Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-09-29
THE sCHooL-HofsE TO DECIDE:
TIL TEMPERANCE UESTION.
MRS. NJ. II. HUNT.

In the temperance movement now agi-
if not destroy old landmarks in party pol
itics, sweeping great States like Maine,
Kansas, and Iowa with majorities of tens
of thousands OF popular votes in its favor,
the whole question rests upon the chnrac-
ter of a certain chemical substance called
alcohol. If moderately used it is good
creature, a safe luxury then all this agi-
tation is fanatical, and this prohibitory
legislation partisan. But il in truth it is
a poison, and the evils resulting from in
temperance are only natural sequence
from the nature Of alcohol when used MS u
beverage, then az such il is bad,-bad per
ss,-and it is wrong to Use it, wrong to sell
it, and suicidal for the State to legslize its
traffic and the fanatics are the people
who cling TO it, who drink it, or vete for
it. Is alcohol, in any quantity as human
beverage, good or bad is the pivot al
question on which the entire argument IN
this whole matter rests. Given that, and
the logic for and against is as invincible
as Mimic ball. The hallucination about
| this substance, ascribing to it properties il
never possessed, i dispelled by the 10Th
century touch of science.
The American Medical Association, our
national society of Allopathi.ts, the oldest
and most conservative body of physicians
in this country, at their annual meeting
in St. Paul, MINI, in June last, restated
| in series of resolutions their conviction,
that "Alcohol should be classed with other
powerful drugs; that when prescribed med
ically, il should be done with conscientious
caution and sense of great responsibility;
that used as a beverage il is productive
of large amount of physical and mental
disease; that it entails diseased and en-
feebled constitutions upon offspring, and
is the cause OF large percentage OF the
crime and pauperism of our large cities
and country" This testimony OF eminent
men in the healing art in our land Is more
than corroborated by that of equally pro.
found scientists on the other side OF the
Atlantic.
These convictions, comparatively new,
have fought their way step by step against
the combined forces OF long. .eslab blislled
habits, appetites, and prejudices, and to-
day are being formulated into prohibitory
legislation. The success OF such legisla-
tion depends upon the knowledge or ig-
norance of the masses of the real truth
about their favorite beverage. In no re.
form can we 60 far in advance OF the peo-
pie. We must convince them before we
can depend on their and. The false idea
now 80 prevalent that" the abuse aud not
the use of the alcohol il the cause of the
trouble" must be dispelled by universal
knowledge of the truth about this thing.
DIR. Willard Parker, of New York, the
Neslor OF American physicians, in re-
cent letter says: "We shall never control
Alcohol until we have taught the people
l. What alcohol Is 2. What it will do Il
us il we drink it; 3. What 1t will make
us do. can zee no way that tins can be
done, but through the schools" A text
book teaching these elementary facts in
the hands Of every child in the State at
, soon as it il old enough to read, is what
we want. A law requiring such teaching
in all our public schools would be the
wisest kind Of temperance legislation. II
] IL question OF intelligence in the begin,
ming, easily controlled if we then let on
the light, but no easy task If we wait unit
1t becomes one OF imperious appetite.
AL history proves that il is safe to trust
all great questions to the verdict of the
people, if they understand and believe the
truths in the case. If we can imbed in the
intelligence OF the children OF this genera
ton, before they are contaminated by IL
the scientific facts about alcohol, they will
Danish I, and its venders from the pale OF
human society when they come to he voters
in our places. The Star OF Bethlehem
of the temperance reform stands over the
school house.-New England Journal o
Education.