Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1897-09-10
|. o. G. T. DIRECTORY OF ADOl
SON COUNTY.
THE SOCIALISM OF GOOD
TEMPLARY.

lied communities. [ had almost said
that sociability reached its highest point
in Christian circles, but | am not sure
such is the case. The drinking customs
of civilized communities seem, in some
places, to almost monopolize, as well as
to degrade, that social spirit which
should be most fully manifested among
Christian people. Now the giant enemy
of mans social being is strong drink. 1t
has so Interviewer itself with our social
usages that it passes as the very essence
of sociability. 1t promises pleasure, but
pain follows it; it affects to promote
good fellowship, yet il often sewers the
strongest; it seems to enhance happiness,
but often ends with bitterness. Drink is
not "jolly good fellows" it is the skel-
eton at the feast. 1t is the one thing
which so perverts the social nature as to
make it a curse instead of blessing.
But for the drink the husband would be
conscious of the claims of his waiting
wife, and would go home betimes. But
for the drink he might not be so brilliant
at the social board, nor Guild he be so
short tempered at home. The snare of
the husband, the rival of the wife, and
the spoiler of the home is the drink.
The need of the time has been true
social life, extending to both sexes and
enabling them to work, not separately,
but with each other for the common
safety of the sober and for the reclama-
ton of the Incorporate.
To thoroughly utilize the social faculty
in the temperance cause is to secure one
great means of permanent success In
endeavoring to reclaim the inebriate we
should not expect to kill, but rather aim
to cultivate and wisely direct the social
faculty. Does there exist an organzq-
ton which affords frequent opportunities
for the social enjoyment and elevation
alike of both sexes, of all ages, of all
classe whether they have been forever
clear of the Intoxicating cup, or are
newly rescued from its thraldom: Is it
possible that there exists a society which
is so essentially social that it is even fra
ternal, making distant strangers into
genial brethren: If so, does it possess
such a thorough-going pledge that the
mere taking of it makes those who Join
feel they are indeed set at the forefront
of the temperance reform? Can it be so
organized that it can make every one,
from its newest recruit to its oldest mem
Der, a regular subscriber to the good
cause? Can the process of admission be
so simple that the ignorant may fully
understand it, yet so solemn that the cul-
tured Christian feels elevated by its high
moral and religious tone, while all feel
it much more binding than the mere
signing of the pledge: Has it enlisted
many who hitherto have not Joined in
worship for years, and brought them reg
ularly to what is really social meeting.
and yet one which always opens and
closes with prayer and praise:
Has such an organization a living
branch, not only in every town, but in
! hundreds of country villages also; Can
these branches be as sociable as a club
room and yet as useful as mutual i'm
provement society; Can they surround
and reclaim with brotherly and sisterly
sympathy and save the young by timely
teaching; DO they constitute fraternal
circle where the sturdy workman enjoys
club comforts, where his honest wife can
come with him as an equal part of the
institution. and where they can see their
children being nurtured in temperance
truth? Can the minister come and pray,
the orator come and speak, the writer
come and read his essay, the traveller
come and tell his story, and the songs
tress come and sing her song? Can the
gentleman come and see the farmers boy
take a first lesson in good manners; can
the learned come and teach, and the ig-
rant come and learn-and all without
any assumption on the one side or humil-
iatIon on the other; Can they have
temperance choir, temperance library,
or temperance tract society? DO they
have their tea meetings, coffee suppers,
fruit banquets, bouquet parties, picnics
and PROFESSIONS, demonstrations and
excursions, evenings with the poets,
friendly debates, recitation con-
tests, and letter box evenings?
Although most of their meetings are
confined to members, do they wish all to
Join and are their rules quite public, are
their journals of proceedings accessible
shown to outsiders? Are there thou
sands of these societies, called lodges,
and hundred of thousands of members
in scores of different countries and
states; DO they all meet every week,
and are they so interviewer that every
member of every branch possesses a
current "Open sesame at which every
lodge room door will fly open to him?
Can the strange young member from the