The Carbon advocate. [volume] (Lehighton, Pa.) 1872-1924, 1886-09-18
THE TEMPERANCE PR0RLEM

The New York STAR: For the last
hundred years the evil of intemperance
has urged Itself on the public attention.
War has been waged on it from the pul-
pit and platform, and in the press.
Every sort of social and moral pressure
has been brought to bear and it has been
finally forced into politics. State after
State has taken it up, and the prohibi-
Zionist element has been Jealous in season
and out of season in trying to force legis-
lative action. Sumptuary laws have
been passed with but little effect on the
main eyil, except to combine the vices of
the sneak and hypocrite whith those of
the drunkard. Politicians have used
the political temperance party selfishly
to further their own purposes, and still
there seems to be no solid gain for all
the zeal and ingenuity displayed by the
advocates of prohibition.
Probably every right-minded man has
a sincere sympathy with the objects Of
bhe temperance zealots, the removal of an
evil which has been and is the cause of
infinite crime and suffering. But the
means taken to effect the result is not
only useless in result, but constitutes in
itself an evil fully as much to be dreaded
as the one against which it is aimed.
The doctrine that moral and social evil
can ever be cured by force or legislative
enactment has written its own fallacy in
failure thousand times. Laws LOOKING
10 this end easily multiply themselves
into the most tyrannical and vexatious
restrictions. The ingenuity of man is
set to work to evade them, and so sue
eessfully that they soon become dead
letters. The Sunday law, for example,
is VIGOROUSLY so void shat there is not
more than the faintest pretense of con-
eealment among liquor dealers, and many
drug stores sell as freely as the ayowed
Eroggeries. There is probably not city
or state in the country nominally under
prohibition laws where there is not the
null quantum of drunkenness, especially
on Sunday, the workingman's only day
Of rest. DR.. Felix Oswald contributes a
suggestive paper on this subject to the
last issue of the FORUM. He says:
Our privileged citizens can leave the city
for weeks to propitate nature by A pilgrim
sge to the sanctuaries of the wilderness, and
restore their health by the fare and the out
door sports OF their Dature-abidng ancestors
but those privileges are denied to the very
classes most sorelyln need OF their blessings,
and by suppresslng all popular pastlmes on
the day when a vast plurality of our working
: pen find their only leisure for recreation, we
force them TO seek relief in the narcotics of
the rum shop and drown their misery in the
Lethe OF intoXication, They drink to get
drunk; they take refuge in the delirum of
he poison fever as IN dream to escape the
Aoul-sickening roundabout OF six days OF
dnldgery followed by seventh day of un-
satisfied longings. Heat the furnace fires,
shut and riyet the valves and pray for the
safety of the boiler; but do not hope 10 pre-
vent the explosions OF vice after shutting the
gates OF mercy on the painting toilers of a
factory town by closing their Libraries, clos
Ing their parks, preventing their escape by
stopping excursion boats and picnic trains,
and then conyening a prayer meeting to avert
the well-known consequences.
DIR. Oswald denounces bitterly the ex-
treme Sabbmarianism which would pre-
vent the workingman from enjoying the
thousand innocent pleasures and recrea
tons which might easily be thrown open
to him. The rigid theory of the Lords
day which keeps picture galleries and
libraries closed and seeks in every way to
prevent Sunday pleasure travel, is one
which Is peculiar to England and Ameri-
ca, especially the latter country. We do
not fully share DIR. Oswald's optimism
but certainly the remedy he proposes of
changing the battle ground to the open
fields, founding temperance gardens, with
Fairgrounds, free music and hygienic
restaurants, starting free gymnasinms in
villages and city parks, etc, has all the
merit of being rational. There is but
little doubt that if means,were provided
for giving workingmen opportunity for
a variety of healthful and attractive re-
creations on Sunday, there would be
much less liquor swilling and drunken
ness ON Sundays.