The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1888-01-26
The Cause of Right.

subjects for the sake of argument. but to
speak briefly upon practical right as repre-
sented by the order of Good Templars In
calling your attention to this subject, l do not
intend to deny any person the right TO have
to hold and to advocate. such opinions as may
to him, appear reasonable But | think that
nearly all will agree with lie when say that
our order is one OF the gran,lest Representa-
tives Of the cause Of right cXtamt in the world
to-day. Representing right we. Il, all order,
are at the same time active foes to every
| wrong. | say as an order, for Individual
| members to a greater or less extent are prone
to depart from some of the teachings If the
order. Founded upon that practical morality
which gives to every person sympathy, sup
port and assistance, the order of Good TcH!-
pars is worthy the support of every man who
would give his feliowman practical assistance
il the path Of right
In this connection it may not be uimte.est-
| in. 10 note the inarst tlous growth made by the
! order since lis first appearance Ia an organized
| form. Three-quartcrs Of 4 century may be a
| long time as men count their ageS. but it is an
extremely short space on the roa,! that Father
but little more than that since the first oY-aI.-
| lied effort was made to suppress the evils of
intempcrance. 1t is claimed that the honor of
the first >ociety belongs 10 America. The New
World. ever foremost in that which pertains to
| the elevation Of humanity, was not to he out
! done in its temperance efforts.
! Sacred history tells Us that a branch Of Be
| ,lcuin keEitcS. descendants of Rechat, dwell
ers in tents. neither >owed -rain nor drank
Wine. But they Withdrew themselves from
the rest of the world, in this respect, and be-
| came. not temperance advocates. but temper
ancc hcrmt>. Seemingly caring mot that tie
| rest OF their fellows trud the path Of i':ebri-
| alton. the, made no If"gFrSStfe temperance
| cG"H>. Not for the purpose Of commenting
on their acts OF life. have brought these w:tii-
| dcrrr> upon tie face OF the earth tD your NO.
tirc but. rather that might draw compare
son between that which i and thai which has
| been. Let u<. ia imagination. Wtno!cr back III
| the past TO the time OF the first temperance So
cietl i'll the beginning OF the present century
| We bchuld Il small company Of workers >trN-
| in. against odds that constantly threaten t"
eXtingui>h the fire Of temperance which fiit
have kindled. Fourteen Years roll fro.n time
to eternity, and the child cf reform j. con-
signed t" an early grave. Hard. hard indeed.
must it have been for these people to see the
death of their hopes without any promise Of
speedy resurrection. For they ctull no more
know that the temperance seed which they
had sown would spring to life in the short
space of two years. than YOU or know what
awaits lis two years hence. Yet. such WIS to
he the ease. And the Temperance plant, which
at first was but feeble Saplin.: Swayed Ivy
every wind of opposition, has grown to a
mighty tree which spreads its branches over
the entire civilized world And You and may
rest peacefully beneath its frtnilt shade.
cure from the Scorching heat Of Harchue' sun.
| which draws sustenance from the fumes Ct
burning alcohol.
What has the order accomplished in tine
past: From mere handful of active workers
it has spread out its influence until it has gath
cred together Ya>t multitude of humanity
an army composed of earnest. active. inteisi-
gent beings. bound together by the common
tie of fraternal love. determined to do all i'll
their power to crush down the tempter and to
drive intemperance from our land anil homes.
Let US look now at the influences which are
cXcrtctl by the different temperance organiza-
tion>. Every person must be regarded a> cN-
Crting some kind of Al influence iii the world.
| According as such a one may come more
less in contact with his fellows. or his opinions
and acts may have greater or less weight with
| those whom he may associate with. will his in
| tuence he felt. While the nature of ndiNid-
| uaS will ever callsc more OF less deviation
| from the perfect. the tcarin : of Good Eeq.-
| piarv are. in and of themselves, pure. 1t fol
| lows then, that the Influences cminating from
| the order are such aS tend to elevate all these
| who may have connection with it, Ihe
| practical workings Of the commtn,i. "WnHt>o-
| ever We Wouiu that others shouid 40 unto Nou,
| do ye even 50 to them" represent the highest
| type of justice and equality possible. -'Icii
| ever have been compelled to admit This fact.
| whatever their belief in regard to the origin Of
the command The inference arising from the
| Good Templars is in accordance with this
teaching Therefore, We may he par,ionel for
making the assertion that the teachings OF our
| order. lived up to. make the highest typ" Of
man and womanhoo'i to which il j. possible
| for us to attain.
| He who becomes 4 perfect Good Ttlnplar
becomes a perfect man. That we are not such
| is the fa;!t of the individual and E9t that Of
| the order to which we belong.
In addition to the moral benefits, we have
also social and educational advantages which
are worthy of consideration We are fv ne
| turc social beings. Separated from his fellows
| man becomes moroSe. ncommuniratiEc, >t!.-
| len. If good company De Eot At hand most
| man will take up with that which is bad in
| preference to none. This being the how
| important that We provide gool company
whereby the desire for social Intercourse may
| be satisfied without detracting from the moral
nature of the individual We work for the
| cause Of right. when we use our efforts for So
cial purity. The social feature of our lodges is
| 10 be regarded as one of their most important
recommendations. Dull indeed must he the
intellect that can gain no new idea from tie,
opinions Of others. \ stray sentiment, a word
| here or there, an opinion on some subject. vita
which we differ, may he the key that unlocii> 4
| StorehOuSe of information for cur benefit.
| Therefore the Good Tenplars lodge is capable
of being made highly beneficial in the arIui:
ng OF useful knowledge. 30 man ever yet
was possessed of sufficient practical knowledge
to prove an injury to him. IN the conslaefa-
ton of such matters as are OF practical inter
est, we may not only give but receive useful
information. | commend this feature Of our
| order to Your thoughtful consideration.
Upon us, as representatives. of the cause OF
right, there rests a great responsibility. Are
we true to the principles of Good Iempla.N
| Are we actively interested in the s,icces> of
the temperance cause: Men say they would
like to see such and such thing. done. yet
| make no effort to have ii done. Let Us not he
found wanting in good word and work. Let
us not forget that every temperance boy may
become a temperance man. For this reason
we should ever use our influence to in>ti!
temperance truths into the minds Of those
around us. \ few years at tile most, and
those who now rule the nation will lay down
the rod of empire and pass to the great I'M
known. Shall the country be governed by
men who are friends to our cau>e, or those
who are its enemies! Make temperance men
and women of the boys and girls in our land
to-day. and this question decides itself in the
future
Temperance is finally to triumph Throughout
the broad eXpansc Of our fair land. 1t mus
be so. No true reform ever goes backward. Ii
is not in accordance with human nature tt
stand still. We must ever continue to pres,
onward in the great march of temperance re-
form, yielding nothing to our foes. deMd"Gtha
all from or enemies. The dark clouds of iii
temperance that have so long darkened oul
homes and couded our land are being scatter
ed far and wi,lc and yet their shadows throw
gloom over many home to-day. As friend,
. of right and foes of wrong, let us do all il
our power to hasten the glad time coming
when drunkenness shall be a thing Of the past
Dear friend, are you interested in the wei
fare of YOUR fellows and of yourself: II >t
let me ask YOU to think well of this matter
Because some member of Il Good Tcmplar
, lodge NAV prove false to his trust. does no
. constitute a reason why you should not list
, | your influence to further the interests of thu
cause of right With intemperance driver
from our land many of those social evil
which threaten our country would di>appea
( forever. Can you then afford to remain out
| side the fold when the needs of humanity dc
mand that you should enter in: Come, joil
our temperance band and benefit yourself an,
your fellows!
!: abide with us. here you are safe; renal
with us for the destroyer does not enter here
Ever have before you as though it were writ
, ten in letters of living light, whatsoever y
! would that others should do unto YOU. do y
:. even so to them.'" f. c. Dow.
Monroe. Me.
r An Interesting Diagram.