Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-04-18
THE TEMPERANCE REVIVAL.

Ihere was large and very fine audience at
i.he Sixth-street NJ. E. Church last evening in
I attendance upon the second of the temperance
revival meetings. Geo. B. Katzenssein pre-
sided, and Rev. j. Q. A. Henry offered prayer.
Colonel Long, of Kentucky, was then intro
| duced, and spoke for an hour, He is an elo-
quens speaker, has ready command of Ian
guage, is graceful in his style, forcible in
argument, witty and persuasive-in short,
Colonel Long is quite the ideal temperance
orator. He places temperance oratory upon
considerably higher plane, and invests q
trite subject with new interest. The central
thought of his lecture last evening concerned
the responsibility of society on the liquor
question. He had no harsh words for the
LIQUOR driuker, nor indeed was his severity
leveled at LIQUOR sellers or makers, so much
as against society. that encourages sustains
and upholds traffic he deems to be inimical
to the best interests of his race. The whole
trouble, he held, resides in our system of So
ciety, which handicaps the great majority Of
social customs with the imbibing of spiritu-
GUS liquors. He held that the social drinking
custom of the nation is its great bane. He
claimed that it is the middle man who is re-
sponsible for the evils of intemperance, the
man who claims to know when to stop and
Just how far to go, and whose influence leads
to ruin the men who can't stop, and who go
too far. However, he concluded that this
middle class is mistaken, from tie fact that
they do not know how far to go, nor just
when to stop. 1t is fatal mistake under
which they labor No man in all California
could be found who. for any price, would
agree to become o confirmed cot, and that
gives the lie to the doctrine that every man
has his price. He held that the man to blame
of all others is he who can keep his stomach
full of liquor and yet remain pet of society.
while poor Tom or Dick, who emulate his
example, fail in the attempt. and falling into
the gutter are treated as outcasts. AS a sum-
ming up, he held moderate drinking to be the
A B G of intemperance.
Mrs. Emily Pitt Stevens, Grand Worthy
Vice-Templar of the Independent Order of
Good Tenn plars, was the second speaker. She
took hold of her subject with both hands,
and held it up to view, and gave it a local
and personal application that caused fiutter
in the audience. She claimed that society
sanctioned the making of Raten mad with
liquor on Sunday, that brought all the animal
to the surface on Monday, and sent him out
to slay James Lansing on that day the same
cause that led ex-Sherif Maltby, of Yolo, q
few days before, to go out into the woods and
Jake MS llI6 To Gnu HIS mlseFltS. DIG spOk6
of the Order of Good Templars which she
represented, and which is Is 900 strong in
California, and said they'd be 10000 strong
before the close of the year. People sneered
at it as being composed of common people.
One lady had told her that the Order was
doing a good work among the poor, was caring
for the orphan. retaining the fallen, and
saving youths from becoming drunkards, but
she couldn't unite in the work because society
did not favor it !; she couldn't afford to labor
with common people, as she was one of the
first cut. She wanted to tell all such that if
they ever visit a sawmill they will find
the first cut" is always a slab. She made
a vigorous defense for the Order and its work
that it debarred no man or woman, led
none to crime or dishonor, had no knowledge
of politics or religion, but recognized men
and women as human beings, whom to keep
sober was better than make mad with liquor.
As to the Sunday law, she favored giving
temperance chance one day in the week,
and If it couldn't have it, it was because of
lack Of moral strength in the community.
When the community is made strong enough
not to be brow-beatep, it will enforce all laws
for the protection of the homes of the people.
That was what the temperance people want
ed to do, to save the home from ruin. She
concluded with touching and pointed anec-
dote, illustrative of the republican spirit, the
Catholic aim, and the democratic breadth
and depth of the temperance platform. The
next meeting will be held Wednesday even.
ing, when Colonel Long will give his idea of
what is the best remedy for intemperance.