Litchfield enquirer., 1880-01-08
Temperance.

We hear much lamentation over the decay of Temperance Tie wave of Blue Ribbon ism has apparently spent it's force, and socie- ty has relapsed into it's old disregard of the duty of total abstinence so earnestly enforced during the Temperance movement of 1878. The last Revival seems to have borne even less fruit than any former Revival, though cer- tain drowsy Temperance sentiment undoubt- edly still pervades the community. There is an abundance of material for noble per manent, and a successful organization for the thorough roofing of total abstinence practice in the rising generation; yet we see instead, helpless, inert public opinion, doing nothing, or next to nothing, towards impressing itself upon the everyday habits of our times. Churches, hospitals, colleges, institutions of every kind but one, are organized and liberal ly endowed for the improvement of morality among us; but nobody has made any general, public organization binding the people who prefer Total Abstinence together into any one, active society; nobody has endowed Temper ance as Education, Charity and Religion have been endowed, with an abundance of money.
 The occasion of this strange neglect is to be sought in the fact that American society has given over the entire charge of it's morali- ing is done, because the churches are divided in opinion on the expediency of Total Abstl- hence. In this part of Connecticut, Christian opinion is about equally divided on this sub- ject. A majority of the members of the Con- gregational and Methodist churches favor To- tai Abstinence; a majority of the members of the Episcopal and Catholic churches oppose it. Hence we generally find that every public tors and people of the two former denomina- tions; while the bulk of the latter will be found in active or, at least, passive opposition to any popular Temperance movement, any general Temperance organization.
 Hence nearly every Temperance movement soon drops into some denomlnational rut Congregational and Methodist pastors and peo- pie, whether they will or no, control it; Epis- copai and Catholic pastors and people stand aloof. It soon comes to be sectarian in ap- pearance if not in reality; and, in losing it's hold on the public at large, loses that hope of general acceptance without which it can never combat the appetite of the drinker, and the avarice of the seller in communities but half awake to the dangers of indulgence
 How, then, can this difficulty be avoided
 The usual answer s,-by joining Temperance and Religion more closely together; by en- forcing upon Total Abstinence an adhesion to Christianity by enforcing upon Christianity an adhesion to Total Abstinence. It seems to us that the necessary result of snch course will be to make Temperance more denomina- tional. more sectarian, than ever-to make any such thing as union of all Temperance people, of all, or of no religious views, into ,ur great. active. irresistible organization, an utter impossibility. There is no natural or necessary union of Temperance and Religion, except that both seek the common end of nor al improvement. There are thorough Total Abstinence people who are not Christians; and there are excellent Christians who disap- prove of Total Abstinence. Any forced union