Litchfield enquirer., 1874-01-15
The Temperance society--.yo |.

organisations for the promotion of moral ity, is based on faith and on an organi zatlon of those who hold that faith. fol the conversion of others, and for ti moro thorough practice of 1t themselves.
 The faith that underlies the Temper ance Society IS the belief that total ab. stinence from the use of any kind of alec, holic liquor as beverage is the only real ly safe course of life for the individual the only hope for 8 permanent check ot prevalent habits of drunkenness, for the community. In arguing the great dan ger of indulgence the temperance advo- cate always labors under this great diff. ty; he seldom finds the man, except some one so subject to the habit as to be prac- tically beyond self-control, that really thinks himself in danger. Over and oye, again have We heard A. lament that B was becoming a confirmed drunkard, 'that if he were in B. place he would never drink another drop" and then, within few hours, have heard others speak of A. and B. as in equal danger. It is in this liability so self deception that the great danger lies. Men are lost be- fore they imagine they are running any risk. But while men are habitually deceived about themselves, they are not deceived about others. Every man who gives the subject any considera- tion knows that in Litchfeld, or in any other place where the sale of liquor is unrestricted and habits of drinking gen. eral, a very large percentage of its men become habitual drunkards. The profes- sions suffer most from this scourge. Their times of over-work and their times of idleness combine to make the use of stim- ulants peculiarly dangerous. Young men, too, in places where hours of leisure are many, and amusements few, are specially tempted. Every father who lives in a place where habits O. drinking prevail among young men knows that his son may be one of the ten or twenty in hun dred who become drunkards. Hence every father desires his tn associate with those who do not make a practice of drinking liquor. He is almost always glad that his son should join temper ance society, and act up to it's principles, even though he does not practice absti- hence himself.
 The position of many of our best citl- zens in regard to temperance is about this: CT have no fear for myself. I am tenn perate but not total abstinence man. Still, seeing as do the evils of intemper- ance among us, and seeing especially the risk our young men are running, l would cheerfully join a temperance society pro- vided my joining that society would real ly have any tendency to check the spread of intemperance among us."
 Analogy offers perhaps the readiest answer to this doubt of the usefulness of temperance organizations. How are all our churches sustained? People send their children to Sunday School to form religious habits. Believers do not con- sider the partial practice of religious du- ties enough. They further require pub lie profession of faith, and joining with other believers in organizations which make it their special object to spread that faith. With no better organization than Temperance, Christianity would soon find as few profeSsing or practicing it, as now profess and practice the Temperance faith. Without the Sunday School, it is doubt ful whether the churches would even hold their own. The training of the young has been found, on the whole, 8 much surer method Inf making Christians than the conversion of adults. ... ......-
 How happens it, then, that thoughtful people, who desire the general practice of abstinence, especially among the young, imagine that such habits are to be formed without an example of their own, and without any organized effort with others of like views? We do,. indeed, hear it sometimes said that the church is the true temperance society," This, however, can never be the case unless the church teaches abstinence as part of the Chris tian's duty. Individual ministers may do this, but none of the churches, as such, (unless it be the Methodist) even hold to the principles of abstinence, much less require 1t of their members.
 If, then, there is to be any general ef- fort for Temperance, it must be through societies organized for that special pur- pose; and in order to make suc;s societies successful, all who believe in the principle of abstinence should make open profes- sion of their faith. Are the people who are amused when they see the temperate joining the temperance lodge disposed to smile when the pious join the church Yet, does not the church, as we'll as the lodge, save the saint much more easily and more frequently than it saves the sinner, although it is supposed to be its special work to bring not the righteous but sinners to repentance?
 The chief difficulty under. which the Temperance society labors IS that it sel dom includes more than a small portion of those who really believe in and practice abstinence. Every one of these is aware of the advantages of earnest effort and thorough organization in politics, or re lgion. Every one of these is aware of the great advantage attendant upon hay ing abstinence made part of the training and habits of our youth. Yet they fal just enough short of abstinence in thei1 own practice to render their example O. 1 little avail. and they fail to take the posi- tion as leaders and teachers in the Schoo of Temperance where their pre- ence would be of inestimable advantage.
 In brief, our position is t.,.is those who are in no risk of becoming drunkards