Arizona citizen., 1875-07-03
THE CITIZEN.
About Temperance.

Der of Arizona Lodge No. l, 1. o. G. T:
 When there is d discourse about the tenn
 perance cause, we often hear the argu
 ment used that wine is made for beverage
 and not for the enjoyment of the senses
 When man wants to prove that wine
 and alcohol were made by our Creator d:
 a drink, he commences with the frs
 chapter of the Bible, which says: And
 God saw everything he had made and be-
 hold it was very good" Well, then, ifoul | Creator pronounceS it good, how can we as | his creatures have doubts about it? And
 still further the advocate calls our atten. | ton to references ill the New Testament
 and asks if wine was not good for man how comes it that the first miracle of our Saviour was to turn water into wine at the
 marriage festival in Cana OfGalilee? Such arguments tend to deter very many per sons from uniting with temperance Socie- ties, 10 which 1 was opposed for a long time, but having thought good deal on the subject, together with reading temper ance works, l am now convinced that was wrong.
 l will divide my theme into three queS- tiOnS and explain my meaning. First. Is wine made for the use of man? Second. Is IL against the law of nature to use wine aS d Sociable drink. Third. what good do we do and what principles practice by not using it.
 As to the first question:: It will seem strange when |, as d Good Templar, write that l believe that wine grows in the fruit for the good of creation and the use Of man. But in regard to the man of the world who repeats And God saw every thing he had made and behold it was good" I will simply remark: Adam at that time had not come to his fall.
 Is II against the law of nature to use Xvi m 70 l Snpi1 hlp nrinlZ0 I q hali it is against the law Of nature 10 use it in d temperate manner. What is temper ance? The great men of different nations call it d moderate use of our appetiteS and passions, and when men use wine in a temperate manner they do not infringe Belgium, it is the custom to use beer iD- stead of coffee or tea at dinner and supper, and every well to do citizen has always a barrel OI beer in his cellar, not because 1t Is the custom, but because it makes his home more Sociable; it keeps his children from places where beer is for sale and where they will buy many other things, and teaches them to use the drink in a temperate way. Observation and the sta tistics of the different countries show us that the Kingdom of Belgium boasts of having One-elghth drunkards less and also less crimes than any other State on the continent. Do l call the father who practices such principles for the good of his family, an incorporate man? l do not. It is no greatness, no virtue, when we are bound by our solemn obligations and our sacred honor that we abstain from wine and all intoxicating liquor; we have bound our free will, and by keeping II we only preserve our character. But it Is virtue and greatness of soul when we have our passions and appetiteS under control, so that we can use the same in a temperate way. Alas, the man has come to fall! Also, my doctrine is that when people are able to provide sOciable drink and use 1t in temperate way without in tOXicatiOn in their own family circle, that such people do no harm, but enjoy the things ot which our Creator has said: " And behold 1t was very good," and I can not call it against the law Of nature.
 What good do we do and what princi- pleS practice by not using it as sOciable drink? The man who uses the sociable drink in the way have described, is by all right a temperance man and has no need for himself to take an obligation; his principles will carry him in a good way through life, and on his death bed he may say l have enjoyed a happy life. When ever he sees man under the influence of liquor, the question arises in his breast: How IS 1t possible that human beings who have a part of the Almighty Spirit, can degrade themselves in such a way? When he observes the evils of the wine; when he sees the crimes and misery which it creates; the question again arises, how long will such condition of things last? History teaches that intemperance was the fall of the once mighty Roman Empire. Morals teach us that intemper- ance will be the destroyer of the world. What good does that man now by not using the social drink? He sacrifices his pleasures of social drink upon the altar of patriotism and he practices one of the greatest virtues of man. He has the strength to use the wine in a temperate way and he observes that the greatest part of human beings do not know how to use it, because man has come 10 his fall and has not the power to arise without prac- ticing the first principle of life "Temper ance." For the greatness of his country and the good of human beings, he joined the cause of temperance. Iput the ques- ton to the man of the world: Why do you not do likewise?"