, 1872-10-27
Gbe Gble*ango 81 Qrli1bae1e.
Sunday Morning, October. 27, 1879.
PROMOTION OF TEMPERANCE,

PROMOTION OF TEMPERANCE.
It is not too late to assert TINT prevention is
better than cure; that it is more easy to avoid
evils than to remedy them. This is certainly
true in tho matter Of drunkenness A taste for
stimulants is so universal among men that it
may be said to be natural. Among remote tribes
that have never had communication with civ
ilized people, the process Of producing some
stimulating or Intoxicating drink is well known,
and among such tribes intemperance exists in its
worst forms. Among the northern nations.
alcoholic liquors have always been in Use, while
he milder wines have generally satisfied the
!astes of people inhabiting warmer clines. At
this time the question Of the drunkenness Of
the people Of any nation may be determined
by the extent to which spirituous liquors are
used as a common beverage. In those countries
where light wines and beer are the common bey-
elage, the aggregate consumption Of these is
great. and their use by both sexes is almost
universal, but drunkenness is rare. In France,
where pure wines are plenty, total abstinence is
9ery rare, yet drunkenness seldom noticed. In
Russia and Scotland, where brandy and Vhiskey
abound, drunkenness is common, and is believed
70 be on the increase. In this country, peop1ed
by men and women from all parts Of the world,
there is CREST diversity Of tastes and habits,
but we think it safe to say that drunkenness is
confined to those who use whiskey, rum, gin, or
brandy, and does not prevail among those
who drink wine end beer. Hence it has occur
red to several eminent physicians and philan-
thropists that q proper field of labor for the
friends Of temperance is to cultivate rather than
repress the taste for wine and beer Us substi-
tutes for the more fiery and maddenins drinks,
which lead to intozication and crime. To the
extent that this use Of wine and beer as substi-
tutes for alcoholic drinks is increased, there
must be reduction of Drunkenness and Of it's
attendant misfortunes and crimes. If Christ
changed the water into wine at Cana Of Galilee,
surely His followers may labor to change whis- |
Ky into wine in Chicago or elsewhere.
Men are not to be Hrenched from their long !
accustomed habits either by denunciations orby |
arbitrary laws. Laws for the regulation Of per-
sonal habits, tastes, and customs have
always failed to accomplish the end !
sought. Human nature rejects them
as oppressive, and any enastment |
which fails to command the general approval Of
the community must fail in being observed. |
For this reason, prohibitory laws have failed
both to prevent the sale Of liquor and to prevent
drunkenness. There are those who look upon
the use of tobacco as hardly less injurious than
the use Of liquors. These men would, il they !
gould, include tobacco in the prohibitions Of the
Maine law. Does any person imagine that such
: Law could be enforced, and that the use OF to-
bscco could be interdicted by proclamation or
statute? The absolute prohibition Of the sale Of
liquid stmulants is resented and resisted for the
same reason. There must be aline drawn some |
Ehere, butw question whether any good can ever
result from prohibition. The remedy is in fur
nishing the public With stimulant which will |
satisfy the taste, and which when used will pro-
luce the least injury to health, to life, and to |
public order. There are thousands of persons !
IL this community who habitua1ly use wine or
beer IN place of tea and coffee; these aame peo-
ple rarely it ever, use spirituous liquors in any
Of its forms. These people are temperate in
their habits, and suffer none Of the usual conse-
91ences of drinking.
The man Vho induces dozen men to diEcon-
tinue the use Of beverages that produce intoxi-
cation, and to adopt something in their place
which leaves them sober, is real benefactor,
and is the practical promoter Of temperance,
sobriety, and good order. he prevents drunken
ness. He keeps men sober who otherwise
would get drunk. He prevents disorder by taking
=nay the most frequent CAUSE thereof. He is,
in fact the true, practical teacher of temperance.
This has no bearing upon the question of the |
Sunday laws. nor has it any bearing upon the !
question of enforcing existing laws, but it has |
direct bearing upon tie question of how far laws
fcr the regulation Of social habits should ex
tend. We cannot help believing that the cause
Of temperance has been always defeated by the
extreme policies advocated The question is
never regarded in practical way. It is the in
discriminate WEI upon that which is harmless, as
well as that which is harmful, which arrays |
against the temperance refor1ners opposition |
always powerful enough to defeat them, oven in |
those States where they ha7e the law-making |
COVER on their side.
CITY LIFE VS.. COUNTRY LIFE.
OF Late years, the tendency Of dwellers in cities
tn find country homes has become almost q |
1nauia. The best arts Of the landscape gardener |
x1o,r; of t,.-