Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1873-08-27
The Temperance Work.

oo,uUu per year. A monopoly OF all til
railways in the nation could not equal thi:
money power OF the liquor traffic. On
million Of the people engaged in manufactur
! ing and selling strong drink Throughout
the land for every 231 inhabitants, on
place for the sale of liquor! Eight gallon
Of intoxicating drinks annually for ever
man, woman and child
Evidently the friends of man and enemic
, of alcohol have Herculean work befor
them. Holiday parades and kid-glovej war
fare will not carry the day for temp erance
Intemperanco has every element of success
save one. 1t has a strong position, is thor
oughly fortified, has men and means.
has not the right on its side, and this is it.
one weak point. Temperance is fortified by
the right. and this is its main reliance
Among the particular difficulties in put
ting down intemperance We mention the fol.
lowing as the most formidable:
l. Many of the supposed and professec
friends of temperance are occasional drink
ers. They drink but little, and secretly il
may be, but a man cannot do femperanc.
ioo'k if he visits place for drink, even once
or twice year.
2. Some good men own property that they
knowingly rent for liquor-selling purposes
8. Many that ought to be leaders in TEN.
perance work are intimately related to sell
ers of strong drink.
4. Business men are very generally afraid
of losing trade if they touch this illegal bust
ness of their neighbors.
S. Some officers of the law hold their
positions only by the favor or sufrance OF
the Equor interest. The aspirant for Office
well understands that be must do nothing to
rouse the opposition of those who sell and
drink
ln one way and another the personal in
terests OF almost every man are liable to sui
er if he touches this monster evil There
are temperance men enough to carry the
elections and enforce the laws, but for vari-
Gus reasons the most of them wish to be
silent partners in the temperance cause.
Many chapters of the history of the tenn
perance cause are discouraging, but on the
whole the friends of temperance have reason
to thank God and take courage. We can
hardly believe our own eyes at first reading
that in 1888 the American Temperance So
ciety voted down the proposition of total
abstinence. One generation has not passed
away since the temperance cause began to
build on this rock of total abstinence. And
IN this short time six States have enacted
prohibition, eight have civil damage laws.
and Ohio lays the axe to the root and In her
constitution forbids any legal protection to
the traffic. Moreover the Supreme Courts
have been appealed to and their decisions
are all that the friends of temperance can
ask. Skirmshng is at an end and the
outer works of this enemy are carried
There remains only the great terrible battle.
How long it will continue, no man can tell
Perhaps millions who work and vote and
talk for strong drink must first be over
whelmed In temporary victory of alcohol
before they will realize how they but con-
tribute to their own ruin.
Various agencies have helped the temper.
ance cause on to its present strength. The
pulpit ls of one Voice and its voice is often
heard. The Sabbath Schools are powerful
aids in cultivating the temperance sentiment.
TIE lectures of Cough and others have done
lncalculable service in the same direction.
And the whole corps of temperance societies
are to be honoraby mentioned in summing
up the moral suaslon forces of the temper
ance cause.
But it is worth the while of temperance
men to ask why so many such organizations
and all so short-lived? Somebody could
make book on this question-giving the
biography OF hundreds of open and secret
temperance societies that have sprung up in
night, and disappeared about as suddenly
They promised we'll for temperance mil
lennium. Alas that the day delays its
dawn! And will there ever be a temper-
ance society that will live?
~ 10 uOb w Uc HODueIGQ at That
20 many apparent failures have attended the
temperance reform. We can hereby claim
that We are yet past the period of expert
ment in this work. Happy if we do not
repeat the mistakes and failures of the past.
In shaping any temperance organization it
should be remembered that whatsoever the
organization the community generally will
leave all the practical temperance work to
be done by that organization. For various
reasons many true friends of temperance
may decline to join. but they will look to
1.-The lodge" to reform all drunkards and
close all places OF liquor-selling. And many
of the organizations have died because thew
could not command the best TEMPERANCE
sentiment of community.
1t living and every where and ALWAYS
successful temperance movement is ever
inaugurated it will take it's measure from
the work to be done. That work has three
features, LIST, reforming the drunkard: I'd.
confirming the young in temperance princi-
pies and practices Sd, enforcing the law of
prohibition against the manufacture and sale
OF strong drink. Moral suasion is a force
and must never be discarded. But such is
human nature, such is mans inhumanitv
to man" that liquor selling will not cease
only as fines are imposed or men dread prison
walls
The temperance sentiment of every COM
munlty must crystalline into this form, to
wit strong drink shall not be sold. Intern
perance cannot be cleaned out on any other
basis. There must be liquor prosecuting
com oina'ion OF some sort. This will put
The issue into its normal shape. We need
not specify the stuff of which those men are
made who dare meet the enemy in this
,0nest, square, hand-to-hand vay and fob.