The Portland daily press., 1883-12-17
The Temperanoe Work.
Senator Vest, in letter to the st. Louis
Globe Democrat saws:

Senator Vest, in a letter to the st. Louis
Globe-Democrat says:
II have not changed, withdrawn, nor modi-
ned IN any degree or respect, any opinion
have ever held on the subject of prohibition,
and resterate every utterance L have made
upon tnat subject. / consider prohibition bv
the State, as advocated in Missouri, undemo-
cratic, wrong in principle, impracticable. and,
II adopted, the prolific source of perjury, dis
regard OF law, and social meanness. Prohibi
tion is not the road to temperance, and expert
enee demonstrates it, It neither educates
temperance nor enforces it, and notwithstand-
ing the opinions of many good and jealous
people, the result will be the same until hu-
man nature ceases to be what it has been
through all the ages, and will be to the end :"
OF the temperance movement in South Car
olina, the Charleston News says:
"The cities, towns and villages in which the
'no-iicense' system prevails, are few in num-
Der, but the number is steadily increasing. The
local option system, combined with the prohi-
bitioD in the rural districts, gives every oppor-
tunity for disseminating prohibition views
without bringing the question into State poll
tics. The local elections in this way are safe
ty valves which it would not be discreet to re-
move or fasten down."
An exchange says;
Ohio liquor men will have q convention at
Columbus near the end of the month to decide
what they want the Legislature to do with the
Scott Law. There is no doubt that they con-
tribute to democratic campaign funds under at
least an implied agreement that if the party
was successful the law would be repealed or
modified, and the Legislature will probably
ha ve lively fight about the matter. The law
has yielded over 100000 for one year.
The National Woman's Christian Temper
ance Union has issued call to each state un-
| ion, asking every local society, OF which there
are about 5000 situated in every State and
nearly every Territory, to celebrate with ap-
| propriate exercises the tenth anniversary Of
| the "women's crusade" which will occur on
| the 23d of December. Pastors of churches are
| to be invited to preach temperance sermons on
the morning of that day, and the local unions
| will hold children's meetings in the afternoon,
| and in the evening mass meeting, at which
| a collection will be taken up for the National
| Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
| A curious struggle is now in progress be-
| tween the temperance people Of the Swedish
city of Gothenburg and rich distiller who
is known by the people as the Brandy
King" The city allows liquor to be sold only
in few saloons, whose keepers are under
bonds to push the sale OF unintoxicating
drinks, such as tea, coffee, etc., but are not
permitted to make any profit on sales OF bran
dy or other strong liquors These they dispose
of at prices fixed by the government, which
furnishes them with their stock. Under this
system the number Of saloons has been reduced
in Gothenburg tc twenty, which in popula
tion of eighty thousand is most remarkable
decrease. To meet this successful system tht
"Branuy King is adopting a clever expe
dent. He is attracting the working men Il
his side in establishing cooperative shops, SO
cieties and building clubs. Twenty-Five thou
sand men have already pledged themselves
not to patronizs the city taverns, and by theil
aid the system iu Gothenburg and Stockholm
is to be broken down, if possible. The plar
which has succeeded so we'll in Sweden, and
which the Brandy King is fighting, con
tains principle which might well be applied
elsewhere. 1t is that the habit of drunken
ness may more easily be broken up by making
liquor COSTLY and by allowing it to remain
within legal reach of drinkers, yet in the
hands of those who would rather sell coffes
than brandy, than by absolute prohibition
| Boston Advertiser,