The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-02-17
Prominent kansans Pronounce
Their Ideas.
z. d. COburn and w. A. White
Among Them.
THE KANSAS SITUATION
White Defends the Kansas
Newspaper Man.
If His Paper Is to Stand He
Must Have Support.

dent, F. D. Coburn, the session was de-
voted to a discussion of the kansas
Situation One of the speeches, that
written by William Allen White, who
is Ill at his home at EmpOria, was
read by Judge T. F. Carver The
discussion was handled from various
points of view in an effort to secure a
comprehensive idea of the status of the
prohibitory movement in Kansas. The
Topeka hotels are full of visitors, prin-
cipally Masons, and some of the late
arrivals to the temperance union con-
Vention experienced a little difficulty
in finding accommodations for thu
night. A committee of Topeka people
assisted them in finding shelter.
In his address President Coburn
saids
PRESIDENT F. D. COBURN.
Workers in the temperance cause have
frequent reason to regret the feebleness
of interest manifested in their efforts by
large classes OF excellent and well mean
ing people and 1t is painfully note
worthy that innumerable men and wo-
men OF wholesome ideals and otherwise
strong conceptions of duty hold aloof
from activity in this particular direction.
Without doubt this unfortunate laxity
results chiefly from too meager appre-
citation of the practical public benefit of
such efforts, and also of the moral re-
quirement upon all to help actively in
specific forms of social benefcence.
Jealous advocates of temperance work
are often regarded as unbalanced en-
thuEiasts, to be ranked in the class of
extremists, as opposed to the great and
inclusive class of conservatives. This
view too is often taken by esttnable
tendency and habit, and therefore tenn
perance agitation does not appeal to
them.
Earnest temperance advocates are by
70 hoI To he o10 &C
Of tbs impractical; attempts to change
an existing order seem futile and fool
ish to certain minds, and especially at
tempts to eradicate vice.
Whisky is everyone's enemy; there
fore everyone should be it's enemy. It
will, if it can, hurt a man directly, by
poisoning his blood and Grazing his
nerves. He will be wise then to avoid
1t personally. Or, it will hurt him by
acting directly and injuriously on GER
tain Of his family. He will therefore,
be prudent to keep the influence of it
from reaching his family. Or, it will
hurt him by making his neighbor a
dangerous or otherwise undesirable
neighbor. If so he will act the part of
good sense in fighting to keep the en-
envy out of his neighborhoOd. But
neighbOrhood in this day of easy and
quick humiliation of distances is not
narrow term. A drunken engineer in
Massachusetts may easily imperil the
life Of a resident of Kansas; hence
the neighborhood of the Kansan
Again, its ardent advocates are some
times classed as Intermediates. A.
cording to this view he who would come
between ones desire to drink and it's
contamination preSumes to interfere
with inalienable rights. That the drink
er quite often brings damage to others
is not a sufficient considerable to these
persons to convince them that society's
rights are entitled to greater weight
than those of individual appetite and
desire. This argument that it is I'M
just to make it difficult for people to
procure drink, and the kindred argu-
ment that the whisky seller has a right
to sell his commodity if he wants to-
are quite naturally favoFites with those
who, themselves, use alcoholic bever-
ages, and likewise to some abstainers.
In either case those who hold these
views withhold their interest from tenn
perance work.
Still further, there are some who have
ill-defined impressions that the work of
temperance and other reforms may
rightly be left to those who, as they
vaguely suppose, make a business of
such things" To them it seems that
because certain persons do devote their
time and energy to this work, ordinary
people having other interests may
therefore consider themselves largely
relieved from obligations to help. They
feel sure that without their assistance
enough good people will keep the world
moving forward with respectfully rap
i'd strides, and that they themselves
need feel no uneasiness. Their attitude
is similar to that taken by some par
ents toward the instruction of their
children. Since school teachers, it is
assumed, will, as q part of their bust
ness, teach the children under their
care good manners and morals, these
parents feel quite content to largely
neglect such training. Far too many
assume that social reforms may safely
be left with those who pose as the
worlds teachers, and they therefore
withhold their interest.
Liquor drinking is opposed to good
citizenship. Notice first that drunken
ness itself subtracts from the value of
a good citizen sometimes indeed to the
extent of making him truly bad cit
izen- A mans value to society, as we'll
as to himself is lesSened by his indulg
ence in a poison which like alcohol in
jures him in body, mind and morals
Drinking habits add to the forces of
pauperism, disease, insanity, crime
public evils and proper objects for
good citizenship to increasingly combat.
Observe that the liquor trade siren
uOusly seeks to increase the drinking
practices of the people; for the traffic
is promoted as a money making en-
terprise, on the principle prevailing in
other businesses, that the greater the
sales the greater the profits.
The religion which insists that hui
man affairs be conformed more and
more to a Divine order of righteousness
cannot we'll omit temperance work
from its programme The religion
among whose choicest ornaments is a
desire to inspire pure, clean living and
thinking, must regard this cause as its
very own. Furthermore if a helpful
recognition of the Deity is more read
lily engendered in him who has clean
hands and a pure heart, if befouling
and degrading the physical organism
with an unwholesome drug so darkens
the minds vision as to dim its appre-
ciative sense of a Supreme Being, as it
doubtless does. then, indeed, is temper
ance promotion of the highest concern
to religion.
The aims of the temperance move
ment are suited to enlist the heart and
arouse the effort of the most thought
Eul> sane. well balanced people. Its OBJ