Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1890-04-24
TEMPERATE PROHIBITION.
NJ leonard W. Bacon's New Yeiw of
The Temperance Question.
Some Thoughts Worth the Considcra-
t.an of All Who Feel an Inter
e.; in the Subject.

,.,s meeting 81 the Massachusetts
p.t,gr Club. last Tuesday, DR., Leonard
u pacon of Norwich, Conn, was the
..s.t nj the club, he having been invited
dress the assembly on "A New View
.f6a Temperance Question. Colonel
Sl,.sr in introducing Dr. Bacon after
i:rrsr said that this club had had a good
1..It9 saw in times past on various sub
f. 7f reform. especially on tariff reform,
5 tbay we're not through yet, inasmuch as
nc ra1ple. not wholly on the side of the
I bad done a good deal of work in this
,L,I's line of late Therefore on this oc-
,.;,n it would be most interesting to
Gaar something on another reform that of
temperance
Dr Bacon then arose amidst most cor
35I appause. In part the doctor spoke
az falInws: In other enterprises of poll
al reform You have always before you
srs4 definite. not unattainable good But
,La spbiect Of improved temperance legis-
Ito, runs on forever, and we run on
forever after it, often running in our own
f,aturiuts. This is a question which is
rot settled even when it is settled right.
,isalways an unstable equilibrium.
mean TO speak Of the subject of temperance
h. bafts the occasion in its political re-
afans. We must first get our minds
clear ON the moral principles that underlie
tbam. One Of these principles is that it is
wrong for man to get drunk, but the
flyorite contemporary doctrine of the
mast ffty wears is that drunkenness is a seri-
ans misfortune, the victims of which are
entitled to the tenderest sympathy of all
men. and especially to all women; that it
il am accident, like broken limbs, to
which some constitutions are peculiarly
liable; or disease TO which some persons
4r4 nlluaby careless about exposing them
selves. hut for the course and termination
0f which the patient Is not to be held res
n0ssihIe any more than in cases of diph-
iberia or measles. This idea originated
some fftv years ago with a class of re-
formers whose chief qualification as moral
instructors of the people on this subject
WI, that they had wallowed in the gutter
as scottish drunkards The ethical doctrine
afth0se eminent mOralSts was that the
blame of drunkenness attaches not to this
unhappy victim of temptation, of irresis-
tibe impulse, but to the man around the
corner. or rather to citizens generally who
10 not get drunk, and who are
So iug5nsiderate Of the finer nature of
those who in certain circumstances
cannot help getting drunk that they
5u not combine to eytinguish the man
around the corner, and make drunkenness
impossible 10y discriminating the mate
rial for IT, The characteristic of the
contemporary Temperance refOrmer is that
heis the apologlst of drunkenness That
thi, great moral principle that men are
MOTTO blame for being drunkards so long
as there is amy liquor within reach is the
major premise of most arguments in favor
of prohibition. so called, we have all
bad recent opportunity of knowing by the
rltouv for constitutional prohibition of
two State campaigns. | have heard the
woes aud miSeries Of drunkenness imputed
20 various causes, partly to the liquor
dealer. but more emphatiCally to the
respectable citizen VINO does not think
best Do vote the favOrite ticket of the
speaker, but never have heard it limited
taat the drnkard had any guilty part
whatever. regard this as false, per-
re.ga, demoralizing rubbish. One of the
ar-' lutte. of true temperance reformer
Is n attack and expose this doctrine of
devils Let us bring back the public
conscience to the old-fashioned conviction
'H' Is wrong to get drunk and we shall
have once more d moral principle on which
Wa may hope to build a stable legislation
second. ! do not think that anybody really
THINKS That the liquor traffic is essentially
"rmg What modern reformers seem to
mean by total prohibition is this, that the
a|1ar trade should be run as a govern
~eat departments On the Edward Bellamy
Th.pe, and that taxpayes should own
.aea mug little interest in the liquor
.faAf Third a license law may be a per-
'rtF good and righteous law but you
.s1l.a insist on restoring to this most
a"saI and perverted word License" its
PER meaning. viz, comforting Of a
a-I 2" DO wrong
NE present contention Is simply this
.a' ltuor license law is not essentially
1'r even presumptively immoral. The
." "t total prohibition has had thor
.-a and extensive trial and in some states
~. bad for a brief period a notably
effect But in just one instance has
"a" proved successful and useful for
5-.n OF ten years. In some sections
~ morals of the people were actually
e when the law was strictly enforced.
5lng the doctor said that he did
.elnve in high license, because it
'nos to thin out the liquor dealers
eng On the survival of the un6ttest,
-a who will push the business and make
4-- money ont Of it, 1t should be
understood that the government
sell. licenses at any price. but that
be awarded to men that prove
Fas 10 be suitable for the place
will not abuse the privilege.
=" -"-t model that we have for imita-