Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1903-01-02
knowledge and Temperance.


An address upon The Pending License
mont. on Forefathers Day, 1902, by
Edward NJ. Chapman.
Text And to knowledge, temper
ance Cor self-controD. , Peter IS.
| am glad to put these two great
words side by side this morning as
proceed to speak to you about the duty
of a good citizen in view of recent legis-
lative action upon the liquor traffic. |
have withheld all reference to the mat
ter during the past weeks of debate be-
cause when | did speak | wished to
speak to something very tangible and
definate. The deiinate and tangible has
appeared in the act passed by the Legis-
lature with its provision for reference
to the people. 1t provides in brief that
if the majority of the voters in "A town
desire Intoxicating liquor to be put on
public sale, this sale shall be permitted
to private parties, and become Il private
business upon the payment of Il speci-
fled fee. This act is to be submitted to
the people of Vermont weeks from
next Tuesday. If they approve it, it
becomes operative four weeks later. If
they disapprove it, It's operation as law
is postponed until 1906, with conse-
gdent opportunity for its repeal by
either one of the two intervening Legs-
latures.
believe that every good citizen of
Vermont should oppose this measure :;
that he should bear witness against it
among his fellow citizens; and that he
should cast his vote against it in Febru-
airy But because am perfectly well
aware that ] speak by no authority in
saying this, and because | desire no au-
thority but that conferred by an alliance
with truth. propose to state as plainly
as possible some reasons for this faith
which have Just confessed. This pro-
posed law appears to me to be like bad
building, insecurity set, upon worse
foundation, aud shall ask you to in
spect with me. first the foundation, sec
ond, the process Whereby anything came
to be set upon it, and third, the struc-
turp itself.
When the words of my text were writ
ten the writer addressed his friends and
fellow-believers as reasonable people
desirous of good things. He gave them
credit for wishing to be good men; to
have good homes; to encourage good
life in their respective communities; to
help on the good order and government
of the Kingdom of God. He did not eX-
pect any of these desirable things to
come by magic. No words however
true could charm them into eXistance.
He did not expect them to come by
force of violence. No eternal exercise
of power could compel them into being.
They were to come by Gods grace and
mans good free will. And they were to
come by reasonable process. They
would never be refused by the wise and
humble. They would never be forced
upon the fool
So he couples these two words, tenn
perance and knowledge. Temperance, |
remind you again, means here sef-con-
troll. And the Apostle urges his read
ers, if they would possess it to found 1t
upon sound, honest, knowledge. do
not be afraid of the facts" he seems to
say. ADO not be afraid of the facts on
the one hand; do not be led astray by
prejudice upon the other. No man ever
won to real temperance who was in
temperate, no one ever kept his tenn
perance who had it, by refusing to rec
ognize his own appetites, dangers, temp
tations, lapses into sin, for just exactly
what they were-calling things by their
right names and treating them with the
very best wisdom which human and
divine experience can supply. The
moment you let appetite or passion OF
shallow policy blind you to sound know.
ledge, you are become Incorporate
you have already lost your self-control.'
So confess to you in the first place
that | am so far from being prohib
zionist for the sake of prohibition that il
| could persuade myself that this license
measure were founded upon sounC
knowledge and experience or looked
toward heathful regulation of the
traffic in strong drink | would not mere
ly accept it, but support it.
But cannot persuade myself of this
On the contrary the principle of thi;
bill is In fiat contradiction to the bes
established results of scientific research
into the extremely complicated liquor
problem. There are a great many
things about this problem that we dc
not know yet. But one thing the ex
perence aud research OF the last five
and twenty years has abundantly shown
and that is: that if the liquor traffic is to
be wisely regulated; if any real repres
sion is to be put upon it: it must be KEEP
out of private hands. | have stated this
in this place before. But do not hest
tate TO reiterate 1t. 1t Is one of thOs,
simple but fundamental facts that mus
be iterated and reiterated until 1t be
comes commonplace.
| do not need to argue the fact tina