The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1896-10-01
THE DRINK EVIL.


by the arch-fiend, alcohol, nv won
derment at the apathy of good citizens,
and in particular of professed Chris
tians, is beyond expression. l can I'M
derstand the apathy of 40 years ago
upon another giant national evil,
through which 100000 of human be.
ings were held as slaves. 1t was not
under our eyes. The obvious curse of
it was at least some scores of miles
from our own homes.
l do not assume the prophetic office.
l do not stand here to say in what way,
or when, or at what cost, the people
of these United States are to be called
to account for permitting the existence
and perpetuation of the mightier evil
of intemperance. But let us not for one
moment delude ourselves with the false
belief that we shall not give account.
AS God is just, we cannot escape. His
hand may be stayed for a time, but not
for all time. We have proved this in
the case of that other evil. May we be
wise in time, and by no longer deserv-
ing avoid a more terrible penalty for
a much greater sin.
1 want to note few things in regard
to this evil of ours. They have no
claim of novelty, hut they need repeti-
ton. And l want to say first, that this
evil of ours hasn't one justifying or ex-
tenuating word to be said for it-not
one. The use of alcohol, in any form
otherwise than for strictly medicinal
purposes, is not justified by one single
scientific man of the present day. 1t
is classed just where it belongs-among
the poisonous, disease-producing drugs,
fit only to be prescribed as an antidote
to other poisOns. 1t is not simply alb
surd, therefore; it is almost a confess
sion of ignorance when people say: 1T
is the abuse, not the use of intoXicants
that does the harm. Taken in modera-
ton there would be no objection to
it," That is nothing but the repetition,
parrot-like, of what somebody else has
said; but l ask you to note that that
somebody was not a recognized author
ity-eXcept in the saloons! A poison
used moderately? Why not then talk
about the moderate use of strychnia
of arsenic. of belladonna? There is as
much consistency in applying the word
moderate drinking" if it hadn't like
some other expressions come down to
us from our fathers and been simply
accepted, as many people accept their
political or religious creeds, without
pausing to ask if there is a reason why!
Sometimes this fallacy takes another
form; 1T is the distilled liquors that
should be avoided. We should have lit
tie drunkenness if we confined our
selves to malt and vinous drinks like
beer, cider and wine" Why, this again
is only 4 question of the quantity of
poison taken. Beer contains anywhere
from five to eight per cent. of the poi.
son, alcohol; cider-hard-a little more;
wine--well, that depends upon what
wine, for some of them run up to 25 per
cent. Let us first hear the argument
for the necessity or good of any percent
age of the poison, or rather that any
percentage of it is not harmful. One
might just as well say: Excessive
profanity or mendacity is greatly to be
deplored; but little moderate swear
ing or lying-say five or ten per cent
does no particular harm" Why not be
as consistent in the one case as in the
other, and say that any use of it is with
out eXtenuation or Justification? And
you simply speak the truth.
Then | want to say secondly, that even
if we conceded-as we do not by any
means-the possible harmlessness of
moderate" drinking, that is, of moder-
ate indulgence in a poison, there is no
assurance, absolutely none, that mod
Grafton" will or can continue. No man
who ever became drunkard expected
to go beyond the bounds of propriety"
in his use of liquor. | grant that we
see men well advanced in years and of
apparent vigorous health who take their
glass or two of wine or beer, or even of
whisky, every day of their lives. We
cannot see that it has wrought them
perceptible injury. Yes; and SO we see
athletes who perform prodigious feats
of strength. But what does that argue?
Only that there are exceptional men in
the world-that's all.
Another popular fallacy expresses it.
self somewhat after this fashion: "Oh
well, it's only the poor, weak fellows
who go down. A man with any strength
of mind doesn't allow himself to come
to that pass" Now 1 want to say that
any man who talks in that way simply
exposes his ignorance of the truth.
Does the bullet from the soldiers rifle
strike down only the poor weak fell
lows?" VIII arsenic spare the brightest
man or woman? How much do we know
of the havoc wrought in the homes of
wealth? To the most brilliant men in
the learned professions? Among the
most highly-cultured classes? Let the
physicians tell you if they would
whether delirium tremens is oftenest
met with, proportionately to their num-
bers, in the people of the slums, or
among the STRONG minded" Let them
say if they would why they so often re-
port the causes of death from the peo-
pie of social standing as "apoplexy,'
heart failure" and the like, while the
same causes resulting in death among
the less favored classes are set down to
Excessive indulgence in intoXicants."---
Address of Col. w. G. Haskell, at Rah-
way, n. J.
Cause Of POvcrtv