Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-02-06
Decrease OF fIntemperance in the Unit
ed htnIea.

Recent English travellers in this country
express freely their surprise at the small
amount Of drinking and intemperance-esp
cially as compared with their own country.
Sir George Campbell, NJ. p, an intelligent
English baronet, who travelled through our
country in 1878, and wrote a very candid and
interesting book on the United States could
say of us as people
THE first thing l noticed in travelling was
the remarkable feature in the American meals,
that people drink no alcoholic liquors at all.
1t seems to be contrary to their habits and
may almost say TO good morals and good
manners TO do so, in public at least In a
great American hotel, where you meet hun
dreds of people you will probably not see one
who takes anything stronger than tea or cof-
fee with his meals or if you do he is q for
eigner. They drink great deal of milk and
such innocent things but neither beer, nor
wine, nor spirits
81 know 1t is said all that is very well, but
the men 90 and drink afterwards at the bars.
Some of them do SO, but am bound to say
that was exceedingly surprised to find how
little frequented these bars are. In some
parts of the country it is a common civility
to invite friend or stranger to take drink,
and there are mems evening parties at which
wine is introduced but one does not see
much of this kind of thing. The public and
evident drinking is less than with us, and If
good deal is after all consumed it is done in
a more decent way. A great deal of whiskey,
no doubt is drunk but the revenue from al
coholic drinks is not as large as in England
and it is certainly the case that one sees much
less drunkenness"
Hon. Thomas Bayley Potter, on his recent
return to England from America, said the
first thing which struck him in travelling in
America was the sobriety of the people 1t
was evident drunkenness had no hold here.
He saw but four drunken men in his extend
ed tour in the United States Another trait
in the character of the Americans was their
extreme cleanliness. He also paid a high
compliment to the orderly manner in which
the Americans conducted themselves in rail
way carriages and other means Of communi-
cation
Mr.. G.. A. Sala, the English writer, now in
this country, says that he can vouch for the
strict accuracy of DR.. George NJ. Boards trib-
ute in the North American Review to the
comparative temperance Of Americans of
the higher class. 'In the restaurant of the
hotel where l dine" continues Mr.. Sala, ''at
not one of a dozen tables have / seen any
wine or beer served. With grief al d shame
also do l note Dr. Boards structures on Eng
lish intemperance. There need be
no beating about the bush and no paying of
fulsome compliments in saying that the
young men of New York are an eminently
good looking race. One reason for this gen
eral comeliness may be the abstemiousness
of the modern American"
Those are impartial tributes to the general
ly temperate character of our people. While
there is still a terrible amount of intemper-
auce, especially in the cities and larger towns
in our land, there can be no doubt that the
temperance effort of the last generation has
greatly modified the habits of society, as re-
CARDS alcoholic drinks and that the con-
sumption of strong liquors, as beverages, has
largely decreased And the true and faithful
laborers in this great reform have every rea-
son to thank God and take courage. Dur
bngt0n Free Press.