Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-09-09
MIS- FOSTERs LEOTURN.

The lecture on temperance delivered at
the town hall on Wednesday evening by Mrs.
j. Ellen Foster of Iowa. called out an audi
ence which filed the hall to nearly its full
seating capacity. The lecture was in sub
stance and presentation n radical departure
from the usual course Of such efforts, and
was in the main vigorous, skilfully drawn
argument for constitutional prohibition of
the liquor traffic. Law in republic, Mrs.
Foster said at the outset is theoretically
the expressed will of the people. In mon
archy IL is the expressed will Of the ruling
class. In this country, in point Of fact, 1t is
the will Of an aristocraoy, the best and grand
est aristocracy the world has ever seen, but
an aristooraoy all the samoan aristocraoy of
sex. Did the laws represent the will of all
the people, women as well as men, there
would DO no liquor traffic. The object Of
prohibitory Legislation, the speaker said, is
not TO make people righteous by law, as the
opponents of the system sometimes say, but
to protect society from tho unrighteous, Just
as the primary object of state prisons is to
protect society from criminals and dangerous
persons The state does not care because
liquor makes drunkards and drunkards go TO
hell, but IL cares because drunkards are bad
citizens and bad citizens are dangerous TO the
community. Prohibitionsts do not claim
that prohibitory laws entirely stop the sale Of
liquor, but they do claim that such laws put
tho traffic under a stigma drive it out Of
sight and remove open temptation from men
with IN appetite for liquor who are trying
not 10 drink. Prohibtionists never expect
to SEQ the day when moral suasion will not
have to go along with the law. It will al
wGys be necessary to point out to children the
dangers which Turk under alcoholic stimu-
lants. The latter part Of the lecture was de-
voted TO an earnest plea, founded on the le-
gal status Of the question, for having prohi-
bition Incorporated in the constitutions OF the
states as the only safeguard against tamper-
ing with the laws by unfriendly legislatures.
In this connection a hit was made by the
speaker, which brought down the house, in
describing the three several classes of legis-
lators which she noticed, the middle and pre-
dominating class being made up Of n nice,
pleasant, well-meaning class of men whose
only fault was that they had universal
joint at the initial spot in the spine which
let them turn and lean in any direction from
which there was any pressure. Such men,
like the animals in child's Noah's ark, need
''propping up" on the temperance question,
and just the prop they need is found in con-
sttutional prohibition. The temperance
question, the speaker said, is the grnndest
idea and the dominant idea before the coun-
try to-day. 1t stands before the people with
outstretched hand and means only good. To
the boys Mrs. Foster earnestly said, in clos
ing, DO not ruin your physical strength, your
powers Of mind, your manly force by tam
pering with strong drink. To the girls BE
not too sure Of your own safety from the evil,
and whatever you do, do not marry a man
who drinks, do not marry such an one fondly
believing you can save" him. The expert
ment has been too often tried and miserably
failed. II is kind of missionary work that
you cannot afford to engage in.
Mrs. Foster is bright, attractive speaker
and has an excellent command OF language.
She speaks with an eloquenco evidently born
of conviction, and ON this occasion held the
undiy ided attention of her audience to the
close.