Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1876-05-15
GERMAN BEER DRINkING.

An Intelligent American'A Observa.
lions and Conclusions.
Charles Dudley Warmers Munich Letter TO
Hartford Courant.l
Perhaps the temperance question
is not exactly solved in Munich; l
don't know if it was ever raised;
indeed the intemperance question
has made so little progress that the
other has probably not been reached.
You wouldn't say that the Munich
ers are moderate in the use of beer.
l have seen people at home-and
raging thirst seems to be our ma
tionaI birthright-drink water just
as recklessly, deluging the pale and
drenched stomach with the cold,
icy cold fluid. Probably the Ger
man would expatiate eloquently
upon the horrors of water drink
ing-if he had any experience in
that line.
The Municher is content not to
try any hazardous experiments;
having struck the medium way Of
beer he deviates neither to water on
the one hand nor wine on the other.
And it was not he but a Prussian,
and an officer, whose opinion and
experience gave his remark some
weight, who said to me, the other
day: GAS for me, when / can get
good water, pure, fresh water, | let
the beer stand one side, and drink
wine" 1t makes all the difference
in the world with ones temperance
principles whether he lives on the
Rhine or on the Iser. There is a
saying here that a Munich man is
| a beer cask in the morning and a
cask of beer at night; the epigram
needs no explanation here, but it
might be understood elsewhere.
II one were disposed philOsophi-
cally to study the temperance prob,
lem, Munich would be a good field
for it; for one can soc here exactly
what is the effect of unrestrained
liberty; though, in applying what
one learned here to our own coun-
try, you would have to allow for the
difference of climate and of tenn
perament of people. 1t don't at
all follow that what would do for
Munich would do for Hartford.
Probably you could not find in
the whole city a man or woman
who has ever thought Of what we
call total abstinence, and they could
not comprehend the idea. But
there are plenty of temperance peo-
ple--that is, people who drink beer
regularly, and never overstep the
bounds Of moderation. The obser-
vation that one makes in Munich
is that drunkenness is a rare excep-
ton. In a residence here of many
months / have never seen more than
one or two intoxicated people in
the streets, and they. were not
marked by the wildness or vicious
ness of our strong liquor inebriety,
but seemed to be rather good-hu-
mored carls, who bad lost their way,
and didn't seem to care whether
they eyer found it. But this seems
very remarkable, when there is a
beer-house every half block, and
Won cannot select a residence in any
part of the town that is not as
handy to a Keller as it is to a pub
| lie school or o church. And can
not see that the freedom of beer
tends to any habit Of oyersdrink-
ing. / have known strangers te
indulge freely in beer here the
whole season, and be Just as good
| temperance people at the end a'
theg were in the beginning.
Whether the Germans, especially
the men, do not waste 2 good deal
of time in their beer-halIs, after-
noon after afternoon, and night
after night, swigging endless mugs,
is another question. And it is a
fair question TO raise: What must
be the final effect upon the intellect
Of a people who 50 many hours a
day soak in this mild but distend-
ing fluid, and in an atmosphere OF
smoke2 The question is, however,
a mere speculative one, so long as
the Germans continue to produce
so many scholars, philosophers,
men of incalculable eruditlon, won
derfnllv eneroetie travellers and ex-