The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-03-15

the rumshop just round the corner.
The first meeting had no: been In session fifteen
minutes before 1t became perfectly apparent that.
though every minister had given the subject very
serious thought, not one Of them had any plan to
oner. They were all In the fog. They all believed
in temperance. but not all o. them in total abs'i-
nence. Some regarded drunkenness Is CRIME
TO be punished as such; and these proposed ne"
law, to be rigidy enforced, shutting all dram
shops on Sunday, and Furnishing every one VINO
went into them during the week. Drinking "ho'
| they seemed to think, is not an eVi wnen uono
In the privacy Of ones family; but IL oecoues sun
| when carried on Ut every street corper' A"o''"~
7 Is ali right but TO get drunk Is all wrong. There
is no objection to friendly nightcap' OF 70
glass now and then for the stomscns SAKE
or TO the musical clink OF glasses when
one p p. C's you. But As ior common
drunkenness-the regular eleven O'Clock tppe,
tho inviting bars all over the city-this q serious
matter and ought TO be attended to. The logic OF
this policy seems to me to De somewhat onesided.
II is slightly top heavy and is too partial to suit my
fancy The poor man mustn't get drunk because
he will reel about the streets and set q bad ex.
ample. He can't AFFORD to buy an original package,
carry 1t home and become u beast in the bosom OF
his family therefore he ought not TO drink at all.
The rich man, on the other hand, must not be IN
terlered with, because "a mans house Is his
CASTLE" and il he wants to import the pure brands
and to open q bottle OF sherry that is all cob
webbed with age we'll and good. Now, it strikes
me that drinking Is either wrong or right. don't
believe that It Is right Tor the rich aud
wrong for the poor. million
O'Clock in the morning SO mudded that he can't
find the keyhole and 50 mixed that ne doesn't
know the door mat from the door KNOB why may
And yet the Whole community laughs al the ole
as an eccentricity OF youth and STANDS agaast AZ
10 9TH a hpl II
rich and poor alike, say l. We must measure all
men by the same standard. what Is wrong 10
wrong and there's the end OF 1t, and what 10 right
is right whether we are poor or rich Give US lar
play, and grant no more privileges to the master
tnan the servant can equally enjoy.
others regarded drunkenness as q disease, and
wanted TO treat 1t as such. They would make war
on the sources OF moral contagiou and not only
shut up the common dramshops which iniest the
city, ana close the bars IN every hotel bnt stop the
Importation vi all liquors, and make even tue
chemists find some other solvent with which to
mix theT drugs than alcohol Here you perceive
sprtauois from I" the lace Of the planet Men must
be taught to put hops TO better purpose than the
manufacture oil lager beer, and apple orchards
ought tQ be cut down. since they are a direct H.
centve toward sweet cider. The tasks of Her
cules were Ike tue lifting OF straw by the side OF
the work which these gentlemen have IN hand:
The mere passage oil q law prohibiting the SAFE OF
intoxicsnts would be attended with great DIM
Guilty nut alter 1t was passed 1t would he worth
just nothing at all law TO compel the people to
oe good Is an absurdity. The Legislature might
take it INTO their wise heads to enact penalty Tor
profanity, but the only effect would be to add .
couple Of strong oaths to the colloqual English OF
the other to express the popular opinion OF the law
itsel. suppose 1t would oe lar easier to convert
our Congressman INTO honest c,tizensma ,, WORK
tate TO undertake-than TO enforce any legislation
which should prescribe what man shall eat
or drink at his own table, and In this shrewd
world 1t IS beyond all peradventure that II there
is demand the supply viii not be lar behind.
Mat man wants enough TO pay for he can have.
IL Is to my mind impossible TO legislate man
into virtue. Laws may punish when one Ii bad,
bit they can't make one good.
And TINS temperance problem is one which
eYen the New YORK clergy find it hard to handle.
convictions OF their hearers to be considered.
livery minister in the city can preach OF temper
renee IS quite another thing. They seem not to
De prepared to do that quite yet. vast number
Of pews would be lor sale aud to rent; ana thus
man can make Christians OF his people by first
making them mad and then driving them out OF
doors. You say tnat minister IS cowardiy VINO
rerains from such a course. On the contrary, ne
Is rash and reckless and DESTROYS his own use
funess II he pursues 1t. You can't KNOCK
tne 6st, or change his CONVICTIONS by
first element OF Christian courtesy Is to treat The
convictions OF nearer with the utmost respect:
anu IL object is to change his mind and lead
/ him to think as you do on gwen subject you
/ must net expect to do 1t in a thirty minute SER
mon. People who change as rapidly as that are
apt to .hange back again at a most iIcOnvenenr
season The hearers JUDGMENT is Just as good as
value, his opinion likes to give 1t up because you
ask him TO- nor Is be likely to give it up you tell
tell IAN he is no Chris ian unless he thinks you
do he probably grohS red in the face 1umD,es
round for his nat and says "And you are another"
After that DIS judgment has hai dened into preu-
dice, and you may as well give up the contest 1t
was hard when you only mad the mans brains
heart, too, either you or ne will probably have
cali 10 another field of labor.
This br ngs me to just the point want to make.
We all agree as to the evils Oh intemperance; but
We honestly disagree as to the means TO be used
in their removal. Inc whole community. without
dissenting voice. would raise y shout OF praise
II any effective machinery could be devised by
which TINS demon could be exercised. There 10 one
universal shudder throughout tie country at the
devastating and relentless power oil ru a. We
stand aghast at the tragedies which are ually en-
acted under its baelul influence We could pull
half our prisons down II The dstllerles would smut
the distllieries, but the universal appetite which
keeps taem gong, night and day. Ii we could
make war on whlskes cask, we could soon knock
its head in, but the matter does not END there.
Our business Is to make war on that element OF
our common human nature which insists on hav-
ing the whlsEey at any cost, ana In That warfare
must he JudiciOus as well as brave, and eau
tious rather than reckless. The man VINO loses
gnt OF results, ana regards only the means used
TO attain them, need not be surprised II results
never come.
The ultimate of this whole movement Is tenn
| perance, the methods we adopt must be suited
| to the present puohc o. inion on the matter.
! can't endure a man VINO insists on having all he
! wants nothing. For myself, even IN great re-
forms, hall Is better than o quarter. and II 1 can't
get ali get All | can. something Is sure TO come
of This Immense moral excitement 10 the West. IL
| was evidently begun and Is now Dein carried on
by the Lord. lne consequence Is that when even
| the clergy get hold Vi IL they don't know wnat 1t
means ana when they try TO put II ia the traces OF
their precOnceVed notions as to how 1t should be
conducted, they md the harness too small ~ pull
the load. We ali stand amazed at what has been
done and at the machinery, or want OF machinery,
which has accomplished 1t. We had better thank
God ior it, and lei 1t alone. The attemps TO reduce
the mag incent occasional Outbursts OF moral
! indignation TO our notions OF political econ
Omy Is Simply absurd. The only thing to
do is to be thankful and not to block the way.
The movement does not run in any regular church
groove and is not the product OF any single de-
nomination. l look at it as do at q comet 1t
blazes with q wOndrous light; IL Is moving with
inconceivable rapldty through paths not laid out
by the asst onomer and In good time will disap-
pear. Ii will, however. leave trail o. light be-
hind, which will give new impetus TO the general
work have In hand and large encouragement
to those who are laboring in the cause OF sober