The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1892-02-18
Union Temperance Meeting.

1He ullOn temperance HetllHS dJ Ine
| Universaist Chu rch last Sunday afternoon
was most interesting and successful. Many
! declared it the best temperance meeting
| they had ever attended. The audience was
| large and attentive. The addresses We're of
| a high order, and We're listened to with mark
element of attraction. The male quartette of
the North Church sang finely, supplemented
by the cornet by Mr. Davis and the organ
| by Mrs. j. W. Jones.
Mrs. E. A. ID. burlington presided, The
exercises began Ivy an organ voluntary and
/ hymn by the congregation. Rev. j. f. Til
ton of the Baptist Church. offered prayer,
and Rev. Myra Kingsbnry, Of the Uni
versalist Church, read the Scripture lesson
Mrs. burlington, the president, said:
FRIENDS: For the first time in my Hfe |
am placed where it is incumbent upon me to
| share in part the responsibility of public
| temperance meeting. Fer reasons that |
| Will NOT undertake. to eNpialn Gndeed !
| could not if | Woul,O the Very wurd temper
| ancc has been under social ban III Belfast.
! Not that our best people indulge i'll the use
OF alcohohr beverages to amy greater extent
than is common in most other places of
| equal size. Our leading men, both III the
| professions and in business, are at heart,
and largely i'll practice, Temperance men,
| friends of order and good government. The
| saloon is AN unwelcome neighbor to them,
| and AN intoxicated person AN offence to their
sense OF deccncy and good taste.
Then why is it that so few comparatively
are willing to lend a hand and identify
| themselves with this temperance work? Is
it because of the supposed crankiness Of
some of its leaders? The narrow and bgot-
ed methods of frtb bprS Inn, b.lJp failed To
| preciate even the meaning of the word tenn
perance, from mere Indifference to any
and all phianthropic work outside their
own church or social circle?
But, friends and neighbors, the world has
moved in the last quarter of century and
civilized people everywhere are beginning
to adopt the 'rule of the greatest good,
ly-Whatever custom or habit on the
whole clearly works more harm than good
| ought to be given up. 1t is not enough to
say that some persons get their living by
manufacturing and others by selling intoNi-
| cants, while many others derive pleasure
from their use. If it hurts great many
and saps the virtue and morals of people,
even nations, the custom is jad and ought to
he given up, for the few have no right to
profit hv the loss and suffering of the many.
In former times there was no law against
slavery. Many Thought it a good and wise
institution. 'SeryantS obey your masters
was an "ft-qnoted text in all our pnlpts.
North and South but to-day the conscience
of the civilized world condemns it, as it
condemns gambling and other vices. This
is III accordance with the rule OF the greatest
good. SO the State says that no person can
pursue his own pleasure at the risk of injur-
ing his neighhors. You know how it has
been with the Louisiana lottery. The com
science of Boston has been felt in New Or
leans, and the leaders in this nefariouS huSi-
ness have been compelled from force of pub
lie opinion to say they would not accept Il
renewal of their charter. so also we have
the law against carrying firearms on shoot
ing within the limits of Il city. In truth no
good citizen in Belfast or elsewhere wants
To do what is had for men generally to do, or
for boys to initiate him in doing. y law
that is good for the public is good enough
for the individual.
Now in this last decade of the 10Th cen
tury people are beginning to See more than
ever before that the use of alcoholic beVer-
ages is vast public and national evil, Il
greater evil even than gambling, and has no
excuse beyond the momentary pleasure
which il Yields. If these beverages are
harmless to amy Gas some people claim it is
To only very small minority Of the people
anywhere, and the few have no right to in
d1llge in mere pleasure that is bad for men
generally. Therefore 1t is right to ask all
(eVen the few who think they can use it
with safety to abstain from that which
gives little pleasure compared with the
the drink habit entails.
The Lord Mayor of I.ondnu recently stat
td that ninety per cent. o all the cases
brought before the police courts We're due in
some way to drink: While in this country
the latest table of approximate figures gives
the direct cost of the liquor bill OF the nited
States for one year as 800 900 ,oOo-enough to
more than pay the whole interest hearing
debt of the nited States in two Years. What
commentary upon the state of our riviliza-
tl,,,t Nv
SSO,0OO,0OO for public education. The rule of
our greatest good comes from our sense of JUS
tlce. Now is there amy Justice in permitting
the users of these 5000, 100000 worth of
liquors to waste this amount of money!
From an economic view of this question is
it not the duty of the government. both State
and national, to put a stop to this terrible
waste "a waste greater than any of You
dream of who have not had Your attention
called to this phase of the temperance ques-
ton. Well, You all know with what amaze
ment we free-born American citizens con-
template the vast expense of the German
army, congratulating ourselves upon our
greater freedom and immunity from that
particular form OF taxation. Well, | know
YOU will be as much surprised as | to
find from the latest table of approximate
figures that the liquor bill of the Tn ted
States of America for one year would sup
port the kaiser's entire army for eight years
and leave a comfortable bank account to
spare,
Again how does the drink bill compare
with the cost of bread! just about three
times much is spent for liquor as is re-
puired t" give bread t" our sixty or more
millions of people Mr.. Flower i'll the Me-
Nember Arena says that Chicago, with its
1,2o0,O00 inhabitants. spends annually for
beer alone s40000.O0O, enough to pay the en-
tire cost of the Worlds Fair, and leave a
handsome balance for the next one TO be
accurate. Mr. Flower SAYS. this gives over
% gallons of beer (every year, to every man,
woman and child in Chicago, at an expense
of So per capita. This is truly startling
to every thinking man or woman. Why,
even in Germany. the great beer drinking
country of the world, it is but p gallons per
capita, and this is bad enough to frighten
the Emperor INTO recommending extreme
measures on this question. The Kaiser is
apprehensiVe of the fate of his Empire if this
habit continues, Mr. Flower well says that
the apathy of the Christian Church on this
subject is simply amazing.
| ''1f a poor man steals d loaf OF bread to ap-
| pease the hunger of his starving family, he
| is sent to prison, that the ma jesty of the law
may be vndicated. But when the saloon
keeper openly violates the law, little is said
of it because of the moral apathy which per-
| neates the Very web and Woof of this so-call-
ed Christian society,"
That the business is profitable is shown by
the fact that the retail liquor dealers in the
United States paying the internal revenue
tax increased over 10000 in the last year.
How LONG the will to