Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1896-03-18
ON OPIUM And LIQUOR.
mR. THURsTON'S ADDRESS BE-
TORE THE AMERICAN LEAGUE. I.
He Regards Annexation az the First
object Speeches by Messrs. Towse
and Peck.

There was an audience OF about
fifty when Mr.. l.. a. Thurston.
ex. Minister to Washington, ar
rived at the American Leagues
hall last night. This was few
minutes to eight o'clock, the hour
at which Mr.. I. Il. Murray, pres
ident, called the meeting to order.
Senators Horner, Northrup and
Wright, Rev. II W. Peck and
Jonathan Shaw, assessor chief,
were among those present.
The president announced Mr..
Thurston as the speaker of the
evening, the subject being Opium
and Whisky"
Mr.. Thurston on coming for
ward was received with applause.
In opening he said he thought it
was good idea, propounded by
the Star some days go,that some
thing like the American town
meeting would be advantageous
here for the discussion of public
questions. AS it had been here,
one newspaper would take one
side of a question, and another
oppose its position, while the gen.
eral public was scarcely heard at
all in expression of opinion. 1t
was not his intention to deliver a
set address. He would first speak
on liquor. That was a very
weighty question. They had seen
the experiment of the dispensary
system in South Carolina, where,
on a call for troops to compel re-
spect for the law, three thousand
militia men threw down their
arms. Some people believed that
liquor was nothing but evil, the
agent of the devil, and ought to
be prohibited altogether. With
the traditions and customs of
large proportion OF the respect.
able people of Honolulu, prohibi-
ton was simply impossible and
could not be considered as prac-
tical question. Therefore, whether
he believed in prohibition or not,
he was not going to discuss it
then. 1t was his opinion that the
Gothenburg system, now in force
in several countries, would be the
best remedy practicable in this
country at the present time. Every
man who took drink of whisky
was not a bad man. There were
many men in Honolulu who drank
every day, and would continue to
do so till the end of their days, but
they were good citizens. Yet
anybody who witnessed the Satur-
day night orgies in Honolulu
could not deny that whisky was
bad. All whisky-sellers were not
bad, he had friends among them
whom he found honorable in
business transactions, and some
of them would not be unwilling
to see the evils of the traffic re-
duced. What was desirable was
to remove some of the attractions
to drink which contributed large
ly to its undoubted abuses. There
are many men who would not
drink once in six times that they
now do if it was not for the good
hearted comrades they met in the
saloons. He considered that the
Gothenburg system was we'll
suited to deprive the liquor traf-
fic of some of it's more baneful
features. Still, if he were asked
his opinion he would say that the
question ought to be left severely
alone for the present. For long
time prior to the last three years,
it was impossible to get this CON-
munity to stand together for good
government. In this latter period
they had common cause, an
nexation to the United States, and
with that as guiding star diff
ferent factions were a unit. Jap
plause.) Now, if it was decided
to prohibit the trade in intoxicat-
ing liquors, involving the con-
fiscation of large private interests
that had been the growth Of yeals $,
the annexation party would be
riven asunder. They must continue