The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1879-08-21
A TEMPERANCE ESSAY.

READ Hy MRS. KATE p woLrAED BEFoEE THIS
( HLUE RIBBON CLUB OF coLFAN. ~. r.. ANI
Published HN EfgIA1r Or TiiE LADY 5
NCnEHoUs FEiESts.
II would seem that the temperance
theme was weIl-nigh exhausted; but
so long a. governments permit the
manufacture and sale Of alcoholic hev-
erages, Just so long the temperance ueo-
pie will talk Our object iu assembling
here this evening is the same that has
caused almost countless hunters 10
congregate in various other places the
world over; namely, the putting down
of an evil which ia its disastrous results
20 mankind is beyond computation. No
other list of evils can compare with it.
War, pestilence and famine are c)m-
PEELED to acknowledge its superior
power, for they only hold sway at peri
odical times, while this king Of terrors
has constant control over its victims.
And yet, it is so shielded and draped in
fascinating, harmless appearing forms
that those who tamper with it are lost
before they realize that they are in
danger.
The annual drinking bill Of the United
States is estimated to be seven hundred
millions OF dollars. Just imagine how
many school-houses this would build,
aud how many orphans it would edu-
cate. In twenty years the compound
interest on this sum would amount to
more than twenty-five billions Of dol
lars. The amount Of money thus ex-
I pended in these worse than useless bev-
erages is indeed fearful, appalling to
contemplate. But this money bill is
the smallest item in the list When
compared with the sorrow that is en-
tailed upon the human family, it sinks
into insignificance.
/ In whom is vested the right to desc
crate our souls aud bodies? Do parents
hold the moral right to allow their
minor sons the free use OF the streets at
night, where Impressions are constantly
being mode on their young minds,
which will sooner or later lead them
into the dazzling pitfalls located on
nearly every corner? Have our older
sons a right to frequent these places
which lead 70 physical and mental
death, well knowing their parents are
in an agony of fear for the result? Was
the right ever given, and, IL so, by
whom, to our husbands aud fathers, to
spend their time far into the night, and
money so long as they have it, in fire.
quenting places which bring them and
US no return but degradation, thereby
defraudine the home and the wife and
children Of the presence and support
which they have promised before high
heaven to bestow?
All will admit that the government
which allows the manufacture and sale
Of ardent spirits derives a revenue from
that source. But this Eeveuue is can
celed a thousand times over in the erec-
tion Of penitentiaries, jails, luuatic asy-
lums, poor houses, homes for the ine-
briate, homes for the widows and
orphans, the endless array Of lawsuits
I for murder and other crimes, the
anguish and tears Of family aud friends
for fallen loved ones, all of which are
the result of licensed liquor selling and
consequent liquor drinking. The crime
is fearful; what will the reckoning be
I It does look singular that intelligent
beings, either as nation or a commu-
nifty, will allow the manufacture and
/ sale Of an article which causes the deg
radiation and sorrow for which ardent
/ spirits are responsible, but such seems
/ to be the lamentable fact. Take, for in
stance, our own village. Think you
that parents who have the future well
I fare OF their sons constantly in view can
trust them for any length Of time in
this place as they could two or three
I years ago, before saloons existed among
us? / think you will ali bear me out in
saying, No! Is there no remedy2 Did
the Almighty Father create within US
this longing desire for stimulants, and
then turn US into beasts if we indulge
in il? II so, why do we not find alco-
holic trees aud tap them, as we do
naples or why not fiud 1t flowing in
our rivulets and springs? Alcohol is
always a product of decay-something
must ferment or rot before we can OBJ
tain il. The elements that cause the
desire for unnatural stimulants are first
i formed before birth, through the stimu-
lated food Of the mother. Il is contin-
ued i'm the infants food through the
same source, and still further fostered
I by the first dose Of cordial. The process
is then kept up with untiring energy by
the use Of rich, highly seasoned food,
eaten at all hours, and by the use of hot
drinks, of which tea and coffee drank in
large quantities are the staples. And
then comes tobacco, that curse of our
young men, and still greater curse Of
/ our Older men, who, when they would
7 quit the disgusting, unhealthy habit,
/ tnd themselves almost powerless to do
so. From my earliest recollection,
have been constrained to respect a man
who has the moral courage to abstain
from 'he use ~ tcoacco. Let US have
an anti-tobaceo Ige. We read of its
being successful circulated in other
places. There is uO doubt in nv mind
but the use ol tobacco in excess il the
high road to the use Of, or want Of. alco-
holic drinks. Right here, | think. lies
the secret Of there being SO many more
men who use alcohol than there are