The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-03-24
Temperance Reading.
The Temperance Awakening.

IllneS Is une rouse l aCtentl0n or the peo-
pie to the dangers and duties of the
hour, in view of the gigantic evil of in
temperance. The revival is not in our
own country only, but is felt in England
and Scotland, and there is cloud mt
least the size of mans hand over the
continent of Europe.
The hold the sub ect takes of the pub
lie mind of this country would surprise
us, did we not perceive the magnitude
and claims of the subjectso clearly as to
re filled with wonder rather that any
are Indifferent, rather than that any are
awakening out OF sleep. And it is not the
least of the remarkable features of the
case that so many of the Western States
are making mighty efforts to arrest the
evil. In those vast agricultural regions
the power of reform is in the hands of
different class of men from that which
dominates State where the vot.ng ma
jorities are in cities and large towns.
But city or country, farms or factories
foreign or native born, whatever the
nature and character of the people or
their employment, they must diminish
the desolating iniluen of the use OF in
toXicating drinks, or the drinks will be
the ruin of the country.
What is the reason that the very men
ton of the subject is distasteful, not to
say disgusting, t. a large number of
| good people. We have not doubt that
hundreds who saw the words at the
head of this article turned away to
something else; and that other hun
dreds have quit it before they have read
thus far. Why this contempt for b.
| ject which, next to the revival of relig-
ion in the soul, is the most urgent
moral question in the world? We have
to admit that the manner in which it
has been discussed by the friends of
| Temperance has alienated many-that
the parties into which the camp is d.
vided spent strength in warning against
each other that should have been en-
employed on the enemy of both. But
it is so with religion itself to the shame
of the Church. And all this time the
evil has been growing, until it now as
sumes such vast proportions as to APP
pail the heart, and almost destroy
hope of success in making stand
against it.
n no State or town is the evil great
er than here in New York City. We
have a Board of Comm ssioners who
are authorized, on certain condit ons.
to grant licenses to individuals to sell
liquors. These men take the ground
that they are appointed to license, not
to restrain the sale. Thereto e, the
more persons they license the more
faithfully they is barge their trust!
This absurd but fatal construction they
| put upon the law, and in proof of their
fidelity they point to m re than 5000
licenses now granted by them in this
city! To this mber we may add at
least thousand uni cenSed liquor sa-
looms. But take the legalized places
only, 5000, and that gives one saloon
to every 1873 persons in the city. OF
this number many must be minors to
whom they are not allowed to sell,
and women and men who never buy,
and when these are deducted it will
| be found that we have one LIQUOR saloon
for every fifty or seventy-iive of the
drinking population! If these saloons
or hotels or shops take in twenty dol
day, ,.>,.,r-ss.e- 4l,-.s- rf
four millions of the peoples money ev-
cry year! Such figures appear incredible,
but one can verify them by simple
use of multiplication and division. And
this money comes mostly out of the
wages of the poor. They work. earn
and drink. A poor man gets more of
what he wants out of gallon of beer
or quart of whisky than he does out
of peck of potatoes. He drinks to
make him feel tier, and then to help
him to forget The destruction of the
poor is their poverty. They destroy
themselves. And vast proportion of
these fifty-four millions goes to deaden
the sensibilities of the suffering, and to
deepen the misery into which they are
sunk.
Let it be granted that things are worse
in such a city as this than in any other
city, and tenfold worse than III the coun-
try, East or West, it is SILL emphatical-
" true that it is high time for every
city,, town, village and community to
ha a thorou h Temperance revival.
The press and the pulpit ought to be
heard, and with no doubtful sound of
trumpet. With all the facts now be-
fore the public mind, with the testi-
mony of courts AMI commissions that
three fourths of taxes and crimes are
the immediate results of the liquor
saloons, there is no possible ground for
doubt that the laws of every : tate ought
to restrain and diminish, and as far as
possible destroy, this evil, which is a
civil, political and social as we'll as
moral evil The law now en-
courages it in most of the States.
But if the law licenses, it may
hedge the license with such condi-
tons as to render the license him
drance. 1t may render it hard to be
obtained. 1t may prohibit The license
alt ether. The constitutionality of
law has been abundantly sus-
Z |. The only question is the ex-
= ncy of such laws. And ii the evil
to We assuaged is civil and social, the
cxpediency is to be determined by the
public sentiment of the State. Unless
That will uphold and enforce the law,
there is no good in hav NO it. But the
enlightened mind of The people must be
educated to the advantage of such leg
station as will help the poor to lives of
sobriety, as win save the fam lies of the
poor from the cruel suferings now
brought on them by dr. nken husbands
and fathers, and will convert the mil =
ions now worse than wasted into streams
OF wealth to enrich and bless the people.
This wi follow a Temperance re-
vival, for which let the people labor and
prav.-N. Y. Observer.
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