Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1883-11-15
Weakness and Whisky F!

ed editorial which contains much more
truth than poetry. 1t is taken from
the Milwaukee Sentinel. The italic-
ling is our own
The movement to prevent the sale of
liquors to minors and habitual drunk
ards is most praiseworthy and deserves
the hearty cooperation of all citizens.
Any movement which gives promise of
practical aid to the cause of temperance
should be promptly supported by every
intelligent man. There is no sort of
question as to the miserie8 which
follow the abuse of alcoholic liquors
and it is by no means certain that
the least use is not abuse. All of the
picture painted by Mr.. Storrs in his
Sunday-night talk is in the colors of
truth. "Four-ffths of the crime in
this country is the direct result OF in
temperance Nearly nine tenths Of the
pauperism and Indulgence and want are
the outgroWth Of the Incorporate use
of alcoholic beverages, The saloon
populates the penitentiary, fills the
jails, fills the poorhouSe. Everybody
knows, if they know anything about
the subject, that the insane asylums
are inhabited by It's disciples to a
large extent. Everybody knows that
of the families which are wrecked,
nine out Of every ten trace their
misery to this calamity"
There is danger, however. that we
may lose sight of one very important
fact by dwelling too exclusively on the
pernicious influences Of the saloon
the fact that it is human nature and
not whisky that is principally at fault.
If men will let whisky alone, whisky
will let men alone Whisky never
takes the initiatiVe-it never hunts
around for a man to Wrestle with.
You may put whisky in a barrel, and
if you don't open the barrel the
whisky will not get out and attack
men. You may put it in bottles in a
bar-room, or in glasses on the counter
Of the bar-poOm, and if men will stay
out of the bar-room, the whisky will
not hurt them. A saloon keeper, also,
is without the physical force to make
men drink. The man who makes it
his policy to stay out of saloons and
abstain from drink is not knocked
down by saloon keepers and dragged
into the saloons and filled with whisky.
All of which means that there is a
qCeaknesS Of character in men which
allows them to become the victims of
whisky and Of whisky dealers. At
the bottom Of drunkenness there is a
measure Of moral im6eciIitg One of
the conditions of moral soundness is a
careful observance of all the laws of
physical and moral health. A man is
not morally sound who allows himself
through carelessness or ignorance to
l....a IL, II 20 /, ho1 boL;4 . L =
is not altogether sound who allows
any danger to come near him. A man
becomes drunkard through good
nature, through oUer confidence an his
o,Cn strength, through force of habit
growing out Of the use of liquors for
medicinal purposes, through an in
herited appetite. But whatever the
cause, there is back of it TIE lack of
moral strength. No human being in
good health needs whisky, and who
ever in good health takes it lacks in
sound Judgment, for he is taking
chances however remote, of acquiring
an Improbable and possibly destruc-
tive habit. No man of sound moral
health but can surrender a habit
acquired in sickness. Eoeryrhere
and alaoays the possession Of a bad
habit is a certain evidence Of moral
qceahness-of a lack Of we'll developed
character.
If it were not Tor the moral weak
ness of men it would be a matter of
Indifference whether community had
a thousand or million saloons if it
were not for this weakness there would
be no saloons. Having this weakness
among US. it is important that every
thing which is practicable should be
done to dissuade men from INDUCING
It But, in attempting to limit the