The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1902-11-30
PROHIBITION AND CHARACTER.

PROHIBITION AND CHARACTER.
A sententious paragrapher says; The man
who permits whisky 10 ruin him could not be
saved by the abolition Of the stuff. Such weak
person would find something equally as ef-
fectve 10 wreck himself upon This has been
tho experience Of the world since civilization
began That there is more drunkenness and |
more OF disorder due to excessive indulgence in
intoxioants in those cities and towns which at
tempt to prohibit the sale Of intoxicants than
there Is IN the communities In which the sale is
open and aboveboard, yet regulated by police
supervision, is demonstrated fact which can
not be controversial. For example, compare the
police records OF San Antonio with those Of any
city OF like population in Kansas or any other
prohibition State Compare the record Of New
Braunfes with that Of any local option town of
like population in Texas--SdH AHtoHi0 Express.
Possibly the Express. goes too far
Crime comparisons between cities do not al
ways prove what they indicate on the sur
face or rather 1t might be said that crime
comparisons prove one thing as we'll as an
other Unless each crime could be traced to
It's origin, an excess on the dockets of Kan
sas City over those at San Antonio could not
be attributed to prohibition any more than
to the presence OF Rev. Charles NJ Sheldon.
In certain communities and under certain
conditions, prohibition Is on effective
measure of public peace, and 1t is device
which each locality should choose or reject
for Itself It should be a matter of local
option. But local option can not be fairly
stretched to cover an entire State. for a
State is made up of many localities with
varying tastes and views. and in some of
them prohibition is so repusve that the
revolt is sure to provoke more evil than the
whisky shop at its worst
The point Of the observation of the sen.
tentious paragrapher is we'll taken in the
broad philosophy Of reform. Leaving out Of
consideration minors and other persons who
are not capable of discriminating between
the harmful and the harmless 1t may be
seriously questioned whether enforced temp
orance is the best means OF building charac-
! ter The most radical prohibtionist VIII
concede that alcoholic beverages in modera-
ton are harmless. 1t is their abuse which
does the harm, and the only possible justiA-
cation in prohibition Is that moderate use
leads irresisubly 10 abuse But this is not
uniformly true, nor true with the majority
of men, for the majority of men use liquor
as beverage without injury. Prohibition
would deprive the majority OF a peasurable
not to say wholesome, article of drink in
order to protect an immoderate minority.
and that Is not a sound principle Of society
or Of government.
1t is more rational to strengthen the moral
character and the nerve force OF the mlnori.
ty by other methods 1t does not help char.
acter to make a particular sin or excess
impossible, for the very good reason that
the same weakness will lead to indulgence
in other sins and excuses. Real reform
Of character consists in building up the
power OF resistance, in teaching tho rational
effects of wrong doing and in intoxicating
sobriety and righteousness for their own
sake,
Experience and self-interest together with
a larger ratlonalism and a better understand.
ing Of health requirements, have notably de.
creased drunkenness within the observation
of oven one generation. We know that
temperance is now a virtue IN quarters
where it was once esteemed as an occentrioi.
ty, and that drunkenness in modern business
and society is punished by loss of position
and respect Whatever statistics may show
as to whisky drinking in the aggregate. the
undeniable fact is that there is less excess
in civilized countries today than ever be,
fore
we are making encouraging progress in
temperance by learning tho evils of in.
temperance. and we are building character
which is proof against dissolute appetites Of
all kinds
That is the kind of temperance reform
that endures.