The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-06-01
Temperance and Blaotry.

vince of legislation. Society 10 not formed
for the purpose of enforcing every virtue
and hurrying citizens along in the pursuit
o. happiness with a policeman's baton over
| their heads. A man does not enter into the
great compact of nationality for protection
against himself, but against his neighbors.
Each one 10 willing to take the RESPONSE
bility, 90 far % he is personally concerned,
of controlling his own passions and appe-
tites.
Strictly speaking, every man has by ma
ture the right to eat as much, drink as
much, and dress as much as he pleases,
and certainly NO one, in forming the social
compact, intends to abandon that right, or
modify it in the slightest degree, except as
it may bear upon the rights of others. That
one man should take on himself to say that
another must not drink more than Ger
tain quantity of whiskey, because OF its
being bad for his health, would be an evil
dent piece Of impotence. Yet We find
communities where one party Of voters say
that the other shall not ever smell whis-
key. This is worse than imp udance, it is
what men have branded with the name of
Puritanism. In old times it was called
Phariseeisu.
Now, it appears that the Republican
party ut the North has been imprudent
enough to identify itself with enforced tenn
perauce. and is consequently calling down
upon itself the popular disgust which al
ways follows bigotry of any kind. This
will probably check the enthusiasm with
which the movement was being urged on,
| and probably furnish another exemplifica-
cation of the principle tn at things can be
killed with kindness. Incorporate zeal is
one of the principal obstacles which the
devil generally puts in tho way of a good
cause.
Let Us not overleap the mark, but let us
see if something cannot be done in the
way of legislation, against the desolating
scourge of intemperance. A telegram
which we publish to day shows that the
New York Legislature has passed bill
providing for an action of damages, on the
part of wives and children cf drunkards
and others, against any one who may have
sold liquors to the person whose intoxiea-
ton wrought the harm.
r. This law may, perhaps, remain inopera-
tive owing to the difficulty of showing the
amount of damage arising from each par
ticular drink, but evidently this isa line
on which the legislative war may properly
be fought. 1t will not do to attack the right
of drinking spirits but the abuse of that
right wherein it affects others, can proper
drinking becomes worthless as a support
to his family, certainly this is damage to
his wife and children, and those who are in
strumental in causing it ought to be made
responsible:
But, after all, men who are naturally
very prone to indulgence of this kind can
never be baffled in it by human laws. They
will get whiskey if they have to steal the
corn and distil it themselves. The great
point is to save those who not having ma
turally any special taste for drunken de-
bauch, acquire it by association. Drunk
enness is really disgraceful, but the devil
enables people as q general thing to see in
it something very funny. It's great joke
before it has grown to be babitaal. It's go
amusing to see young men "boozy, ""tight,"
"half- seas-over," ETC.; but after few years.
when they have attained the period of the
seedy coat and rubicund nose, nobody
laughs "they are brutes."
1t appears to us that nine tenths Of the
evil would cease if intemperance could be
stripped Of it's false respectability and of
that delusive glamour of social cordially
which is made to surround it. Men must
be allowed tosdrink if they choose to do
it, but upon the least symptoms Of intern
perance, they ought to become objects of
suspicion to patrons and employers.
The law might be invoked to aid this
sentiment. For instance, permit an en-
ployer to discharge an employee, notwith-
standing the most stringent engagement,
upon any sign of intoxication, let land
lord have the right to cancel Jesse in q
similar case, on the presumption that his
rent will never be paid etc.. Such things
would soon make it rather disagreeable to
he known as n social glass man.