility, where it may be ne
cessary to give the patient speedy stimnIent.
We say then unqualtiedly, tina: the practice
of using spirits so freely, and for such slight
cases, is not only unjustifable, but is calcula-
ted to exert bad influence upon the temp.
cause and ruin some forever, who have once
forsaken their cups and have been induced by
physician to taste again and again, until their
destructive appelites has returned upon them
with four-fold vengeance, and that the last
end of that uian is worse than the first. The
whole human family are fraiI, We are all crea-
lures Of habit, and are exceedingly tenacious
about recommending to our fellows nostrums
and panaceas, by which we imagine we have
been benefited. 1t has been said by quaint
writer upon the subject of temperance, who
was close observer Of men and things, that
no person would recommend ardent spirits IN
less he liked it himself. This, we have no
doubt, is true in most cases If not in all.
With this state of things before US we see
much to he done before the channels of intern
perance can be dried mp. The course to be
pursued and the means TO be used, 10 bring
about an entire reformation, must be devised
by the friends of temperance, and them alone.
Your committee can only call to their aid such
wisdom and prudence as they possess and in
common with others, labor and strive for the
ultimate consumation SO much to be desired.
While we hold to calling things by their
right names, and deem ii right and best that
the whole truth be told, however hard it may
hit, yet we opposed to all harsh measures,
believing that more can be done by moral sua-
sion and the force oftruth Opprobious epi-
thets and unmeasufed denuncaions should be
avoided. We believe that if there is any class
of persons to be pited, it is those who are
slaves to the pernlcious practice of Drinking
if any deserve our deepest commiseration they
are those who are far gone into the labyrinth
of inebration.
To benefit this class we must try them with
tenderness, they can only be won back by the
accents Of kindness and affection. That all
who are habiual drunkards or those who are
far on the road to drunkenness, are to be or can
be reclaimed by tais society, is not expected.
Yet from the signs Of the times, from wha, we
see doing, and what has been done in other
places, may we not hope that some at least
ofreclaimiug inebriates is going forward in 9TH
er places with most astonishing succce.----In
some sf our Atlantic cities an army of reform
ed inebriateo ll1vo Tisci up FROM the grave,
and the simple tales of woe ard misery which
they have experienced tells volumes, and
spreads dlsmay and terror into the enemy's
camp, While hundreds and thousands can with
stand all the array of argument prescribed By
the wise and learned, and disregard the force
of truth however eloquenly delivered, few
there are that can remain unmoved at the sim
pie and uninvented tale Of the inebriate. From
Baltimore to the adjacent cities has the !eaven
already spread with wonderful effect. A
stream has crossed the Alieghanies. During
the few weeks past in Pittsburgh several thou
sands have signed the pledge. In Cincinnati
the reformation is going forward with like sue
cess. The intermediate towns along the Ohio
have shared in the benefits, and we hope ere
long, that the sautary influence may be felt
among us. From foreign countries our ears
are greeted with the wonderful progress tenn
pefance. From Ireland, containing a popula-
tion CT 100000. we learn from the last ac-
counts 100000, had sigued the pledge, five-
eighths of the woe population are on the side
Of temperance England, Scotland and
Wales, and Holland, Germany, Prussia, Den
mark, Sweden and Russia, the cause-is moving
forward In the Canadas, in New South
Wales, Van Diemen's Land, the West Indies,
Southern and Western Africa, in the South
Sea Islands on the Continent of India, do we
hear OF the progress of temperance.
AT the recent anniversary Of the National
Temp. Convention, held a, Saratoga Springs,
N. Y, upwards of 500 delegate from different
parts of the Union were present, at this con-
ventIon, we are happy to say that there was