Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-05-21
Suasi0n and Prohibition.

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and the man himself exercises a larger
freedom than ever he has done His wants
aud wishes have great and growing 10.
huence on legislation and on religious forms.
States and churches are made according to
his ideas. lie dresses, eats and sleeps ex-
acty as be likes. lie is as rude and uu-
mannery as he peases. He does not even
marry for life, but divorces when he peases,
aud marries as many times as suits him.
Courts and Judges and legislators are bis
obedieut servants All the forces Of
modern society, from one point Of view,
seem to work for his emancipation from all
sorts Of restriction. We reem, even, to be
getting more and more reluctant TO ask him
to submit himself to the ordinary laws Of
morality. 1t sometimes appears as if lying,
cheating aud stealing, aud quitting money
where it will do the most good" whether it
is his own money or somebody clse's money,
might be relegated to the category of "per-
sonal pcculiarites." There is no difficulty
in procuring funeral grafton for the great
est public criminals, aud Judges sometimes
deprecate the anger Of the scoundres whom
they try and sentence.
But there is one exception to this general
leaning to freedom. There.are some sig
ni6cant displays Of want of confidence,
not only in the individual mans goodness.
but also 10 his common sense. The prohib-
itory movement, as it is called, is in strik.
ing contrast to the general moral aud social
reforms Of the day. For the most part
our reforms are for extending the area Of
individual freedom-for emancipatiug men
from the dictations Of authority or custom
for breaking every ietter that binds the in
telect, the conscience or the heart But
this reform denies mans ability TO take
care either of hismind, body or estate. 1t
says that individuals cannot be trusted with
deciding the quantity of alcohol they shall
consume that the use of freedom 10 GER
tain matter shall be stopped because of the
evils growing out of its abuse. Its philos.
ophy is that man cannot take care of his
own morals, or his own personal habits
that the State must regulate him in the
matter of his drinks by penal enactments.
1t sometimes scouts all talk of the efficacy Of
moral suasion or of confidence in the general
progress of society and of good morals, as
mere trash, and in its passion for coercion
inyeghs against all who still believe 10 the
potent and demonstrated efficacy of moral
means.
In reading tho arguments and speeches
of prohibitlonists, the question has occurred
to us, how came there to be any prohibition.
lists at ALI How is it that 10 SO many oil
our States there is a majority of persons
who advocate prohibition, theoretically and
practically; that there is, also, larger
body who never use Intoxicating drinks
themselves aud never offer them to their
friends, and consider all resort to them as
uuwise and injurious; and another smaller
class, who con6ne themselves to a moderate
use Of them ? Fifty years ago there were
no prohibi,ionists and no temperance men ia
the country. Then everybody drank, and
large number of respectable people drank
to excess Liquors we're on every side
board and in every closet, and gross indul
gence was hardly considered shameful. Blu
now, what an immense change has taker
place Most Of the men are now temperate
and large portion of the community con
slider the drinking of rum aud whiskey anC
wine even, as one Of the foulest Of vices
And what has produced the change? Their
has been no special revelation on the sub
ject. The Bible was as emphatic agains
drunkenness in 1900 as in 1878; as emphat
ic against him who putteth the bottle to hi
neighbours lips and pakes him drunken
Nor have men been legislated into the be
liefs they now hold about the use Of liquor
They have not been dragged into them b
the sheriff. No angel has come to ther
ard hidden them hate alcohol. The mar
velous progress Of temperance has not bee
due to coercion.
To what agency, then, do we owe the ex
istence Of the vast band Of prohibitionists
the still vaster company of quiet teetota
lers, the larger company of moderate drink
ers, to all of whom drunkenness in ever
degree is revolving ofiense against mora
aud deceucy2 Do we not owe all these r,
suits to the very agency which the most at
, vanced prohbitionists are accustomed /
decry and disparage and ridicue, namely
. to the reason of the individual man worl
ing on the facts of life. The whole cam
of the prohibitionists is filled with the r,
suits of moral suasion. The most rsdic.
OF them all is its product. The temperate
agitation, the influence it has exerted @
the public mind, the prohibitory law itsel
are due to the play Of the individual col
science and reason on the conditions an
need, Of human society, to the fact Thu
individuals have a moral sense aud use i
that they on the whole love order and d.
cency and hate their opposites, and are col
} scious Of their responsibilities in this Ii
and in the life TO come.
Whatever is hopeful in public sentimel
10 this question of temperance, is due to II
moral forces which so many ask US to tru
no longer, or to throw away and to re-
solely on the stronger aud sharper blade
the law. Whatever progress has been ma,
or is being made on this subject is owing
the Christian law Of love, emerging in
clearer light and more practical forms,
the very force which has brought the wor
out of barbarism into civilization, and 6ll'
: 1t with institutions Of human reform Al
: help.
There is no computing the power Of j
ut ual ind =.