The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1900-01-25

Written for The Prison Mirror.
Much has been said and great deal
written on the subject of fintemperance,
and it is not my intention to weary you
with any more theories; but on the
contrary state what, from my own ex-
perience, seem to be plain facts.
l shall begin with the question,
''Why pity the drunkard ?" In the
first place he deserves none, and in the
second he has no one to blame but
himself. [ can almost hear you say
''oh that's chestnut Granted Still
I repeat, he has no one to blame but
himself.
The drunkard and the tobacco fend
are merely victims OF vivid imagina-
ton added to which, in the majority
of cases, is weak will, and though
they partook of the Keely cure until
the day of Judgment, it would not
help them in the least unless they
choose to help themselves.
''Do away with the saloons" you say.
You might just as well cry, "Down
with the Republic" And besides the
saloon-keepers are not in the least to
blame; for, if by any chance they were
abolished, the country would take to
moonshining and cause the authorities
no end Of trouble.
The people themselves are to blame;
they imagine they must have liquor
and tobacco and thousands of other
drugs and are weak enough to cater to
that aforesaid imagination. AS long
as they labor under that impression
just so long will there be saloons and
manufacturers to foster it. 1t is
claimed that these are not habits, but
diseases. Well, all l can say is that
the medical fraternity must live. At
any rate [ have found from actual
experience that it is not necessary to
consult a physician when one wishes
to abstain from the use of these stimu-
lants.
1t must not be inferred from the
above statements that l am merely
alluding to the casual glass or the
moderate smoker; on the contrary, L
am but stating what hundreds of
thousands would declare should they
by any misfortune be placed in a posi-
tion where truthfulness and not imagi-
nation is the order of the day. l
might add that they as well as myself
have handled these stimulants without
gloves. This may or may not be to
my credit; all the more reason why the
majority of people keep silent when
the subject of intemperance is
broached.
l Was confirmed cigarette fiend for
fourteen years, couldn't do without
them; had to smoke several before
retiring at night; always woke up dur
ing the night and consumed a few
more and two or three more on rising
in the morning, My average for a
period of three years was thirty-fve a
day. l was perfectly aware of their
dangerous effect, and yet [ convinced
my common sense it needed a rest and
installed my imagination in its place.
The same may be said of liquor. L
imagined [ had to have that also; and
yet there came time when l was so
situated that [ was unable to obtain
either. At the time of which / write,
we were cruising in the Inland Sea of
Japan; our store of tobacco Was ex-
hausted and none could be obtained
until we reached Kobe. Two days
after discontinuing its use l noticed a
decided improvement, especially at the
mess table. The third day convinced
me l could do without it and 1 also
came to the conclusion l could do
without liquor.
1 Informed the boys, as gently as
possible, of my intentions; and twas
we'll took such precautions, for some
of them were quite overcome. At the