Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1880-09-17
Il L Il : :.

Ii j. generally conceded tAat the use
OF brass musical Instruments has
greatly increased III tins country dur
ing the last ten Years. Few persons,
however, hav" ANY accurate idea of the
appalling progress which this terrible
vice has N !du III. r., is probably not
% village III ti" Whole country without
its habltual and shameless player on
the corn t, while the nulnber of those
who arc addicted TO brass Instruments,
either openly and to an extent which
they call moderate" or secretly and
to luinous eAcese, is estimated by
Trustworthy statistlcians to amount to
fully three per cent of our entire adult
population. In comparison with these
figures the prevalence of drunkenness
becomes Insignificant and opium eating
hardly d. serves notice.
10 the Generalization caused by the
civil war is doubtless duo much OF this
giant evil. In the camp and the field
men were brought in familiar cont act
With tho bugle, the cornet. the from
bone. and the serpent. The natural
horror which pure minded man feels
i'll witnessing the abuse OF brass instru-
ments vanished by degrees. The ears
Of our soldiers became calloused, and
from listening with indifference to the
abuse Of brass 10y others, it was an
easy step for them to adopt the habit
themselves. The bugler brought his
bugle home with him, and AS he blew
1t III his house and on the street, his
evil example contaminated tho young
and thougntless. Then the long years
Of business depression. of bankruptcy
ana poverty which followed the war,
led many to drown their miseries in
brass. The ruined merchant or the
mechanic without employment lost
heart and tried to forget his wretched-
ness by dulling his senses with the
cornet or trombone. Lastly, we must
notice the pernicious influence of those
unhappy men, Levy, Arbuckle aud
similar Utiendtrs who have been made
to minister to Il dcpraved taste for brass,
and have made this vice popular and
even fashionable.
1t Is not Necessary to take the eX-
tremU ground held by certain fanatics,
that the use Of brass instruments is in
all cases wrong. Like ardent spirits,
brass has its uses, and Il brass instru.
at such time AS to render il not only
harmless but benz icIal. AS to the use
Of brass instruments by the wretched
class of beings commonly called by the
degrading name OF amateurs, there can,
however, be no difference Of opinion.
They work far greater injury than the
COARSE and mudiening accordion aud
banjo. The latter are used only by the
lowest class OF the community, but the
cornet invades our hlppiest homes, and
the trombone counts nmeng its victims
tho noblest and best men i'll the nation.
In this, Us III the kindred vice OF In
temperance in the use of ardent spirits,
the course of the victim is steadily
downward. Many il nun has fancleu
that he could safely blow few notes
on the regulation bugle. The horrible
thirst for brass, however, once formed,
constantly increases. Before very long
the bugle Is Laid aside, and the fiery
cornet takes Its place. At FIRST the
cornet amateur INDUCES his depraved
passion ut home, anu III the secrecy of
closed doors and windows, but sooner
or later he casts off shame, and is soon
on his front piazza or heard at his front
window openly practicing the - Mabel
Waltz In many cases he finds the
cornet in its turn too tame to satisfy
his unholy thirst. aud he takes the de-
stroying trombone to his lips. THIS is
10 mere picture OF the imagination.
There are scores of confirmed from
bone players lively to-day who began
their downward career with the com
parativeiy harmless bugie or with u
moderate" indulgence on the cor
net.
The time has come when good men
should everywhere joia i'll an organized
effort to stem tho tide of brass which
threatens to overwhelm our beloved
land. We must demand IL strict license
law regulating the sale of brass instru-
ments, and "civll damages" act
making the vender of brass instruments
and tue amateur player thereon liable,
jointly and severally, for all the dam
ages to property and persons which may
brass instruments. Persons found
guilty of playing the cornet should be
punished with fine and imprisonment.
and it should be made lawful for any
magistrate to commit q confirmed and
notorious trombone player to the luna
tic asylum, and to appoint receiver
and administrator Of his property.
Books, tracts and lectures on the evils
Of brass instruments should be en-
ployed to develop u healthy pubic SEN
timent, and the young should be in
duced to join societies pledged to total
abstinence from brass in every form.
But there must be no delay. The evil
must be met by legal methods now, or
we must be prepared to see the shops
Of instrument dealers mobbed by mad
dened women, aud cornot and trombone
players shot by infuriated men, whose
wrongs have mastered and slain their
patience and their law abiding instincts.
N. \. Times.