, 1874-02-08
THE BOSTON HOTEL-RAID,

| When the women Of Ohio are attacking, nj th
misguided ferror, the use OF beer, ale, wine and
| ardent spirits Unfortunately, and when the
effect tyrannical law by robbing the Boston
hotels OF thousands Of dollars worth Of vino, il
ID time for common sense to make itself heard,
to point out why prohibitory laws have always
and to show what sort of liquor law can best
promote the welfare of the community.
The same State that passed the law nor being
enforced in Boston has Board OF Health, one
OF the functions Of which is to report upon tho
liquor question. In the report for 1872, the
Chairman, the noted Dr.. II. /. Bowd!tch, of
Boston, submitted paper which is 40 full
Of facts and fSureB and wise inductionE there
from, that it ought to be in the hands OF every
man who pretenls to know the A, B, g OF such
legislation. By means OF M extensive CORE
spondence with persons in all parts Of the world
DR.. Bowditch has accumulated the facts upon
which he bases these, among other, conclusions:
Stimulants are used everywhere. The appetite
for them is universal, and !" cannot be annihi-
1dted.' This appetite varies with the climate.
At the equator, drunkenness is rare and 1icen-
tiousness common. As tho observer goes north,
the former increases and the latter diminishes.
This general law is modified by the influence OF
race. fashion, and legislation Thus it is gen.
eral rule that peoples living between the isother-
mnl lines Of n deg. and SO deg. Fahrenheit
use much beer, ale, and light wine, but ittle ar
dent spirits. But in the United States. which liz
wholly, save bit OF Montana. between these
two lines, the English, who live to the north of
the so deg. line and 80 in the zone Of ardent
spirits, brought their habits with them, and We
have inherited these habits. The foolish fash-
ion OF treating" leads in many cases to an ex-
cessivo use Of stimulants among Us, and the leg
islation which has taxed foreign wines 30 heavily
has forced whisky into use to supply the appetite
which would have been satisfied with wine ar
dent spirits injure tho physique. and lead to
"crazy drunkenness aud its resulting crime
On the other hand, bees, ale, and wine, if not
used immoderately, are beneficial. They rarely
cause drunkenness, and, when they do, it is OF
the kind which shows itself in singing and
me11y-mahiug, and not in brutality and murder
There are important lessons to be drawn from
this testimony, thus publicly given by one Of
New England's ablest physicians. Prohibitory
laws try to prevent tie qualification If IN ap-
petite that is nearly universal and TINT cannot
be an0ihilated. In large cities their failure is
rendered more conspicuous by popular hos
tility to them, and by the facilities
for eyading them. For the same reasons,
they will always fail. Since the causes
remain, the effect must also remain. Moreover,
such laws, by mixing that wrong which very
many men regard as right, by pressing more
heavily upon the poor than the rich, by unduly
interfering with private business, aud by arbi-
trari1y confscatihs property, put the State in
the light Of IN oppressor, encourage the break
ing OF all laws by making the breaking Of some
seem like manly protest against tyranny, and
demoralize the community.
The law which is to promote Temperance
should ie t@reefold, ,-nationa', State, md local.
The nation should lower the duties on foreign
light wines, 30 that by their cheapness they
could come into general use. The State should |
remove an special restrictions on the sale
Of best. ~. and wine, TO thAt