The Somerset reporter., 1885-11-11
The temperance Centennial.
hT IHzoDoHE l.. ctYLER, DID.

pLjadelphia, mas 1eeu IN tens Of thousands Of
+ tong4es and IA hundreds q public journals dur
~ tae last fes months Just one hundred years
~ II polished lis celebrated essay ON ''The
Edeets = Ardent SPIRITS upon the Human Body
4ni Mind. / Wa an elementary treatise, set
ing fartL tie pernieious influence Of the stong-
- alaaLplie 5eseragos, and recommending "sud-
aea and e1tfe abstinence" from them. In lieu
= a,aea, spirit he recommended coffee cider,
.-t-t 2.nc-, seer aud such drinks as could be
-YnPaantea y uoiasses, vinegar, inaple-syrup
and water. III, essay was republishnd in Eng
and and one thousand copies Of it were pres
sntet = the Presbyterian General Assembly in
.-ll ~ god Doctor himself visited various re-
-t.s.' 5ad..s and commended his views to them
20 iast Ae -taHd- also, As the pioneer temper
auce lecturer. Like the little pnnace Of Column
1l-, tbs modest essay Of DR.. Rush ventured in
% al aAt-acked and uHchartered sea. But as
lp.aH9a. OILY reached an island, and not the
mainland, 80 Rush only reached the position Of
abstinence from ardent spirits and did not set his
foot Iii the broader ground Of total abstinence
ifYm al intoxicating liquor. Several years
+ elapsed oef3fe Temperance societies were organ
.zet ; ono Il ~ very earliest being formed at
Noreaa, Saratoga County, y. Y, in 1908. Ac-
c9rcng - the constitution Of this primitive socie-
=. eYefy member Who drank rum, wine or dis
t.4lef spirits except for sickness, or wine at
p-9ae elnnets ,, was fined twenty-five cents;
and, I nc got drunk, he fined fifty cents.
lhe dea II forming this society was suggested
b. Dr. Ru.h's book.
As our readers already know very large and
4A1Eetila. convention Of the friends OF temper
ance ~ he'd u Philadelphia on the 23d and
ziia 4 September, 70 celebrate the close of the
tF-' eent-E! u The Reform, as dating from DR..
kgsa arst .aP q the bell. If the worthy Doc.
i4f could have lochsd nto the crowded and en-
tA->iasilf convention II II. Georges Hall, and
into tAe immense assemolage which packed the
Academy II VI usic n would have discovered
taat Is handful Il seed-corn had become like the
forests u lyp1 If tho pSt s.rili
features o.! tie convention that the Presi-
aent u The = Roman Catholic Total Abstinence
society Of the [. : A" took prominent part
"a III oeeeaiAgs, and was welcomed with the
teart.e>t cheers.
Tie chief business Of the convention was not
- 1e5-te p!il- 70 construct platforms it
was u historical, meeting Tor the gathering and
.tc5ra.n. the results @! century Of effort. All
,J-.s aat stripes and schools Of temperance re-
rfaaI. were Represented in the oonvocation;
mora-saas.5iists ana political prohibitionists sat
,ile o. side tae one common ground being that
taey ~. mated Hing Alcohol and his whole brood
d; ,nis, and al pra1tIced teetotalism. A large
aJory Of them seemed to have but little faith
H. TIC virtues Z high license, and very strong
and san-.;i.e faith IL The virtues and ultimate
triumph u Vrohi9s;oTy enactments. Patrick
HcurF famous guide FOR his footsteps" at a
.ery 6ri,i- time n American history 1.-THE
amp Of experience" II we make an honest use
u tie lamps which brought into the late
we're made pretty apparent, and certain conclu-
slJns are clearly warranted.
iii The experiences Of the past century have
proved that drunkenness and the dram-shop
about the most formidable foes 10 the welfare Of
TIE home the commonwealth, and the Christian
Church Slavery Of the Negro a temporary
Institution. confined within geographical limits,
4ad reckless enough TO commit suicide by
provoking the Cj,u War Of Isles. The pro-
pensts n Use alcoholic s;imulants exists in ev-
@-..f al .fa .L,t
propensity avarice ministers by opening the
drinking saloon. Wherever any considerable
A4ul5.r %. people desire 70 drink intoxicants
somebody WI, " 70 furnish them with the liquor.
The amount Of money wasted OF health i'm
paired. Of lives DESTROYED, OfTesources consumed,
and 4 .mm1rta! souls ruined by the consumption
= strong d1.AA during the past century would
constitute mos; appalling Apocalypse Of woe.
How much worse it would have been, but for the
temperance movement, no one can exactly say.
A>surcGly tie number Of those directly bene-
htted by the movement may be reckoned by mill
ions.
-. !, has been demonstrated, we believe, that
tie most cfieltual work done thus far has been
that which AIMED TO conquer the propensity to
Use iAtaN.cant>, and to break down the drinking
u>s.es u society. This work has gone to the
root ottue evil By reaching the conscience, chang
M the conduct. ana reforming the character.
Every inch thus gained has been solid ground.
It i trui>m that, # nobody wants to drink in
y
enough 70 offer them for sale. Nothing prohib-
is dram-selliuc 80 efectually self-prohibition
NJ dram-trlnh.ng uy the people in any locality.
The drinking usascs create the dram-shop; when
they dc. the dr2In->hop dies, even though no
civil law were enacted for its suppression. Ey-
ery sane observer must admit that the most sub
,,autial and enduring benefits gained by the Tenn
perluec Reform we're gained by moral efforts, by
Nera>5aai appeals to conscience, and by the
change OF personal habits and character. 1t still
- q Il /
Id moral reform, aud not as transient political
movement, dependent upon the tender mercies OF
the caucus and liable To be thwarted by the IN
triEues ufth- demagogues. 1t inyokes righteous
law ~ an auxiliary, but relies chiefly upon those
uurepcalabir statutes which the Creator has in
scrib-d in His Book and on the human frame.
49, The experience Of the last century has
proved that. both 4 personal safeguard and
IS a basis X associated effort the total abstinence
pi.fQc has been Of immense value. In Great
Britain i i employed very generally-especially
nv the religions leaders Of the cause like Farrar,
Wlbcrtoree and Sturgeon; and this is one rea-
son why the cause Is making such rapid and per-
lnaucut progress. To abandon the pledge OF alb
St.Ieutc would be the Abandonment of one Of
the strongest levers in our machinery. Preven-
t!'n has been found an hundredfold easier than
reformation. The introduction Of temperance
,chopl-1ooks in several of the states, into the
public schools, has been one of the most effective
steps yet taken and il the present absorbing
excitement in regard to political action should
draw away attention from the vital duty of saving
'Ae eAi-9Feh ana YOUTH "ouiu oe most 'a'ai
m4>,aAT; IT,.
nc eNl'qt.il.yi'' uI Expressing ,he hquor
fAi'ie ~ al.9HoiH tn1rsii''ii1s mas naa va
neg 9hH oAstA't.N Hisso' 80 sta.es
>ie'' 'i"s NJ o'ttt uo' AAo ~. mn!
'i!fte cars Oh pton'3''.oh IN -Haine, lour years
o. IN haHsaN' anu WV Assls III IVA nase
icu> il every locality where righteous public
,sntimen; i. powerful and the drinkng-usages
are weak. Practically it IS about the same thing
local option Tor its permanent success de.
rho moral sentiment OF each locality