River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1892-01-28
The First Temperance Societies.

"A sChl pCAdliCcOiS dilLdllOil III hAil-
nesota requests Notes and Queries
in the weekly Pioneer Press, to set
tie few disputed points:
@. When were the first temper.
ance societies established in the United
States! Did the WashingtOnians start
up before or after the Father Mathew
societies! Did they have any in
Europe before they were commenced
in the United States! If so, a few
facts on this point would be accepta-
BILE.
A. The first temperance societies
in the United States, of which we
have any record, were formed about
1918, and they were attributed to the
action of John c. Calhoun, then sec
rotary of war, who in order to coun-
teract the habitual use of ardent
spirits among the people prohibited
them altogether in the army. The
growth of such societies from that
time was rapid, for we are informed
by DIR. Dorchester that in 1885 more
than eight thousand societies had
been formed; more than four thou
sand distilleries had been stopped
more than two hundred thousand
persons had ceased to use any kind
of intoxicating liquor; about two
millions had ceased to use distilled
liquors, and one million five hun
dred thousand were enrolled men,
beas of the temperance societies.
The Washingtonian society was
started by a club of six tipplers in
Chase's tavern in Baltimore on the
I'd day of April, 1910; a discussion
on temperance took place among
them based on a lecture to which
one of the party had listened, and
before they adjourned that night
they turned their club into what was
called "The Washington Society,""
and they took the pledge of total
abstinence. They not only kept the
pledge but became apostles of tenn
perance, and the movement spread
all over the land. In a few years it
was claimed that six hundred thou
sand drunkards had been reformed,
though many of them afterwards
fell from grace.
Father Mathew arrived in the
United States in July, 1S49, and the
first societies named after him dated
from about that time. AS soon as
the good effects of temperance socie-
ties were seen in the United States
they were established in England
and Scotland, the British and For
eign Temperance Society having
been founded il 1881.
Total abstinence societies are in
situations of modern growth, but
temperance societies, or moderation
societies" as they were called, are of
German origin, the first one being
established in 1917. 1t was called
the "Order of Temperance" and was
designed to put an end to the custom
of pledging healths, and to reform
the "higher classes" which classes
were fast being ruined by intemper-
ance. In 1900 Maurice, the lan1,
grave of Hesse, established a society
the fundamental rule of which was
that its members should never be-
come intoxicated. 1t was rule
that "no member should be allowed
more than seven goblets of wine at
meal, and that not more than twice
day" Count Palatine Frederick
Y. established another, and the
members of both pledged themselves
to observe the rules for two years.
No further record of temperance So
cieties is then found for 200 years.
In 1889 we have this scrap of his
tory: Upwards of 200 of the most
respectable farmers of Litchfeld,
Conn, have formed an association
TO discourage the use of spiri.uous
liquors, and have determined not to
use any kind of distilled liquors
during their farming work the ensu-
ing season." Temperance reform
was begun in 1885, when DR.. Rush
published his Inquiry into the eff
fects of ardent spirits upon the hu-
man body and mind, but for many
years the attack was made mainly
upon the excessive use or abuse of
ardent spirits.