The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1882-12-16
The Temperance Question.

In the December number Of The Century there Is
the continuation Of an interesting paper entitled
1.-The Christian League of Connecticut, - by Wash
ington GLADDEN., and the members of the League
Club, while discussing the Temperance Question,
fall into the line of argument which we commend
TO the attention of those who are fighting for tenn
perance here-we would premise that the gentle
men speaking are ministers of the various churches
in Cypressville.
might we not, then" asked Mr.. Bu4terfeld,
"upite our churches in working for temperance
under a leadership furnished by themselves"
at seems to me" answered Mr.. Franklin. that
this is impracticable. Union work in behalf Of
temperance Is one Of the hardest things in the
world to secure. We can cooperate in ordinary
religious work, because the lesson of liberation in
religion has been learned, and because we are all
ready to forget those things in which We differ; but,
as respects the subject Of temperance, there Is, as
yet, no such liberation the sectarianism of tenn
perance advocates is fully as violent as the sectar-
ianism of the churchmen was a hundred years ago."
Are you not rather rough on the temperance
workers? " asked Mr.. Thorpe.
81 do not mean to be. But just look at the facts.
There are gentlemen in this club, 1 suppose,
who sometimes use wine at their tables, and who,
though they are careful TO abstain from all excess,
believe that they have a perfect right to use it as a
beverage. There are other gentlemen in this club
who regard every such use of it, no matter how
careful, as a sin. 1 do not belong to either of these
classes, but 1 can easily see that persons holding
views so perfectly irreconcilabls can never work
together in promoting temperance. Whatis more,
some Of the gentlemen present are in favor OF the
passage of laws by which other persons in this
company would be put into the category OF GRIM
inals."
"Oh, come, Franklin, that's absurd You don't
mean that" cried Mr.. Thorpe.
81 mean just that, :" persisted Franklin.
but you know that the prohibitory law that
some of us favor, Furnishes the seller of liquer, not
the drinker. There are no liquor sellers in this
room"
"a man cannot ordinarily drink wine without
buying it, can hep"
y of course not"
you wish to make it a crime to sell wine to be
used as a beverage?"
yes"
"H it wero a crime to sell, then the buyer would
be morally ~pdTficepS ~criminis, would he not?l
81 suppose So"
Every well there are gentlemen here who are
in the habit o~f:buying wine to be used as a bevcr-
age, and there are other gentlemen here who wish
to make the selling of wine for that purpose a
criminal act how can these two classes of persons
come to any understanding about temperance
work? 1 am not discussing prohibition. 1 am not
undertaking to justify or to conndemn eithsr OF
these classes of persons 1 am only pointing out
that the difference between them is, in its nature
insurmountable, and that they can only keep from
auarreling about temperance work by ignoring the
whole subject"
well, I guess you're right" said Mr.. Thorpe
soberly.
mot only is it impossible the banker con
tinued, 81 for these two classes to get on comforta
bly, together, but any one who undertakes to medl
ate between them is liable to have his head broken
7 JaraI 70 cupoaaf laat simmer. in n temDeranc(
meeting, that it was a gross blunder for the tota
abstainers to make war on all temperate drinkers
to denounce them as malefactOrs and to holC
them up to public Reproduction ; that it would b.
r much easier to persuade than to coerco them int
the ways of abstinence. For venturing that crit
cism, L was denounced as a toddy-drinker and
crowded convention Of reform clubs in our tow
hall applauded to the echo the assertion by one o
| their orators that 1 was worse than a rum-seller
So you soc that I have verified, in my own expert
ence, the statement that liberation, in this field
does not exist. Not only is there no liberation 70
differences of theory or practice, there is no tolera
ton for people who preach liberation and who tn
to bring about u better understanding. The tim
+ for cooperation in temperance work will come, blu
it is not yet"
81 am not ready to come to that conclusion
said Mr.. Peters. "When an evil so great as tn
evil of intemperance exists in any community, it
nOnlllhIlnS 10 ulcS Lila lHC IA poppy
the community are unable to combine against it.
"'Tis true, t is pity and pity t is, t is true,
said Mr.. Franklin.
but is there not one thing that can be done =?
said Mr.. Peters. Can we not unite in enforcln
the penal clauses Of our present law against viola
tors of them. Our law forbids the sale of intoxi
eating liquors to minors and to intoxicated pei
\ sons it also forbids the selling of liquor on Sun
days, and between twelve o'clock at night and fv
II =. IL. -,4rp;,n To fhiS aN an IL i a prr
hibitory law. Now, 1 am a prohibitionist; and
, see no reason why 1 should not take the amount c
prohibition this law allows me and make the mos
Of il. We might enforce these clauses if we wOul
work together we could make it dangerous to Sc
to boys, or 20 sell on Sundays. That would DO
> great gain, for it is notorious that there is NOR
drinking done on Sunday than on any other day
the week, and that a great many Of our boys al
forming the drinking habit"
THAT is good sense said DR.. Strickland. ."
am not aprohibitionist am not a total abstainel
1 am one of the men who, as Mr.. Franklin says
Mr.. Peters seeks to put into the category of Grim
nals,-though I don't mean to let that slight Gil
cumstance mar our friendly relations
Here Peters arose, and extended his hand 10 tn
rector amidst much merriment.
Notwithstanding the heresy of my opinion
and the turpitude of my conduct in this matter +
. temperance DIR. Strickland continued, " 1 al
ready to do as much as any other man in this roor
in the line suggested by Mr.. Peters"
But what can we do % asked Mr.. Henderson
I'VE can keep our eyes and ears open" al
swered Mr.. Peters, " and report what we see an
hear to the prosecuting agents. Ties, grmtleme
are appointed to enforce the law, but they do
) very ineficiently,-fo what reasons it il not nC
cessary to inquire. 1t will do them good TO kno,
that a number of good citizens are carefully oil
serving their operations. Let me give n bit of IN
own experience: Il was passing along Jackson stree
: the other day, in the rear of Pat Reilly's saloon
and 1 saw a little boy not more than seven year
old come out Of the back door with a pitcher in hi
q. hand and walk down the street. As 1 passed b
him 1 said, carelessly, Halo, bub got som
y molasscs?' NJ beer = he said. walked RICH