Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-04-14
Mr.. Orne's Lecture.

Mr.. Orne's Lecture.
Mayor Titcomb presided at the temperance
meeting in Granite Hall on Tuesday evening.
Prayer was offered by Rev c. A. King, pas
tor of the Methodist Episcopal church in this
city The lecturer of the evening, Hon. j.
II. Orne of Marblehcad, Mass, was then in
troduced and proceeded to address the audi
ence in n candid and interesting manner. He
said that lifelong application to business
pursuits had not qualified him as popular or
pleasing public speaker but he had some
earnest convictions on the subject of temper
ance to which he had sometimes given ex-
preston on occasions like the present. In
former years he had been connected with the
fire department. For what reason; Topro-
tcct society If he understood his motive it
was to sacrifice his own ease and comfort to
rescue from destruction the property of 9TH
ers. The various organizations and agencies
established to promote the temperance cause
are virtually for the same object. In the dis
cussion of the subject he did not expect to
bring out anything new or say anything which
had not been said much better by many 9TH
ers: but lust so long as the strong young men
Of the country are perishing by thousands
and the curse is spreading itself through ev-
erv avenue in society, we should not cease to
reiteratc the old arguments. Three-fourths
of all our paupers have been made so by IN
temperance; and the same proportion ofthose
sent to our jails and houses of correction, and
who receive the benefits Of our institutions
erected for the cause of humanity. There
are SOC. 900 drunkards in this country alone;
so 900 of these will go to untimely and dis
graceful graves. Have We no duty to per-
form? The first personal duty he would COM
mend is the total abstinence rule. We owe
this to ourselves, to our country, and to God.
He who takes intoxicating liquors into his
system violates physical law. He discussed
at length this phase of the question. He il
Illustrated the effects of alcohol, which acts as
deadly poison upon the system. Exhaus-
tive experiments had been made with articles
of food in connection with alcohol and its
deleterious effects upon the body. 1t is the
slow poison that infuscs itself into the life
giving stream. The man who takes this poi
, son into his veins, although he may appear
robust and strong, has pinned his life upon
his coat sleeve. In sickness medicine has no
mower over him and he falls an easy victim to
MANY diseases which temperate man could
, shake off and rise superior to. The speaker
then showed the great contrast b, tween life
of temperance and one of intemperance, and
passed to the consideration of the financial
aspect of the question. Temperate men are
capable of performing greater amount of
labor than incorporate men; and what is true
of the individual, is true of the nation.
He instituted comparisons between the val
alton of towns that were loose in their laws in
regard to temperance and those that favored
? prohibition. The city of Boston showed this
in a strong degree. In passing from license
to prohibition the valuation of the city has in
creased from $4,000, 900 to $50, 900, 900 an
nually. Intemperance cripplcs labor. AS labor
i produces the wealth of the country, anything
that drags down its energies, robs the country
He said it was the too common practice of
those who speak upon this subject to speak OF
those who are engaged In rumselilhg as the
most miserable beings on the face OF the earth
He did not stand here to handy such idle
words. Some men who had suffered from the
cause might have an excuse for this sweep
ing condemnation. For himself, he had no
grievances to cherish, no wrongs to redress,
no maledictions to hurl. He had met men en-
gagged in the traffic who had some high and
snoble purposes and thoughts, but they kept on
in their miserable practice Of destroying men,
held up and sustained by the profits of their
business and, in a measure by public opinion.
He urged, in closing, the Importance of earnest
endeavors to educate public opinion up to the
pont of sustaining wholesome laws. Mr..
Orne dealt with facts and figures, aptly illus
trated, and was amply repaid by having the
undivided attention of the large audience