New-York tribune., 1867-04-10
THE USE and ABUSE of sTMrtlN

i
| two things-either that the vice is past remedy
| or mitigation, or that the stringent nneanS
adopted to prevent the sale and use of stlmp.
| lants have been unwise and irrational. Human
nature is not so hopelessly vicious as to he be-
yOnd the influence of reason and persuasioD--
however obstinate it may be IN Its resistance 70
! arbitrary and inconsistent laws, and the IDfaa
! ence, therefore, is, that the extremists who
1 have declared uncOmprOmising war against the
| use of liquor under any circumstances, baye
OCershOt The mark. and actually increased the
| evil they intended to crush out. The United
| States law authOrises the importation, manu-
| facture, and sale of spirits and the Government
| derives large revenue from such importation.
manufacture and sale, and while this is the
| case, no local law can ever prevent the use Of
| the article. The statutes which impose taxes
and duties on liquor, .presuppose that 1t will be
used, and recognize the right OF the people TO
use it. That right is denied by the prohibiticn-
ists, and they make bylaws to prevent the citi-
| zen from exercising a personal privilege quay
anteed to him-by implication at least-by the
| law of the land.
This is the whole case in q nutshell and "a
| is for these reasons that the Maine Law, n ID
| every other enactment OF its class, have pr0v,d
dismal failure
Every good man admits that intoxicaton is
| q terrible Yice-the fruitful parent of every
species of crime. But it does not therefore
follow that alcoholic stimulants should 10
abolished. Wipe them out, and what becOmes
! of one of the most important departments "
DlftllCdl 1il ODIy lSHOldub idlidAtS, VI III II
whose better Judgment is warped 10y prejudte,
will attemDt to DENY that lives are saved daily
| by the timely administration Of splrituoua
| stimulus as a terminating and restOIauya
agent. 1t Is he basis OF all the tlnctIres OF tho
| phaImacOpoas, and it has preserved the lives
| of thousands on the battlefield, IN military
! and other hospitals, and in private pIactIte.
| Without il, medical science would be NE TIE
play of Hamlet with the part of the hero
! omitted. Most especially is this true OF a puYs
! nledicaJ siimuldnt. UnQUestionably,, the er-
| tremist. of the Neil Dow stripe, would like to
suppress all medicated preparations containing
| alcohol. They would probably begin with
| HOsTETTER's STOMACH BuTERs, reputed 10 be
| the most potent restorative and Alternative Of
! the day They would deprive the ague and
| fever districts Of the South and West OF tins
1 powerful specific. They would meet the tray
| eler iu the Valley of the Mississippi, or tho
mincr in the paceTs and canons of California,
| or the voyager about 10 sail for the lnsaubn-
| Gus coast OF Mexico or the West Indies, and
| demand the surrender Of this great antldste 10
| malaria aud protective against the eiiec's Ok
mwhOlesome water, if he happened TO be pro-
yided with it. Nay, they would probably 30
further than that, and destroy the great factory
| at Pittsbmg, where it is prepared, and every
bottle OF 1t upon which they could lay ,neir
| the land. In vain would it be proved 10 them
! that the article was manufactured from The
purest of all known ditiusiye stimuli and the
1 most valuable of medicinal herbs and roots.
1 AWAY WIFI IL away WIN 10 th'y "on0
| cry; lit contains alcohol, and therefore it
| must he deStrOyed.D
But this is the language Of insane bigohy.
| Enlightened Scicnce-aye, and enlightened Re-
1 lignOn and Morality, tO0-cOndemn 1t utterly.
| Bishop Fastbun the Reverend DR.. Worcester,
| and other great divines have recently given
their testimony against such wholesale hostility
| to stimulants, and have declared that the vice
! of drunkenness has been greatly increased by
the undiscriminating onslaughts of the probi-
| btionsts The great AgaSsiZ, and such men ~
| Professors IlOrsfOrd and Jackson, together with
Drs. Bigclow Clarke, Holmes, White, and
many other eminent practitioners, whose stand-
ing as physicians should secure respect for ther
opinions on point like tins, have stated thai
alcoholic preparations are absolutely essential
in the treatment OF many diseases, and as res
t0rativcS. They only insist that the prepaIa-
tons be pitrc. They are IN favor of sum
gent laws against adulteration; their motto IS
! "FegHidic not destroy" 49,
! And this Is the true policy, dictated alike Ivy
philosophy, experience and common sense;
! What ON rhe other hand, is the tendency OF
| the policy of prohibition 1t does not prevent,
| II never has prevented, it never can preyeps
| the sale of alcoholic huids but it leads TO tber
| deterioration. and thus Increases thonsandA
| fold. the evils that it proposes to annhate.
/ When liouors are sold secretly, and at the nsk
| Of personal liberty, OF course the dealers WIZ
! seek 10 compensate themselves for the haErds
! they incur by inordlnate profits, and TO Obtain
! those profits, they will adulterate what tney
| States where pIOhibit0Ty laws exist is for tba
most pant poison. 1t is as safe for the yender
to give his customers fiery and destructive
compound as good article-thee penalty being
in each case the same. Strict and faithfully cz
ecuted inspection laws would prevent ths E0I-
rbe adultcIatiOn. PrOnbtory laws promote
it, Ii is well known that most OF the liquor re-
Gently forfeited IN New York, Brooklyn ana
elsewhere. for evasion of the Government 'aH,
has been ol the vilest description. The manu-
facturers. in view OF the possibility OF seizure,
have got mp the contraband articles az ina
least possible expense, I'D order tndt ther t"Ss,
| in case of discovery, might be comparatively
small. The safety of the public health demands
! that such pclniciOus stuh be destroyed, aud
under Il proper system Of tests i would be con-
! dem al aud emptied into tho docks. But no,
il is sold hy the Government, at the average
rate of about - n gallon, 10 pay the tax IN
! this way alcoholic poison is distributed broad.
! east among the people. The whole system or
! legislation bearing upon tie hquor trade lh tH's
| country Is. although not so intended, IN We q"
! fereSt Of MicmpcrdHce \ moderate excise ans
wise sanitary laws, in relation 10 the testing OK
! all distilled and fcrmented beverages. are mo
best safeguards against the great eyil when an
! thinking men dcplOre, but tor when rev nave
! the wisdom and bodDess 10 propose any RENE
| dies consistent with reason and toundcd ON
! pr0pCr appreciation of the wants and weak
ucsscs of human nature What pity lt u ttae
profesSed refoImists will attempt, to dnr',
when their true policy would he TO tedd, Gd0iS
and restrain. All patriotic citizens WOud %
clad. if they could. to sweep ont OF the Trad"
and commerce of the country, the vile brain
maddening potions that are now sold IN every
| temney1nce with as little risk to the dealer
as as" the pTrest products of the vat and the still
Tie question is, How shall il be donef And
the reply of every right-thipking man, isTby
| rigid examination of the articles, ana the W.
| niiction of heavy penalties, pccuniaTy and peI'
sonal in all cases where aduteration is de-
tected. Is it not shame that the common