The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1866-01-04
Tenlperance-A New Plan.

work, when olittle was doing to check the
ravages of intemperance, and the reason is
apparent. In all the various forms in
which we have organized. and pitched bat
tie with the common enemy, we have been
unable to check, for any considerable time
irs onward progress Men have becoma dis
Outraged and well they may for it is not
in the nature of man to labor any great
length of time without a bright prospect
ahead. lie needs the hope that his days
labor will soon close that the harvest will
be gathered and his labors be changed to
some other hopeful field, and in this respect
man is not unlike all other living creatures.
The animal caught in the well secured trap
will struggle desperately for few minutes;
failing to release itself, it will cease to
struggle and resign itself to its fate. The
we'll trained horse, when overloaded will use
all his strength in his first second and third
efforts; falling in these, his courage fails,
and he refuses to try. So with the faithful
dog when he sees his game gaining on
him he will abandon the chase and return
10 his master. And SO it is with man; with
all his reasoning powers he must have a
stinuant; he cannot work without pay
ing product
In all our various organizations we have
had an eye to binding the monster; in
this we have signally failed. The local
work which we have accomplished in check
ing this one, and restraining that one and
the other one from the vice of internperance
is not enough to keep the mass of men to
work We must look forward to the time
when we shall be masters, and able to bind
this hellish creature, and cast him out with
the fallen angels, there to remain at least a
thousand years.
If there is any vice in our land which
needs the wholesome restraints of law, it is
this, which is carrying prematurely thou
sands of our brightest young men down to
drunkards graves, Any measure which
needs the arm of the law should be stripped
of everything which does not harmonize
with the judgment of the masses. for in a
government like ours, where the people are
the law makers, it is not enough to get by
bare majority, good and wholesome law
recorded ON our statute books. 1t is not
the written laws which govern with US
but it is the sentiment of the people; in
hort public sentiment is law, statutes to
the contrary Notwithstanding If this
statement be truthful, and the statutes of
to day are full of proof on this point, then
two things are necessary; First, we have
got to invent some plan for our future eff
forts, that shall have within it, the bright
hope of success at no distant day, in order
to arouse and set to work our temperance
forces. And secondly, that plan must en-
terrain such principles and only such, that
| when fairly presented to the public mind,
it will receive and adopt them. To meet
this necessity, suggest to the temperance
friends the propriety of dividing our su b.
| ject and our efforts.
All the temperance organizations of to
day, are pledged to one common principle
total abstinence Eternal war to any and
everything which can intoxicate. Now, it
is fact, after thirty years of discussion the
public mind is far from believing that it is
great moral wrong to drink as beverage
under any circumstances a single glass Of
wine, beer or cider, but tue distilled spirits
of to day are SO damnable in their effects on
the human system that no sane mind can
rise up and justify their use. .a
Then let US take this single article of dis
titled spirits before the public mind as a
great political question, to be regulated by
good and wholesome law. (For the present
let the temperance organizations with their
moral power take care of the milder drinks,
| am persuaded if this plan was adopted
and the subject fairly presented to the pub
lie mind, that it would meet with but little
opposition.
The temperance friends would favor it,
the beer drinkers would not oppose it, and
that portion of the community who are dali
ly in the habit of being poisoned by its in
huence would see so much of supply in
the milder drinks, that they would readily
yield, and we could speedily write in our
statute books prohibition to distilled liquors
as a beverage And not only to write in
our statute books but we would have good
thorough public sentiment to sustain that
written record. If the above could be real
lied, what poor house delivery would take
place How crime would diminish !, How
many hearts would be made glad How
many broken domestic circles would be
made whole again. 0, what rejoicing
would take place throughout the length
and breadth of our land How every one
would breathe easier and sleep sweeter, in
view OF his own personal safety.
1t will be apparent to any one who re-
fleets for a moment, that the great amount
Of pauperism and crime which manates
from intemperance comes from the distilled
article. Beer stupefes the brain, wine
makes the heart merry. But it is the dis
titled article which deranges, maddens and
demonizes the man; fitting him for all man
ner Of vices and crime. To make our sue.
cess certain, would recommend tn at each
State take measures to ascertain the proba-
bic amount of distilled liquors within it's
boundaries and make provision through the
county treasurers of each county, to- pur-
chase the same, by paying lit
tie more than the government tax, and de-
posting the same in some secure and con-
venient place in each township and city !;
to be under the control of an officer elected
by the said towns and cities whose duty it
shall be to take charge and dispose of the
same, as they may be wanted for mechani-
cal and medicinal purposes at not exceeding
five cents per quart, above the cost and the
proceeds after paying all expenses, to be
deposited in the state treasury and applied
yearly in payment of State taxes, and pro-
hibit under heavy penalties the manufacture
ing and the selling or giving away distill ed
liquors as beverage. And also prohibit
the selling of distilled liquors for medicinal