The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1893-01-26
TEMPERANCE NOTES.
THE POLICY OF sosRIETY.


Drinking Men Now Viewed with Distruss
by Employers.
There is an important lesson in the
fact that another of the leading rail-
road companies has discharged all men
of Incorporate habits in its service,
and announced that it will not here
after give employment to such persons
in any capacity. This rule is in force
on many lines in different parts of the
country, particularly with reference to
employees engaged in the operation of
trains; and the time is rapidly coming
when sobriety will be generally in
sisted upon as condition of securing
any kind Of a position in the railroad
business. This is not because the rail-
road corporations are devoted to the
conservation and promotion of moral
interests as such, but because they find
it most advantageous to have their
work done entirely by men who abstain
from the use of liquors. Experience
has shown them that employees who
are given to flaming the fame of
friendship with the wing of conviviali-
ty' cannot be depended upon for the
correct and thorough performance of
duty; and thus a practical reason of
conclusive force, apart from all consid-
erations of principle and sentiment, is
furnished for preferring persons of diff
ferent tastes and tendencies. The
habitual drinker may be man of in
telligence and integrity, and yet not be
trustworthy in relations and contingen-
cies of serious moment He is not the
master of his faculties, bnt is at the
mercy, more or less, of an insidious and
demoralizing influence.
1t is not the railroad corporations
alone that are adopting the practice of
discrimination against men inclined to
dissipation. There is a general drift
in that direction in all forms of bust
ness. 1t is not easy for man to get
employment anywhere without giving
satisfactory assurances of temperate
habits. That has come to be one of
the best recommendations that he can
bring; and, in its absence, other quail
fcations do not count as he thinks they
should. The records of defalcation, of
costly negligence and of annoying mis-
takes are largely traceable to the fire.
quenting of saloons, and employers I'M
derstand the fact so well that they are
constantly on their guard against the
danger which it represents. They may
not be temperance men in the strict
meaning of the term; but they have
learned that it is necessary to have
sober men in their service if they ex-
pect their affairs to prosper There
was a time when the drinking fault
was tolerated in employees so long as
they seemed to be Industrious and
faithful; but nowadays it is looked
upon with disfavor, no matter how
many attendant virtues may plead for
its eXtenu alton. A great change has
been gradually taking place in the views
of all business men upon the subject of
tipping, not because of the appeals of
the temperance apostles to their con-
sciences, but by reason of what they
have observed in their daily transac-
tions. They look at the matter in the
light of sclf-interest, and their good
sense tells them that sober employees
are not only most desirable, but really
Indispensable.
The lesson is one that young men
cannot afford to disregard. 1t is to the
effect that sobriety, like honesty, is
the best policy, considered merely in a
material aspect and without reference
to any higher motive or interest. II
they wish to obtain steady and lucra-
tive employment, with chances of pro-
must keep away from the saloons and
establish a reputation for temperate
habits. They may not see any harm
in what is called moderate drinking,
but other people do, and those other
people include their employers, whose
good opinion is source of direct and
positive benefit. 1t is great mistake
to suppose that the best situations can
be secured or retained by men who are
known to be addicted to the use of
liquor even in a casual way Total
abstinence is the only wise and profit
able practice in the case, and no man
is able to do the best for himself by
any other. 1t is one of the recognized
tests of fitness for places of trust and
responsibility. The prizes in business
are not for the dissipated, however
bright and energetic they may be, but
for those who resolutely shun even the
appearance of fondncss for strong
drink. 1t pays to be sober, in short,
and that is an argument of practical
force which is unanswerable by any
sort of reasoning. The moralists are
not always listened to when they talk
of the evils of intemperance, because
they are too apt to dwell upon the
emotional features of the matter and
to overlook those of IL more rational
and effective nature. There can be no
doubt about the fact that sobriety is q
surprising advantage from pecuniary
point of view, and thus the logic of
business is in reality one of the strong
est influences in favor of the temper
ance cause. st. Louis Globe Democrat.
THE DANGER UF STRONG DRINK.
All Better Instincts Are Numbed by the