The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1891-09-11
LATTER-DAY DRINKING.

popular cafe few days ago, and in an
extremely hoarse voice related Incl
dents of his youth, when every man
could drink quart of whisky neat and
never feel it, by CAD sir!'
His companions were three young
men who were endeavoring to conceal
an itching desire to leave the stout man.
| The latter kept a wary eye on them,
and at every motion that indicated an
intention to withdraw he pounded the
! table and, with a wave of his hand, said
to the waiter: See what the gentlemen
IL have
Eventually the young men peremp-
torily refused to drink more, and, ria-
| ing abruptly. babe the stout man good
day, and walked out. The stout man
gazed after them with mingled ex-
preston of surprise and disgust and
then with husky oath said:
Cursed if | don't believe they are
afraid of good liquor"
The stout man had hit on two-thirds
of the truth. The young men were
afraid of the liquor, but not because
they feared. for their ability to drink
glass for glass with him, but because of
the more respectable apprehension
that they might cease to be gentlemen
| if they permitted themselves to get
drunk. They We're also very tired, in.
deed, of the stout man, whose fame
rests on his ability to drink all day and
all night, too, and to tell tales whose
principal characteristic is their lack of
truth.
J The stout man settled his score and
drifted unsteadly out to the street
| He wandered from one cafe to another,
and finding in none of them any con-
| genial companions, finally turned his
purple face toward his club and there
| joined several other stout men at a
table. They all were flooding their
mental faculties with liquor and were
commenting on the weaknesses of the
young men of the present day.
Let a lot Of young men nowadays
meet for social intercourse" said one of
the stout men, bitterly, ''and it's all
noise and buster. Let EN- sit together
for hours, or even whole night, and
blast me if they won't, every one Of
'em, go home in a beastly state of
sobriety. Why, when | was a young
man and met any of my friends in an
evening, there wasn't one of US who
wouldn't be under the table before day
light. All, times has changed"
Il remember" said another stout
man, "when a man who went home
sober from social party disgraced
himself" Another stout man said;
The present situation is due to
weakness on the part of the present
generation. That's what it is-it's con.
stitutional weakness.
Its more like constitutional cow
ardicc," grunted another stout man,
stertorous slumber.
Not one of those stout men had faith
omed the secret that deprived them of
the company of younger men. The
fact is that there are few hard drinkers
to-day in comparison with the mum Der
that helped to build up the liquor trade
ten. twenty and thirty years ago. The
time is coming when the race of the
stout men and their boon companions
will be run, and when this comes to
pass it is likely that man of their
| temper anu us Dt)SIGlOL w III Dt lll
and that the time he devOtcs to steady
drinking will be distinguished by soli-
tude. The decrease in the number of
| heavy and steady drinking men is
especially observable at the seaShorc
and at the famous mountain resorts.
The men who frequent these places in
search of rest and recreation have nat
urally good deal of leisure, and, as a
bar is considered necessary adjunct
to nearly every hotel, the only thing
they need to enable them to indulge
without stint in the consumption of
| liquors is the disposition \ gentle
man who has Travelled considerably
| throughout this country, and who dur
! ing the summer passes most of his time
at seaside and mountain resorts, in
commenting on this improved condition
of things, said:
Probably the men who favor total
| abstinence will take the credit to
themselves for this increase of tenn.
; pcrate habits, but it is my opinion that
! the reason for it is that the great mass
of people are much better educated
than they used to be, and that there is,
| cOuScCl ueuIly, uliCll lcSo Nul5dEIly. n
man who gets drunk now, if he has
any decency in him at all, is always
ashamed of 1t when he gets sober, and
a resolution is sure to follow that he
will not indulge SO freely again. The
time has passed when he who can drink
the most is considered the better man.
OF course there is a great deal of drink
ing done now, but it is moderate drink
ing, and | believe the time is coming
when drunkenness will be confined en-
tirely to the lowest and most ignorant
classes of society. Another thing which
has helped along the cause of temper
ance is the care exercised by business
men to employ only sober men. A
man who drinks to excess has never
the same chance to get along as the
temperate man. The drunken man is
no longer apI lauded; he is Stunned. "a,
n. Y. Sun.