The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-10-13

ODER Ii, 1872.
thatf No. Women, especially colored women,
consume enormous quantities Of strong drink.
The thought may be not unjust, that our shame
is greater because these tuns of poison are con-
sumed not by o minority of excessive drunk
ards but by almost the whole public at largo.
It might be better for us if the great mass of
the people could point to few riotous livers
and say, "these are our disgrace" but it can
not be done; in decency and with genteel dig
nifty, with Ineligible tongues and half clear
eyes, our young mon and old men, FOUR men in
the house and men a6eld, black, white, master,
man and maid, all are squanderng their gains
for that which is not bread, and so 1900, 900
gallons of liquor are swallowed without orr
mourning the charge of drunkenness.
The question of the ago comes up, what
good : Granted that, with all this drinking, we
are not in the main drunkards; for what grand
present or future benefit do we bow our necks
to such o yokei None; none; but infinite
harm! The mere item of cash cost has been
given but what shall we say when we soc the
claim for consequential damagesi Grain
enough is destroyed in the production of our
drink to feed an army. Labor and capital are
absorbed in its manufacture and arrested or
impeded by it's effects, sufficient, if aggre-
gated to Levee and keep leveed every acre SUBJ
ject to overflow in the State.
And the immoral influence! Not only, as has
lastly been repeated, three-fourths of the
crime committed in the State are the direct
consequences of intemperance, but, without
doubt, the condition Of life induced by more
moderate conviviality is the principal cause Of
the remainder. Here then we have an estab-
lishment Of our own erection, o more fearful
public incubus than any that tyranny could
impose. Here we have An evil influence folded
round and round tho State like an anaconda,
crushing its energies and benumbing its facul
ties. poisoning blood, brain and spirit, and, at
. gulp, swallowing the yearly earnings of three
quarters of million people. Here we but
touch few facts as one might stir pile Of
loose stones, and out swarm tho horrid secrets
Of debts and losses and taxes and crimes. We
have been seven years weeping in the bonds Of
taxation, and here, to-day, the liquor manu-
featured in New Orleans alone pays nine-tenths
of million dollars, government tax It is
vain, silly and wicked for us to deny or hide
these facts. Here they are, what shall we
do with themf What will the people do with
them That ,ciH the Church do .cith them ?
Shall we say "Ahr' and SIS it possible 7" and
Isn't it sad :" and eve don't know what We
are coming to-" and such paltry evasion Do
we not know what we are coming tot God
knows }! and we had better find ont.
1t is we'll that all are not SO dull OF dumb as
! the majority. Thank Heaven there are tax
ressters making q sortie in this direction.
Morality, Religion, Public Economy, Health,
hat - ~
thinking man join his efforts with these zeal
Gus ones for the pulling down this engine of
destruction. The demand has long been all
but in vain. Temperance organizations have
received probably less encouragement and
shown less activity and efficiency in this city
and State than in any other of the Union. If
the truth is shameful we ought all the more to
know it, and, knowing it, rise up and make
such an overturning and reform as shall cause
| it to be truth no longer.
There are at least 200, 900 Catholics in Louisi-
ana. There is nothing to show that they
drink less than any other class indeed statis-
tics show purely Catholic sections as bad as the
average. What then3 This much, at least; q
Catholic Total Abstinence Society has been
organized in this city, proposing not only o
benefit working inward upon its members, but
q conjunction of efforts outward and aggressive
against the greatest evil that besets the State.
Who will join it : Nay, who will refuse to join
it What pastor will omit to recommend it to
his people. The society wants help-it wants
numbers. 1t holds u meeting to-night-the
notice may be found elsewhere in this paper
let it be attended by host of new faces, faces
of men ready to strike hands with anyone who
will work for the amelioration of the unhappy
condition of our people and State Here is a
great work let who will help to do it, now
step forward WATERMAN.
The Baltimore Mirror and other of our ex-
changes err in assuming that the great mass