Daily globe., 1883-06-04
The Reform CIatb,

II
The prohibition meeting held in Har
rison hall yesterday afternoon was quite
large and enthusiastic. After reading the
49th Psalm DR.. Satterlee entered upon his
favorite topic of prohibition and the LIQUOR
traffic, and held the audience in rapt at
tention for half an hour. He said thai
never was there manifested so deep an in
terest in the prohibition question by the
two great political parties of the country
| as at the present time. The conservative:
also-the men on the fence-are in dilem
| ma and know not what action to take or
the question. 1t is matter of congratu
lation to those engaged in this noble cause
| that such is the fact. John Sherman ha:
suggested that the right of the nation tc
| tax the liquor traffic be made an issue in
the next campaign, with the view, nc
| doubt, of obtaining the prohibition
vote and Of catching the temperance
men and conservatives. The high Ii.
cense effort has failed. All are satisfied
with high license except the 'fanatics:'-
the name applied to the prohibitionists.
But there are two classes of prohibitionists.
one of which is not being aggressive
toward the liquor interest. The temper
ance question is forcing itself into state
and municipal elections, and the great
principle enunciated by the fathers of our
movement, namely, total abstinence tor
drinker and prohibition for the dealers.
will be faithfully and strictly carried out.
Total abstinence first and prohibition after
was placing the cart before the horse. It
should be reversed. The saloon is the
school for the education and manufacture
of drUnkards, and the first issue is to sup
press these nurseries of drunkenness.
Telling saloon keepers that they are en-
gagged in disreputable business and
taking their money for license to
carry it on is entirely inconsistent.
Saloon business must be utterly destroyed.
Letting few monopolize the traffic makes
no material difference. The effect of high
license would be to swell the revenue of
the city, but it would not benefit the indi-
vidual who had squandered in drunken
ness and debauchery the hard earned
money that his wife and children want for
sustenance. High license would practically
reduce the taxation of the rich but it
would not benefit the individual victimIof
drunkenness but would rather hurt the
entire community. The community is
made up of individuals, and when one
member of society is affected, the whole
aggregation of individuals composing
society are affected. Saying that high
license is beneficial to society is just as
false as that the man who drinks a quart
of whisky per diem is getting rich.
With the diffusion of light and knowl-
edge through the press and pulpit and
societies like the Reform club, the career
of the liquor traffic is doomed to inevita-
bic annihilation.
The happy consummation may not be
effected without some blood letting, like
the kindred curse of human slavery which
took blood and treasure and a holocaust
of human lives to wipe it out from our
fair land. Better that the war did come
than have slavery remain; and, if told the
pressure of this great question of temper
ance and prohibition would bring on
another war, he would say, press on. Bet
ter that thousands oflives be lost in the
determination and final death of this great
monster of iniquity and crime than that
hundred thousand lives be annually
brought to destruction and death by allow
ing the monster to live through the ages.
He was in favor of total abstinence for
tAO lA01'4Oud1 oAlO PIOHIo4LiOu LUZ Tie
state and urged his hearers to hold stead
fast in the faith, work strenously in the
cause and their labor would ultimately be
rewarded and crowned with success.
S. B. Williams, president of the club,
referred to the grand efforts made by the
Methodists in the prohibition cause and
said another denomination, the Presby-
terians, were following their example.
He read an extract from resolutions on
the subject, passed at the recent Presby-
terian convention in Philadelphia, and
said the japanese were more active in
prohibitory work than the American peo-
pie, the MIkado of Japan having under
consideration the best way of making his
subjects become a temperance people.
DR.. Satterlee explained that the United
States is run by political party.
whereas Japan was governed by q
monarchy and hence less inter
est was manifested in temperance
work by the powers that be- in this re-
public than by the ruler in the land Of the
Orient After hymn bY the choir, the
audience Joining III the singing. the meet
ing adjourned.