The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1883-06-17
The .ates temperance SOci-
ETY..

! tiOg u temperance society is a
movement to form league for
moderate drinkers. Like many
other curious proposals, this one
comes from London, and it seems
FIAT an article published in the
Lancet on "city drinking" has given
the needed impulse. The idea of
these temperance refOrmers IS to
restrict drinking TO meals, and to
prohibit and discountenance its use
at all other times, The league, it
should be known, will be a sort of
high-class, aristocratic affair, for
working people are not, as rule,
used taking nips of spirits or
glasses of wine during the dag, ex-
cept it be when John Bull goes Oh
holiday, and then he will swilI
his liquor. and elbow his eyes who
ever tries to rob the poor man of his
beer. j" 1t would be interesting
, to know what these people call
moderate drinking" even at meals
No man will OWE to the soft i'm
parchment that he is drunkard,
and yet some of these gentlemen
will consume as much drink at
single sitting as would do whole
company for week. But what we
ask Is moderate drinking? A mod
crate drinker. as everybody knows,
is person whom the advanced tenn
perance reformer regards as in a
dangerous position, for it is from
the ranks of such that the confirmed
tipler is drawn; and they will tell
you that were it not that there ex-
lists number of respectable moder
ate drinkers the traffic would be
rooted up at once. Moderate drink
ing! We suppose a moderate
drinker is one who takes the full of
some measure between a half-giIl
and gallon, or some bottle between
a pint and a magnum. But what for
instance, would be moderate drink
ing for a mayor might be positive
drunkenness for an alderman. What
would inst "eleI ate' a city prince
or an Indian nabob might fill to the
brim poor under-paid clerk; or a
fair supply for literary Bohemian.
transporting him to the realms of
bliss, would, we should fancy, render
west-end barber utterly oblivlous
to the cares and woes of this life.
Moderate drinking, in short, is, to
use well-worn phrase, ian unde-
fDed quantity" something which is
often mistaken for too great a
quantity, and most praised by those
who can act the part of the horse
leech and cry 'give, give" The
present movement, therefore, we
fear cannot have much SYM
pathy and support from advanced
Temperance men; and yet, why
should it not? Undoubtedly, the
great evils resulting fron drink
arises from its indiscrimiRate use.
Men drink between meals for
friendships sake-for the sake of
passing pleasant hour, or from a
desire to act the part of Hhail fell
low well met. The result of this
is that the digestive organs are dis
turbed, the stomach and kidneys
are disordered, the brain charged
with narcotic poison, and the
whole nervous system therefore
iHjuriously affected. We are not of
those who believe alcohol, when
taken at meal time, does much to
aid the digestive organs, but it's be-
! ing imbibed then and only then has
this advantage, that it allows the
stomach rest for time, and gives
the other functions time to work
without intermittent interruption.
! OF two evils choose the least, .. e.,
iif there be not courage to get
rid of the evil altogether, But
drinking at meals only would
abolish evil example at other periods
Of the day, and to young men and
men engaged in business pursuits
the temporary aEstention from
drink would prove beneficial, al
lowing them the fullest opportunity
of attending to duty. 1t is thus the
step in the right direction, and al
though far short of what the ardent
abstainer desires, should he well
coined by him. 1t is a movement,
too, which should secure the support
of influential city men, for unless
they come well to the front and lend
it the benefit of their influence it
is sure to prove ephermal. ItshoWs,
more yer, that the evils of the pre-
sent drinking habits are attracting
attention in quarters where hitherto
there has been but little but a sheer
at or a joke against temper
ance men and temperance
principles. The temperance re-
form is one of those movements
which makes but slow progress.
That cannot, however, be greatly
wondered at if it is considered how
keenly it affects some mems appe-
titles and other mems interests. The
nation, too, however much we may
shut our eyes to the fact, lives to a
great extent on the sins of the
people, and no government cares
greatly to skill the hen that lays the
golden eggs" However, this is a
fresh proof that the movement is
and that the principles
are finding wider application; and,
indeed, the present movement may
lead to greater results than most
people expect. If men would but
look this question carefully in the
face, and act on their calm reason,
that is all that can be expected, and
if the proposed society of moderate
IL. l. L II rI n VI