The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1902-08-13
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTSMPERANcE.
The "Moic-ate" Drinksr 10 Directly Re-
sponsibie For the Greatest seourEc OF
Modern Clyiltzatiou-It II HIS 1nnu-
euee That Makes Rum Tolerated.

Tho "Motc-ute" Drinksr is Directly Re.
sponsiblc For the Greatest seourRc Of
Modern ClviiizatIon-It u His Innu.
enes That Makes Rum Tolerated.
The ravages of strong drink are, in one
sense, very familiar subject, but in an"
other they a.e to most OF Is a sealed book.
There are certain great truths OF whicn
Coler!dse speaks as Lying bedr:dden IN the
dormitories OF the soul"-truths, that u,
too obvious to be disputed, bat grown pow
erless from neglect and want OF exercise,
and commanding on occasion a vague and
abstract recognition instead OF e constant
and practical homage. Upon the aspect Oh
the drink problem which even for the most
thoughtless has almost the air Of IN axiom.
attic TRUTH mean its magnitude and VI
gency-I sha!, have very little to say TO.
night and nothing that Is new, and what
shall say will be entirely directed toward
q more disregarded aspect OF the question,
namely. the responsibility Of the individual
Christian in the matter OF this gigantic
evil. and especially in relation to those who
are less able to protect themselves thIn he
il. Ny endearor viii be 70 galv1nize intd
activity this belief in the enormity OF the
evil which in some souls IS but a bedr,d.
den truth, and to convert it into Q vital
srSak from the Christian standpoint, ana
al the subject 10 important and do not
wish to be misunderstood shah speak a
plainly Al possible. i
A very brief summary OF the kind Of evi!
dence obtainable must suffice for remind;
er of the mischieis wrought by strong
drink. In England, Scotland, Ireland,
America and in Australasia judges have
agreed in branding it from the bench a.
the most prolific source OF crime, their e
Inmates Of the proportion to be ascribed TO
it varying from the ninety per cent. OF
Lord Co!eridge, the late Chief Justice Of
England. and scores OF others to the two
thirds which is our own Chief Jn;ss:ess esi
innate for this colony. Inside the prtsona
this testimony has been confirmed by jail
cent. of the men who have passed through
my hands would not have come there but
for the drink" was the opinion recently
expressed by the keeper OF the wellington,
JAIL A similar tale is told BY philanthro.
pists and city missionaries OF the wrecks
and outcasts among whom. they have
worked. "Nine-tenths of our poverty
squaior. vice and crime spring from this
poisonous tap-root," says General Booth
ninety.nine per cent. was DR.. Guthrie'a
calculation OF the proportion OF destitute
children who owed their destitutiou TO
drink. and Dr.. Barnardo. who at first
thought the statement gross exaggerationl
arrived at minimum Of ninety per cent
and became total abstaiaer in conse-;
quence. In New Zealand q benevolent
of a charitable institution have both deb
tied liquor with ninety per cent. of the
cases that have come before them. To
any one with . sense of the value OF home
life and the sacredness Of childhood-in
other words, Of the worth OF human soul
and its infinite aptitudes for good or for
evil which are involuutarily shaped BY
early impressions and associations-stltis;
tics OF this class tell q more tragic tale
than any form Of adult suffering. As TO
the death rate. the highest authority OH IN!
ebriety in England, Dr. Norman Kerr, who
took up the matter some years ago With
the avowed object OF upsetting the exttava-
CANT estimate which ascribed 60000 deaths
in the United Kingdom annually to this
cause, canIe to the conclusion that lAl,00q
was nearer the truth. |,
Such then being the evil. the question:
arises: What is the cause; The answer
is, The strength Of alcoholic temptation
and the weakness Of human nature, and
the superficial observer Is. therefore, apt toi
place the responsibility on the drink-selleri
who holds out the temptation, and the.
drunkard who succumbs. But this 10 likd
blaming the fame and the fuel for the firel
What we want to know IL, Who set tho
fire alight and who keeps it burning! In
other words, Who permits and encourages
the drink seller to perform the functiou
OF tempter? The state does this by giving
the drink. seller leave to sell; but it does
not do so for his sake. For whose, then!
Not for the drunkard's; not for the tee
totaler's, for the teetotaler disapprove1
OF drink; but for the sake OF
the moderate drinker, whose "rea1
sonable requirement." the State desires
to satisfy. Il is on account Of the moder1
ate drinker that the liquor traffic Is tolert
ated and licensed. And If there were NO
moderate drinkers? Then that terrible
catalogue Of evils which have merely
glanced at would be swept away, tnaf
utopian prophecy of Mr.. Chambtrlain's
would be realized, and more would have
been achieved for human happiness and
virtue than by the combined labora OF
statesmen and philanthropists for the last
100 years. II, then, We ask again, Who ii
ultimately responsible for the greatest
scourge of modern civilization, who -
responsible for the ruthless waste Of human
life and character, for the impoverished
and degradation of the poor, for the sor'
rows OF the fatherless and the widow, the
shivering and the starving! our answer
can only be, unpleasant as it may be to
utter: Stand forth, 0 moderate drinker,
for thou art the man!-Arthur &. Akin
son, Member of the New Zealand House
OF Representatives.