The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-02-13

What il the chickens laid brandy eggs,
And the fountains and streams flowed
beer?
"Why, the swans and the ducks couldn't
stand on their legs,
Quite drunk and disorderlY,' dear!'
What II in place OF the rain and dew
There fell on the earth vile drink?
"There'd be no more flowers, no grain, no
fruit,
And we'd all give up living, think"
Mrs. II. A. Kidder, in Temperance Banner.
JOHN BURNS ON TEMPERANCE.
The areater part and more interesting part
of my hours talk with John Burns, the Eng
lish labor agitator, was on the relation OF
the temperance movement. writes Charles
B. Spahr in the Outlook. We had just been
talking OF the new attitude Of the church
toward social questions, and here I found
him somewhat Indifferent, plainly regarding
the change as more important to the church
than to the labor movement. When, how
ever, the conversation turned to the progress
of the temperance movement In the ranks OF
labor he suddenly became enthusiastic, not
only upon this subject itself but on the social
reform work of the churches in connection
with it. Nothing could have exceeded his
praise of what the Salvation Army, in partic-
ular. is doing for the spread of temperance
in England. Its success in reclaiming
drunkards seemed to him the most wonder
full thing in recent religious history. MIR.
Burns has not only been o lifelong total alb
stainer but lifelong temperance agitator,
and, despite his secularism, he recognized
the religious work Of reclaiming lost drunk
ards as something beyond the scope Of
municipal craftsmanship" Nevertheless,
municipal craftsmanship and temperance re-
form seemed to him TO have so many-sided q
connection as to be essentially one. "Hos-
tility to public-houses," he said q quote from
memory. ''runs through our labor move
ment. Nearly every leader Of the new
unionism' Is teetoatler, and among the
leaders in the old unions total abstinence is
gaining an altogether disproportionate hold.
Even the men in the unions who drink them
selves and growl at the unsocinbility ofthose
who don't will vote nearly every time for
temperance man to conduct the business OF
the union. This accounts for the dispropor-
tionate teetotalism among the leaders.
but temperance Is spreading among
the rank and file. During my boyhood.
and I am hardly middle-aged, 1t
used to be charged that this, that,
or the other labor leader had been paid f5,
e10, or even 600 to chang the meeting place
otthe union from the Horse and Dragon to
the Pig and Whistle. Nowadays the owner
of pub would rather pay to get rid OF
trade union than to have it meet at his rooms.
As matter Of fact, We are not meeting at
public-houses unless we can't help ourselves.
Sometimes We meet in rooms belonging to
churches. often in those belonging to CO.
operative societies, and, whenever we can,
In rooms connected with town halls. Nearly
every man who is prominent in the labor
movement Is opposed to the public-houses.
The 1853 officers of labor unions who signed
the petition last year for the local veto Qocal
option) bill included practically the whole
brains and power Of the labor movement.
Not nearly all Of them were teetotalers, but
they had all got that far, at any rate. They
all know that drink is the, ,chiet cause ofpov-
erty.
aAt th, same time they all believe that
poverty is the chief cause OF drink. Most Of
our labor-reform measures aim to reduce
drunkenness by making healthier living pos
sible. This is true not only OF the larger
measures, such as the shortening OF the
hours of labor, but 1t Is even more directly
true oil our municipal reforms. We believe
that the construction OF municipal halls ac-
cessible for public meetings in all parts OF
the cities is diregt blow at the public
houses. We believe TINT all our London
county council measures providing public
play grounds, gymnasiums, reading-rooms,
and the like are temperance measures. We
have now in London 500 free tennis courts.
The city furnishes the courts and the frame
work to support the nets. The players. OF
course, furnish their own rackets. Almost
any Saturday afternoon you may see John
Burns and his wife on one Of these courts. I
believe 1t is the healthy way to live, and the
young people who have these healthy re-
creations are not so apt to crave the pub
c. There are now so many OF the courts
that 1t Is rarely difficult to get chance to
plnu For tha rniddlp-pOad men who dOn't
care for tennis we have provided quoits, and
for the old fellows We are about to lay out
several bowling greens"
TEMPERANCE NEWS IND NOTES.
In 1898 1902, ,1s2,07s gallons Of beer were
made in Germany.
"Indiana women cannot hold O license to
sell intoxicating drinks" says the Supreme
Court Of the State.
Beer placed In dishes near flower pots will
tempt all the snails in the vicinity, and the
side dead.
world during 1899 is estimated by German
statistician at 4, 500, COO, 900 gallons-enough
TO float navy.
It is altogether a mistake to believe that
even moderate use Of intoxicating drink
is at all useful to the human constitution
Hon. B. Whitworth, In British Parliament.
The profits OF the British syndicates which
control beer breweries at Chicago at NIL
waukee rose from S659,270 in 1892 to ST.
5s7, $50 in 1898, and TO S94O,020 in the pres
enl year.
I find that alcoholic drinks give no
strength. No, on the contrary. Drink builds
up no muscle, but destroys its power and
makes 1t less active for work.-Dr. B. W.
Richardson.
The Womans Council OF indianapolis,
which is composed OF forty-nine societies
representing eight thousand women OF the
city, is working actively for the passage OF
q bill suppressing wine rooms.
A Wilkesbarre (Penn.) man. overcome by
the craving for drink, and having exhausted
all his resources for procuring more rum,
empticd the ashes of his wifes first husband
out Of Il silver urn and sold that.
President Cannon, OF the First National
Bank in New York. in an address at the
meeting of the Clearing House Association.
said: "No one who drinks or CANDLES. or
whose private life outside the bank is open
to suspicion, should be eligible to position
In bank"
In the local option bill before the New
Zealand Legislature, there is clause pro-
viding that everyone convicted Of being an
habitual drunkard shall be photographed ut
his own expense and every saloon-keeper IN
the district in which he lives must be sup