Los Angeles herald., 1905-02-06
PRACTICAL TEMPERANCE EFFORT

Religion and temperance are closely allied moral
agencies. A man may be temperate in all things
without being religious but he cannot be truly religious
without being temperate The problem Of religious re-
form has been worked out successfully to great
tent but the problem Of temperance shows less progress
toward solution
There are in the world according to the latest
statistics 477OsO15S Christians In the United States
alone shown by the statistics there than
2S0OO0O0 There is means of judging the proper
tion of Americans who avowed temperance advo-
Gates but the election returns give idea of the
Der of avowed prohibonss. AS stated before in The
Herald, the total Prohibition vote of the United States
in the last election 254,923.
In spite of the intense zeal manifested by Prohibition
lists and the earnesness of their efforts at reform,
suits prove that they have made but little apprecabe
headway in comprehensive reform The tendency of
mankind to overinduge in stmulants seems to be
pronounced it when Noah celebrated his
landing from the ark by what vernacuar called
"a drunk" The situation is the it
when Solomon admonished his people that strong drink
"biteth like serpent and stngeth like an adder"
The marked discrepancy in results between religious
and temperance reform efforts leads to the conclusion
that the religious methods which the Christian church
has been built practicable and that the prohibition
methods of temperance reform impractcable. The
immeasurabe difference in results surely subsantates
that proposition Christianity has swept the EARTH gath
erng into the fold nearly onethird of the worlds in
habants statisticaly reported, while prohbitive
effort aseft relatively no trace.
Is it not time for thoughtful workers in the pro-
hbition cause to ponder this marked contrast in
suits of religious and temperance work. and to con-
slider whether it is not high time to leave their
narrow groove of effort and broaden out in such lines
those which the Christian church built? Is it
supposabe that Christ his disciples and the apostles
would have been successful in laying the foundation OF
the great Christian church by dogmatc and militant
aggression against all who failed to surrender at the
word of command?
Christian charity is the cornerstone of the church
that numbers half billion followers. And beside
this" quote Peter giving all diligence add to your
temperance, and to temperance patience and to patience
godliness and to godlness brothery kindness and to
brothery kindness charity .'3
The field for fruitful temperance effort is as broad
as the religious field Cultivate 1t in the manner that
has proved successful in Christian effort and
Will crown the temperance effort. Drop the militant,
aggressive anagonzing methods that have proved in
effective in the attempt at prohibition, and instead
touch gently tendery the hearts of men, The victim
of strong drink responsive to Christian kindness and
hepfulness he apt to resent aggression He may
be led, but he refuses to be driven.
1t is upon this plan Of moral suason and Christian
charity that the successful temperance work is
being prosecuted the present day. local example
of such success is in the scores Of Los Angeles
men who have been emancipated from the thraldom of
the liquor habit through the humble But effective in
strumentaity of Francis Murphy.