The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1885-06-13
MISS CLEVELAND.

What She Has to Say Concerning the Liq-
uor Traffic-Her Reply to DIR. Crosby on
the Question of Total Abstinence.
The New York Sun of recent date
published a communication from Miss
Elizabeth Cleveland, sister of President
Cleveland, in reply to Rev. DR.. Howard
Crosby, on the question of total absti-
nence Miss Cleveland commences by
quoting the following from DR.. Crosby:
81 do not wonder that excellent women,
whose husbands or sons have become sOtS,
should advocate total abstinence for every
one. We have heard good woman whose
boy had cut his finger nearly off with a knife
wish that there We're no knives in the world,
and if she could have her way she would have
them all destroyed forthwith 1t is natural,
and woman cry on such an occasion eX-
cites our tenderest sympathy. But who will
count that an argumentY'
Miss Cleveland then SAYS:
The above paragraph from "A Calm View of
DR.. Nelson" by Rev. Howard Crosby, d. D., in
the Evangelist ofMarch II, has most pertina-
ciously haunted me ever since the perusal
of the article last evening. That this
above any other paragraph should
most impress itself upon the impress
siblo mind of one emotional woman
in particular, or OF woman as an emotional
creature in general, will surprise no man. 1t
is, as the doctor says, natural; and | am GER
tain that multltudes of women besides myself
are to-day smart1ng under these calm" words,
againstthe Imputation of which every fiber of
the womans nature rises up in revolt
The male animal is very fierce; the female
or all genera is comparatively and in general
uncombative. But the same science which
tells us this tells us also that the mother
among all beasts, in defense of her young, is
the herceSt of all living creatures. The lion
eSs, under ordinary circumstances, is quite
easy of conquest, but the lioneSs robbed of
her wheps no man or beast cares to cncount-
er. Both these phases of the female nature
are undoubtedly natural" They belong, as
Bishop Butler said of certain socalled super
natural phenomena, to the natural of which
there are two cauScS'-the one ordinary the
other not supernatural, still less superhuman
but extraordinary. You see, Mrs. Foster.
that this mad dog you talk about is to be
put, by calm view of the thing as it is, into
the same category with cutlery. You have no
more real right to "cry'' about this Embossed
beast because it may meet your children on
their way to school and may bite one or two
of them than you have to cry out against the
manufacture and sale of knives because your
boy cut himself once. The perfectly clear
thing is II you only had head enough TO see
it, that the manufacture (by fermentation,
not distillation) of the mad dOg(nOt very mad,
only some mad ought to go ON, and that one
mad dog (of this good kind for every one
thousand people ought to be protected by law
from the bullets of Observation-Disclosures.
This calm view of the ''eyil," which, because
of some, in fact several, cases of hydrophobia
among us has come to be called by unthink-
ing people mad dog" is proved by concur
rent testimony of experience science, scholar
ship, sound philosophy, and, above all, right
God. The calmly Christian thing for you to
40 ION such an occasion" is not to go up and
down crying, but to stay at home and teach
your little boys and your big boys how little
mad dogs bite is good for them, but q big
mad dogs bite is very bad for them.
You ought-if you would only do the thing
you ought instead of the thing you like-to
mix up little wine and water for your little
boys at dinner, SO that they may early learn
the difference between true Temperance and
this miserable parody on true Temperance
called total abstinence" and may be pre-
pared to make a manly protest against drunk
enness when they shall be grown up. 1t is
simply Silly-yeS, while we feel the tenderrSt
sympathy for your sorrow, we must say tit
is Silly for you to refuse to see that knives
and mad dogs are equally dangerous. 1t is as
ridiculous for you to demand that all alcohol
shall be banished from the beverages of man
kind, because the fiery liquor is burning out
the manhood Din more ways than by its CON
SUMPTION of the world. as it would be for
you to demand that all the wells should be
dried up because men lose their lives by
drowning.
Alcohol and water are exactly analogous if
you could but see ii, you foolish woman!
Your cry is no argument; itwere better you
should stop your crying.
DIR. Crosby, we can notify we ever so
hard-we can not defy or deny nature. God
has made us a crying genus. We can not I'M
derstand how knives and mad dogs are just
alike; we can not understand why a mad dog
should not be killed. We can not help CRYING
if only one TO every one thousand human be-
ings is let loose in our streets. These things
are too high for us; we can not find them out
1t is not our blame. 1t is our nature. And
we dare to say that through the pure and un-
sophisticated nature of the human mother
Gods argument against any use of alcohol
except as medicine is given to the world to-
day.
When the young Queen of Austria, pressed
on every side 10y the ruthless oppression of
the great Prussan King, fled trembling into
Hungary and, with her infant in her arms
and her royal crown upon her head, APP
peaed for the protection of her kingdom
to her loyal subjects there, those stalwart
Hungarian mobiles rose in mass, and
laying their right hands upon the
swords at their sides, swore in a shout whose
heroic ring echoes down the years: "MOriamur
pro rege nostro, Maria Theresa" And
how they did die all the world knows. II
is not for rhetorical effect, still less for the ex
citation of the "tendcrest sympathy" that
revert to this welknown historical incident
1t is that may call attention to the argument
in the Cry of those mentor suppose mans
"cry" may be counted as an "argument." /
wish to beg you to notice these words "rege
nostro.' That expression of those Hungarian
pobles, our King Maria Theresa instead OF