The Union and journal. [volume] (Biddeford, Me.) 1858-1882, 1867-01-25
CORRESPONDENCE.
SAco, Jan. l6, 1867.

in our town. and the new impetus gwen To
the cause Of Temperance thereby, Tie
following thoughts were suggested upon
the source lof intemperance.
Intcmpcrunce is the source Of most nil
the evil in our land. The question then
arises. what is the cause of inlcmperance
or the source from which il flows?
hut before we attempt To answer tins
question, let us consider whit intemper-
ancc is. anil what is the magnitude OF It's
evils. Incompetence is M excess III the
Use Of anything which may injure health
or morals. hut more particularly
Of alcoholic spirit. We know this IN
jurcs the body and health, destroys the
powers Of the mind, poisons the springs Ol
generous affection and lays ruthless hand
on all the moral and spiritual nature OF
mankind. What intempcrnnce does io'
its victims and those who ara IN any way
connected with them, we all know. Bu'
stop! do we all know? No, kind reader
let ms thank God that few of ,is eau know
and realize the inexprcssible horrors winch
I'LL the mind aud soul Of the incbriato, OF
tho gloom and sorrow of heart which Is
the portion Of his family, and let us pray
God that we may never have that knowl-
edge and experience. We know enough,
however, TO feel that where this curse en-
tiers there blight falls on virtue, happiness
and all the high aspirations OF the heart
Look ut the misery, shame and woe TINT Is
conferred in one dr,lnkarl's home. and tlicl
multiply the sum by thousands aud thou
sands Of such homes in our land, anu we
shall have an amount Of sin and sorrow
which no arithmetic can gtiagc, but which
is sufficient to nppal the stoutcst heart ana
move the coolest charity. Hut from
whence flows this pcstiicrOlls evil! TO an
enlightened reader do slbmitthe question
Is il that the many who arc stricken down,
who ,lic with tho brand Of drunknrds
death upon their name and memory, died
by a visitation Of GOd?" An all.wisc Fa-
Their sends no such curse upon his guilty
children. The evil il sclfinflicted. But
do men rush hcn,llong into this fearful
whirlpool of intcmpcrancc and willingly
accept the portion Of woe and shame
which clings to the drunkanl? All no
every human being rccoils with horror and
DISCUS, ut the very thought Of such shame ;
they indeed shrink from il. But these are
the very victims who have gone and arc
going blindly on to their fatal end. Gentle
is the dcclivity, easy and noisclcss the de.
scent. They 20 step by step along the
trcachcrous road, until suddenly they slide
and find themselves plunging over the. aw'
fill prccipice Of iniempcrancc to fill n
tr,,nkad's grave. Who, then, is this per
fidous guide, who thus stands ready to
hlrn aside the unwary traveller? Here is
the great question. lis useless to loP off
the branches while the trunk remains to
shoot again into new life. IL we would
ret ut the foundation of this evil we must
lay the axe ut the very root Of the tree.
Without the root the branches cannot ilonr-
ish; if there arc no moderate drinkers,
there would be no iInmolerate ones. Here
then is the root or foundation OF the evil
in so-callcd moderate drinking. Men do
not plunge into all this sin and misery nj
once no one is willing to leap into the dc.
stroying vortex which saPs and dries up
all the best energies and hopes Of life
time. What is the source Of moderate
drinking? 1t is the force Of habit and dc
ference to fashion and society. In former
DAYS il was necessary in or,lcr to retain the
favor Of society, to have well furnished
side hoard ut home and to place the cup TO
the lips of our friends and neighbours. In
the trawing.room and dining.rOOm of tho
wealthy, in the public room of the hotel,
in every place of retreshmcnt, ut every so
ciai gathering, in the harvest field and work
shop, il was deemed necessary ind all too
often il is so in the present day. Many u
person shrinks from exchanging tho kind
offices and greetings OF life and society
without the all Of intoxicating drinks, rs
he would for some sore offence or crime
against society. Moderate drinking then
or the ,isagcs and customs of society, is the
chief cause of intenIpernncc and there de-
rivcs force and strength for those who givo
the law to fashion. Seek not this false
guide alone in the low gambling hell or
grog shop. nor In the scenes OF rcvclry, you
the observed Of all observers. Among the
leaders Of. fashion In tho abode of luxury
where wine gives briliancy to wit in the
sparkling glass that is raised by the hand OF
beautiful woman. There Is the most dam
Ccrous decoy. We look to those who &C.
cupy the higher positions in life, and with
out reflection we receive their customs and
practices from them. To their charge
must I've laid all tho misery and voc caused
by intcmpcrancc. Reader, do you belong
to this class? Remember TINT he or she
who conforms to the drinking customs Of
society and places the cup to his neighbor's
Iips, il the one who leads so many OF To
destruction, aud answcnble for their hitter
end. You pave the way to the grog shop
and hasten the victim on 10 n drunkarls
grave. And as true rs tho judgment day
comes, many poor inehriate will rise up
10 curse society and you for sending him to
and running his soul. Have
you become CONFIRMED to these dangerous
customs Of society; Stop and think where
you are you arc just entering the outer
circle Of the fearful whirlpool which ut
last cenicis in a drunknrls grave. Fly then
while YOU may from the curses Of society,
leave its customs and stand firmly on the
rock OF temperance.
And YOU Of the gentlcr sex, do you rea-
lie the power you hold over mans stcrncr
nature. II is our pride and privilege TO
defer to YOU in all the relations Of life, you
speak with a voice which penetrntes and
appeals TO oil that is noble in our hearts.
DO you realize the power you hold over
those who are your fathers husbands BROTH
ers aud friends? Come forth then from
these evils Of society and lead on a refor.
nation which shall roll OH and on with
time until man shall be entirely redeemed
from the bondage Of alcoholic drinks |!