Smyrna times., 1871-08-23
Wine and Crime.


crime within twenty years results very largely
from the aduteration of liquors of all kinds.
1t Is well known fact that it is almost impOS
sble to obtain a pure liquor in this market.
Even those liquors that are marked as import
ed, are generally made within sight of the
warehouse where they are sold. Every kind
of spirit is adulterated; and while some Of the
compounds are Of the most deadly sort, most
of them detcriOrate the blood, and, when taken
in any considerable quantity deaden the con
science and madden the brain. Deirium tre
mems, very rarely heard of twenty years ago, is |
now disease OF common occurrence E; and the |
quantity OF liquor which generation ago could |
be taken with comparative impunity, produc !
ing only agreeable exhillration, now causes il
tense excitement, frequently ending in vio-
lence, crime, Insanity, and death Our grand
fathers drank rum and wine freely, and carried
strong constitutions and vigorous health nearly
if not quite to the century line. Men drink
their portion now, and find themselves in the
gutter or in the mad-house, if not arraigncd
for crime.
The facts connected with the alulteration OF
liquors of all sorts arr curious; but, taken i'll
connection with the effects of most ofour liquors
upon those who use them freely they present
a subject for serious consideration. There is
an undOubted connection between the univcr
sal adulteraton of liquors and the statistics Of
crime, to say nothing of the increase Ofinsanity,
| and the shattered constitutions and shortened
| lives Of generous drinkers. 1t is not the wine
| that bubbles over in vice and runs iuto crime
but the poisonous compounds, the deeterloue
! chemical combinations, which are palIncd Oh
| as wine. Pure wine. as Dr. Holmes says, Is a
| food. 1t is an open question whether any pure
liquor, taken in moderate quantities. and under
proper circumstances, is injurious to the health,
constitution, or conscience. Some Of the best
medical authorities insist that the moderate
use of alcohol is a positive advantage. Certain
ly it is not the pure spirit that works the mis-
chief, but the nauSeatug, and maddenlng, aud
death-deang Stutts that are sold in Its stead
Our people ask for stimuantS and are given
strychnine They seek exhilaration, and arc
treated to insanity. They crave retreshmeut
and inspiration, and are Knocked with inebriety
and madness.
1t would certainly seem that the first step il
a true temperance reform is to Danish all adul
teration of liquor, m liking it criminal offence
to sell any sort OF fluid chemists can concoc
for wines. But SOme of our total a5stinant
cannot tolerate the idea of adopting such
common-sense and rational policy as this
They insist that the more poisonous the liquo
, people have to drink, the better, for SO mucl
the sooner will they be frightened from tn
use Of liquor altogether. They urge that tn
{ more maddening wine is made, and the NOR
violence it excitsS, and the more graves It till
l with premature and unwept victims, the quick
I erwill people be scared from the cup and bow
Better for theory, perhaps but is it bette
| for morality, better for mankind? Men hav
always craved stimuants, and have always ha
$ them. Under some form or other alcohol
stimulents have been used by every people
/, There seems to be natural and lneradlcabI
q want in the human system which nothing bu
| SfV yuh
Is do not generally experience, but which tn
g majority do feel, and even the rest are cor
sciOus of at times The total abstinence theOI
d certainly seems to clash with science and to 4
in the face of history But, whether it
It sound or unsOund, we contend that the heaItl
o the sanity, the morality of men are of incacl
d laby more account than any thery Of ref rmir
y extremists, and that we have no right to in
le peril these for the sake of accumulating ey
e dence in its support and terrifying people
( accept its conclusions. Besides, all thnkir
men must see that the crimes which all deplo
- are caused by the chemical substitute for win
and not by wine itself.
|, 1t is the first step that costs and counts.
this temperance reform the first step has y
lg to be taken. We may agitate about prohit
e. ton, and bully and bribe legislators into pa,
er ing this and that and the other measure TO 7
| strict the sale or to interdict the use Of win
until doOmsday, and without avail; becau
is these things do not begin at the beginnin
at but imply state of things, condition OF Il
IS public mind, set of tastes and habits, ph
= scal and moral constitution, which do not ex
and are not likely to exist for century
ry come They pertain to the ideal, aud not
the actual condition of men and the worl
ne And one reason why the temperance NOV
ur ment has been so unavailing heretofore, is tn
er it has dealt with the abstract and the imp(
sible as though they were practicable. v
y want now to strike q blow where it will te
ng We want to take the first step towards t
goal And that step is to prohibit all a
It, every adulteration of the liquors that our pa
,st pie drink We should make it crimiI
lls offence to sell any mess of chemical cOmpOuu
a that human ingenuity can CuncOct Tor VIII
ire We should strike blow at crime and in>an
ey by cutting off the streams of poison, and ca
nd ing out the deleteriouS drugs that make t
1t drinks OF our people deadly This can
SO done and this every motive Of interest, st
on protection, and humanity, requires US to
no Give our people pure wines to drink, and tl
r we shall he in condition to determine whetf
leT it is the adulteration or the wine that eau
nd crime and madness.
oft
ng The very general belief that the COngre
tn man of to-day is a much worse sort of perS
ost than the Congressman Of long ago is not
m tlrely correct IL appears tnat an lhcluent
all lated in recently published volume, entitl'
t is "The Domestic Lite of Thomas Jefferson
that our revolutionary forefathers in COngr
lad assembled had their little items of "incid
10! tal' expenses, many of them quite as queer
ce, those which astonish the constituents of tod
& The following story is related by Mr.. JEFF
hat son. concerning the first Continental COngre
on Delegate Harrison, of Virginia, desiring
he stimulate, presented himself and friend a
certain place where supplies we're furnisl
Congress, and ordered two glasses of braI
of and water. The man in charge replied t
nts liquors were not Included IN the supplies