The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-22
A TWOFOLD QUESTION.
Sunday Beer Gardens, Public Drink
ing and Foreign Customs.
To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
That Drs. Milburn and Hunter represent
and express the highest, BEST safest and
most loyal American sentiment in their OPP
position to the Sunday beer garden and
public drinking places no reasonable pa
triotic American citizen will deny. But Mr..
Rappaport lodges the issue raised by DR..
Milburn, sidetracks himself and discourses
on the subject of morality, individual re-
sponsibility, personal rights, etc, and
suggests that mankind has outgrown the
Puritanic idea" In one sense that is true.
In another it is not If Mr. Rappaport
means that we have outgrown the Puritan's
idea in that we have more public resorts,
such as saloons and gambling places and
Sunday beer gardens, and drink more beer
and whisky and violate more Sunday and
other State laws, then his axiom is true.
But if he means that we have outgrown
the Purtanic idea of virtue ami sobriety
and justice and truth and stGrdy honesty
and loyalty to the purest, brightest and
noblest qualities of American manhood,
then he is mistaken.
That some of the New England blue
Laws" were unreasonable and even silly no
fair minded person can deny, but that can
not be used as a reason for introducing d
custom into our American social life antag-
onistic and repulsive to American senti-
ment, nor can it be an excuse for defend
ing the public drinking resorts
1t seems this question will not down, and
L presume the voice of the people will have
to be heard l would suggest TO Mr.. Kappa
port and DR.. Milburn and all others in
terested that the question at issue is two
fold-social and national; and the issue has
been forced on the American people, from
q social standpoint by the invasion of for
eign ideas and customs, and from a ma
tional standpoint by the determined effort
1n0f1 af,1 f.rI
municipal politics. Is not the real question
about as follows Shall America. in its So
cial and national life. rule America, or
shall we be ruled by foreigners? Shall we
have and maintain a distinct native social
and national policy and life Of our own, or
shall we be at the mercy and caprice Of ele-
mentS and interests foreign to our unity
and preservation, and to the principles upon
which our government was founded and
upon which we depend for stability and
perpetuity? Shall we stand our ground,
hold our own sacred heritage handed down
to us through blood and tears? Snail we
absorb and utilize that that flows in from
abroad, shall we yield and become alb
sorbed and utilized? Germany has her dis
tipct, fostered and cherished forms, Gus
toms and notions of social and political life.
England has hers; so has France. Why
shall not America have hers? But, 1t may
be asked what are some of the features of
true Americanism? Well, Americans in
their social life don't believe much in Sun
day beer gardens and wide-open towns, and
Ii will take long time TO educate them up
to that un-Purtanic idea and standard. The
founders and defenders of the Republic
We're in g. large measure Sabbath observ-
ing and temperance people. And while we
should not quarrel with or cr1ticise Ger
many for her long accustomed Sunday beer
garden in her own country. yet the custom
has never been thoroughly taken up and
imbibed by Americans, and is not likely to
be.
Again, the saloon in politics is as foreign
and repugnant TO our form OF government
and principle of national life as the Sun
day beer garden is TO our social and home
rba ugniS ring is much of
intruder into one as the beer garden is
into the other. Judge Speer. in his Grafton
at the opening of the Atlanta exposition.
uttered timely truth when he said: Our