The Red Cloud chief., 1892-12-30
THE SOCIAL. cup.

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want. A great many OF the poor resort
TO drink because they are i'm want OF
good sustaining food. Certainly there is
much less of this sort of drinking in
Washington than in any other cities in
this country"
That last sentence contains mora
thai a modicum of truth. II seems to
cover the case completely. There is
very little enforced idlcncss and conse-
qucnt want in this city. Only those
who will not work are idle and penni-
less. The seat Of government being
here, and over n and a half million
dollars being disburscd hero every
month, gives us considerable of a circu.
lating medium in excess of the mount
usually available in cities of equal
population. Hence, there is less idle.
ness and want hero than in other
cities. Consequently there liz less
drunkenness.
~ am very sorry that such a state
mcnt was made by n prominent man.
says II Catholic priest who has been
travelling in the west for some time.
statements of that character have
given Washington IN undcscrvcdly bad
name. While travelling I have been
gricved to hear exaggerated and nm.
warranted statements made against the
social customs of the capital. Every
patriotic American should have the
reputation Of this city at heart, and 10
guarded against making destructive
criticisms which are calculated to be-
litt1n tho national cu4sA1 L. L~ .r.-
ions of the people of the country"
While ~dcnouncing and refuting tho
allegations concerning the condition OF
social and official circles in this particu.
lar, ! am constrained To admit that
there was much original foundation for
the thought Of the country concerning
the tippling habit in Washington. Be
fore the war, during and Immediately
after that struggle, it was customary
and not u~nbccoming for men 10 drink
freely. deeply and sometimes excessive
ly. II was almost always expected,
when gentlemen were introduced, for
one or both of them TO follow the intro
duction with m invitation to take a
drink ut some bar. A w~ell-known
newspaper man who has been here for
many years, recently said to me: 'Gen.
Rawlins and ! were here as army Off.
GERS, in common with many others,
with nothing to do but draw pay for
several years after the war, and we
played billiards four or five hours every
day, just to kill time. Between games,
we were constantly meeting friends
and being introduced to
here. with the result that l acquired
the drinking habit, which has cluns to
me ever since and minimized nv useful.
ness. am glad to be able to say. how.
ever, that there is ninety per cent. less
drinking in this city now than there
was twenty-five years ago"
My W experience here corroborntes
and emphasizes that statement. The
growth OF the temperance sentiment
throughout this country has been kept
pace with by the growth Of q similar
sentiment in this city. The temper.
ance workers throughout the republic
may thank God and take courage, for
every effort put forth by them in their
w communities has a reflex infu.
ence upon the social life Of the govern.
mental city. Members Of congress-.
senator's, cabinet ministers and all pub
lie officials here feel that the eyes Of
the people are upon them; and they
know that the hearts Of the people are
inclined towards sobriety and temper.
ance. SMITH ID. Fry,