The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-03-18
DRINKING MEN NOT WANTED
Temperance Sentiment Growing Among
Employers in ALI Glasses of Business.
Francis Murphy Thinks That and the Love Of
Christ Will Accomplish More in Destroying
the Liquor Traffic than Legislation.

Francis Murphy the temperance evangel-
ist, is still carrying Oh the work in KokomO
with so much success that it is said that he
has already induced one-ifth of the popu-
lation of the place to sign the pledge. A
Journal reporter met Mr. Murphy day or
two ago and asked him about the national
feeling regarding temperance. There is
is to-day" he said, "a healthy growth of
public sentiment in favor of sobriety from
one end of the land to the other. The bust
ness interests of this country are organ
lied against the drink traffic. The great
corporations positively refuse to retain in
their employment men known to use
liquor in the least degree to excess.
In this age everything is being done with
such minute accuracy and with such light
ming speed, and competition is so fearfully
great that the captains of civilization de-
mand that the rank and file of their follow
ers shall be so Der, and at their posts of duty
at the proper time, to man. Here is
where the most stringent prohibitory law
in the world is found. If man is known
to use liquor as beverage. he is informed
that ne is not needed. These agencies are
banks, on the railroads, in the factories, at
the forge and in the field. The same is
true of the representatives of the CONNER
cial houses. Time was when commercial
men used to drink indiscriminately. They
had to treat thor customers to sell goods,
and, in this way. were led into temptation.
1t was no uncommon thing for man to
get on a spree and remain for a week, hav-
ing some friend write the house he was
sick and unable to proceed Some of the
finest business men in this country have
been wrecked by just such habits; the COM
mercial interests of the country have been
sacrificed, and customers have been dlsap-
pointed so severely that merchants and
their representatives have mutually de-
cided that intoxicating liquor is an enemy
to both"
"Have many travelling men signed the
pledge with you, Mr.. MurphyW
Yes, great multitude. They have
signed at the meetings, and come to my
rooms in the hotel. asking the privilege of
taking the pledge and putting on the ib-
bon. Many have personally known to be
using liquor to excess have been redeemed.
Now. our representative business men are
gentlemen, Intelligent, the graduates of our
colleges, coming from the first homes In our
land. They are subjected to greater tempta-
tions than any other class of men in this
country. The hotels should be visited by
Christian men every Sunday morning. and
these men invited to the churches. Many
a young man In a strange city simply
awaits this attention to rescue him from
the haunts of vice, and the hospitality of
dining at the home of Christian gentle
man would be wonderfully helpful to him
in establishing the principles taught in his
own home"
But you are hopeful of the progress of
temperance among all classes to-day"
Yes, this whole county is getting sober.
Self-preservatiOn is the first law of nature,
and the people are becoming informed on
the terrible evils attending the use of in-
tOxicating drink, and establishing a hearth
stone prohibition over this land. This is
the law that is everywhere, constantly, ST.
lently at wOrk-that does not ask for any
legislative majorities to enforce it. This is
the temperance that is working In the great
creed, or sect, or party. This is the tenn
perance of the gospel. with its boundless
potency to prevail in triumph in the end,
which, strange to say, the armies of tenn
perance workers that have arisen in the
present age have failed to appreciate or
acknowledge. The arrogance and intoler-
ance of uany otherwise able men in this
cause have thrown upon it often the un-
just defamation of the world. The great
mistake Of the present time tnst is tn, the
is the panacea for all the sin
that finds it's well-springs in the heart of
man. If law could have saved men, Moses
power shall redeem-lOye, and that alone.
Love is another Columbus, aud discovers
new continents in the hearts of men,
:, DO you believe. then, in legislation on
this subjectW
II do, most firmly. Legislation can be
used to control, and to restrict and abolish
the traffic In Intoxicating liquors. in the
large centers of population you can restrict,
in many of the rural districts wholly abol-
ish it. But no verdict rendered by the bal
shall not drink the friends of temperance
have placed too much confidence in the
small majOrities that have been rendered
in favor of the abolition of this traffic, and
wonder why the law cannot be enforced to
sustain the verdict of the people. But
they fail to consider the fact that so per
cent. of the 500 constituting this majority
use liquor moderately themselves. Now.
while you can get man to vote
against lntemperance AS an evil, when
ing cry, whisky or no whisky you cam
not get this same man to come out and pub
licly stand for the enforcement of this law
against sin which he himself is tOlerating
in private"
''But many who voted the third-pa1ty
ticket in the last campaign did so to remove
temptation from themselves
Il cannot doubt the honest belief of these
men that whom they cast their vote to re-
move this thing it was going to move. But
they were in error. They must learn the
prohibition of the gospel of Christi that
they must pay the price; that they cannot
gather grapes from thorns nor figs from
thistles. If thy right eye offend thee.
pluck it ont. If thy right arm offend thee.
cut it off,"
"How much do you think law can do with
this evil?"
go far toward its aboiitiOn-just so long as
and be made amenable to. This reminds
me of the experience we have had with law
in the State of Pennsylvania. / am not
much of lawyer, but the results attend
ing the existing statute, known as the
Brooks law, in that State show that, while
it is not yet year old, the number of sa-
looms has been reduced from 5,773 in 1887 to
1,347 in 1883 in the city of Philadelphia
alone. The number of commitments to the
was 13 544 from June to October, 1888, I'M
der the law, s, 1885, a decrease of 5000, or 80
per cent The commitments to the House
of Correction also show 80 per cent. decrease
in the same period. Now the partisan adj
vocates of law in temperance work are sim
cere, but they refuse to support any re-
strictive measures. / declare that this is
unfortunate for the BraOks law, and its
friends who are equally sincere, and who
or remove this great evil by intelligence,
which is the sure conservator of the peo-
pies rights.o
Some of the best temperance people in
this country say this method IS nothing
less than contract with the devil"
"Oh, yes, there has been a great deal OF
noise about the question of contract