The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-03-08

the reason ana is thus far IN human
experience the only evil of this nature.
1t is in this phase of the evil lies the
primary and, / believe, the awful sin.
And l believe IL is in the full realiza-
tion of this primary evil lies our hope
of successful encounter ana final vic
tory.
Second. The Prevalence of Intern
perance.-It is only with the hope of
awakening a more general vigilance
that / offer any remarks on this phase
of the topic. II is needless for me to
refer to numbers in estimating the vic
tins of the evil. No statistician knows
nor can he know. Neither can / refer
to one class in the discussion. We are
wont to speak and think of the laborer
as the only one in danger, when the
very strong probabilities are that the
! evil is as widespread and general
among the wealthy and affiuent. There
! is at least growing tendency in that
I d rection. 1t is not limited to one ma
4 ton, to one age, to civilization or bar
| barism, to Christian or heather ma
/ tions, to the young or the old, to the
\ ignorant or the learned. to the brilliant
/ or the dull, to the great or the small,
/ to the righteous or the unr1ghteous,
! yea, it cannot even be limited to the
/ layman to the exclusion of the clergy
! Let no class of men say they are proof
against the evils of intemperance,
neither let any man consider himself
J fully beyond its dangers.
Third, The Causes of 1ntemperance.
This phase of the topic l can but
! fragmentarily or, at most, generally
! consider, for it would require knowl-
edge of each Incorporate individual to
! trace out the total number OF causes.
However, we can separate into general
! classes the victimss of intemperance
1 and thus consider them. The cause OF
intemperance among the young arises
/ perhaps most frequently from their de-
sire for gaiety; in the old it is to bright
en- or stimulate the tagging energy; in
| the weak it is to deaden pain; in the
! poetical and imaginative ii rekindles
and increases these faculties; in the
poor it temporarily banishes care and
! fear; to the idle it speeds time and en-
| livens a sluggish life. Men of coarse
natures naturally fall into it's evils,
and men of fine and keen susceptible
tics are strangely lured by it,
I'VE might thus proceed ad .nilntIm
among men and classes Of men, for it
is theme all but inexhaustible. There
1 are, however, q few specific, broad and
general causes that can be easily point
ed out a most prolific cause of intern
! perance among the poorer classes or
our time is the condition to which men
are reduced to secure mere livelihood.
Our boosted era of labor saving ma
chinery has brought with it everything
but a more humane spirit. Men toll
| more hours and under as heavy bur-
dens as formerly The common labor
er has no time for physical recreation
and mental culture, hence his spiritual
nature is blunted and he falls an easy
prey to a stultifying though temporary
| sedative.
I'm our unholy competitive CONNER
cial system lies the cause of the evil TO
the man of business interests So in
cessant and bitter is the strife that
after a day or at least a weeks COM
petitive toll, in which it is a contest
for supremacy by means of might
rather than right, the competitors
crave and demand lotion.
Another fruitful source of intemper-
ance is the in/nse sensuality of our
time among all classes. The wealthy
spend dollars on dress and their ia
bles where they completely ignore the
culture of the mind and soul. II the
rich are teaching the poor any lesson,
it is not a lesson of sef-sacrifice, of
spirituality, of the superiority of the
mind over the body, of the inward
rather than the outward life, but it is
that of self-indulgence, of ease and of
profligacy. The rich are no less guilty
of intemperance in their unwonted
prohigacy than are the poor in their
drink habits Both alike are sensual.
The loss of self-respect is most
prolific cause of the vice and the grow
ing insolence of the rich toward the
poor is rapidly and deeply implanting
this spirit among the poor
ours is time and nation of intense
nervousness and strain. We seek ex-
citing books, amusements. recreations
and pleasures. Everything must be
done in a hurry. Life has become a
race and business little less than mad
rush The plodding life of our fathers
is beyond our endurance. Is it mar
vel that in such a time men should
take to stimulants of a strong nature
In the circumstances surrounding
our license system is a most fruitful
source of the evil. A license Is placed
upon a saloon. and this, in connection
with our competitive system. leads men
to adulterate with articles intended to
create an appetite, and thus victims
are unconsciously made. It is matter
of reasonable doubt at least if the IL
cense system is not promoter rather
than q preventative of intemperanee
In our educational system is at least
a secondary cause of intemperance
Our curriculums are almost wholly Civ
, en- to intellectual culture; A phllo-
sophical and scientific study of tht
drink evil has not been but sparingls
I instituted and thus the mind and char.
acter that is being formed for life re-
ceives no training worthy the namt
and enters upon life without the prep.
aration requisite to insure one agains
so insidious and fatal an evil.
: LAS to the remedies for this evil
they can be no less certainly suggested
than can it's primary evil, its prev
alence and its causes.
Fourth, The Remedies for Intern
perance.-It is perhaps all but useles:
for me to say in this connection tina
certain remedy has not been agreed
r upon. We are still in search of thu
tabled fount. we are pursuing the gold
5 en- apple. But whatever may be salt
! of our present dealings with the evil. /
| must be admitted that they are bu
attempts and that their inadequacy il
, | a matter of common consent. 1t is