The Hickman courier. [volume] (Hickman, Ky.) 1859-current, 1874-04-11
Incorporate Temperance.
Plea for Temperance Societies

Ilr Editor:
You will ALLOW me to continue from my
communication of last week The writer
is IL temperance man, and has no desire TO
palliate or excuse drunkenness, or apoi-
ogize for any Of the sins. foliies. sorrows
or crimes, that result from the excessive
use OF Intoxicating drink. We are All OPP
-osed TO drunkenness, and would prevent
il; bat honest and sensible men ISL re
spect difference Of opinion ~ to the rqoae
and p,qyncr Of doing il. cOucede the
friends Of the proposed new law, gooi aud
pure motives but when they answer ar
gumeni and reason in favor of Il License
Law. By the Irritating reply. "You re
fighting FOR Nhiskcy, etc, must say
they are excited and fanatic.
win resume, however, the history of
rEmPEnAxoE MOVEMENT
For four tkousand years the evils Of in
Temperance have attracted the thou -ht o.
phi!authropists and LEGISLATOR, bui, il 5
not my purpose nov to trace this history
further than pertains 10 ouT own country
Away back rs far as 1G+U. the Pur,i.,us
OF New England made pronibitory enact
ments. together With other ieEislations OF
a similar nature. That the Puritan rule
proved distasteful aud unpopular eve-y-
body knows The fist congress of the
y,
and most of the states at that time liceus
ed it's sale. II was not until 1874 that
Temperance Societies were organized,
they were based on moral suasioa, ami
accomplished greH; good. One OF these
was called United Friends of Temper
ance, another The Reformers etc. In
1926. the societies of the New England
States met in convention to mass the
movement for poiitico religious purposes,
and from that day such movements have
from time to lime sprung up. thrown whole
communities into moral Mysteries, and
after q brief existence, subsidized. la 1910
the "Washingtonians' were organized,
and 30 long ~ they held on to moral sua
sion, they succeeded in Reforming thou
sands and thousands Of dTunkards. Some
of the great lenders of this noble old So
ciety swept off into politics with the balk
OF il, anu sectarian-reiigiOusd isputa,ions
slaughtered what was left with their
little Ratchet Next ca'ae the sons Of
Temperance 'Rechabites," etc. These
institutions, especially the first, won tens
OF thousands into their protecting fold b.
moral suasiou; bat its leaders grew i'm
patient OF Gods providence, tired Of
moral suAsion, rushed il into politics,
and such rigid and odious legislation as
the Maine Liquor Law. destroyed its
usefulness by driving thousands outside
,he order besides killing downright hun
dreds of lodges.
Now we have the order Cool Tenn
plars-the best institution on iopside the
earth, except the churches, so ioag as il i
kept in "A social and moral reforutatory
sphere. And do you ask me rs Il tempe T.
snce man, TO join in the self-same nten-
peratc, impractic:tble movement. which
killed oH its predecessors? bid 1t kii{ its
predecessors Where are the Washing
ioniansl Why have they no, an existence
today Other moral institutions. the
Masons aud Odd Fellows for instance. ex-
listed in the same time, and yet L.vEl Old
men now living will tell you thai thirty
years ago the "washiugtonians' were in
the ui.sds. hearts aud mouths of every
body. They prospered under moral sua-
sion they Tied from moral politics
And will the incorporate temperance
orators OF this day toll US that
"MoRAL sUAsIoS Is a FAILURElT
Why then the Good Templars" are fail
ure, because "moral suasiou" is their sole
foundation! And are the food Templars"
a failure, when $1,000 men and women IN
Kentucky stand enrolled under their ban
ner? And are they a failure in the little
county of Fulton with aear 600 men aud
women in the Orderl What made this
multitude of -'Good remplars2' Did il
take legislative enactmentsi No; but
: moral suasian did the work And will
men, with these noble results
before their eyes, tell US that moral sua-
sion" is a faIIure! There ore, 1 beseech
Temperance men TO stop and think
WY WILL PROHIBITION sEvEK SUCCEED
Some sgeoi men growing impatient of