Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1883-11-17
IS DRUNKENNESS otsaepvrAsLe ?

We fear that our very esteemed
contemporary, the Dresden Enter
prise, is prone to be fanatical on the
liquor question. 1t insists on strong
war ON the liquor dealers, but thinks
the drunkard is still to be commisera-
ted with that old-time sentimentalism
that makes him more of hero than
reprobate. 1t goes further and deems
all those journals that think the
drunkard ought to come in for some
share of the abuse that is heaped on
the foes of temperance, enemies of the
cause in disguise.
For one, we can assure the Enter
prise of our perfect sincerity in wish
ing the temperance advocates success.
When the list is made up of those
who abominate drunkenness and who
would rejoice in the removal of every
liquor shop from the land, the name
of the CHRONICLE, conspicuous as that
of Abou Ben Adam among those who
loved his fellow-men, will lead all the
rest. We deem drunkenness the
greatest curse of the country, and we
think the means of its removal should
command the attention of all patriots
and philanthropists and furnish
study for statesmen. In our opinion
the radical determination of the evil
is only to be accomplished by such
thorough revolution in popular senti-
ment that will make drunkenness dis
reputable.
Our Dresden contemporary inquiries
if drunkenness is not, and has not all
along, been disreputable? No, dear
brother, bless your innocent soul, no.
1t is somewhat disreputable for women
to get drunk, and consequently it is
only the baser sort of females who are
ever seen i'll state of intoxication;
but it entails no disgrace ON lordly
man to wallow in the mire with the
hogs if the cause is too much whiskey.
1t is only joke for man to get
drunk, according to the prevailing
sentiment on that subject, or, at most,
only a misfortune. Such an act is in
no way disreputable and entails no
dishonor. If any one of the numerous
candidates for the presidency should
be seen publicly drunk tomorrow, it
would in nc way damage his prospects
of election to that high Office. The
offense would be esteemed so light a
pecadillo that the most enterprising
reporter of the opposite party wouldn't
telegraph it to his paper and his oppo-
nents would be laughed at if they
mentioned it on the stump as anything
to his discredit. 1t would probably be
no exaggeration to say that the aver
age congressman is a constant drinker
and it is a lamentable fact that many
of our national Representatives are
great drunkards. Rule thought to-
defeat Houk for Congress i'll the I'd
Tennessee district by opposing his
eminent responsibility to the fact that
the Hon. Leonidas had been calaboosed
and had done many disreputable
things on account of being drunk,
while a member of Congress. The
result was that Mr. Rule was a sadly
defeated candidate and Houk went
back to Washington and is the dis
penser of federal patronage in Ten
nessee, being in high favor with the
1t is true, alas, that drunkenness is
not disreputable, but one of the highest
missions of the press should be to
make it so. We hope to see the day
when it will be generally considered
as disgraceful to get drunk as it is to
steal and then the beastly habit will
be confined to the lowest haunts of
vice, and INDUCED in only by the
criminal classes.