Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-12-25
w. c. T. u. COLUMN.
TEMPERANCE AND LABOR.

Wnen benjamin FranKln was ooy
about twenty years old he was an
apprentice in great printing house
in London. That was in 1725, almost
200 years ago. There were nearly
fifty other workmen, and they were
all such drinkers that an ale house
boy was en- ployed to supply the
workmen. Notwithstanding all that,
Franklin drank only water. When
the other workmen saw him carry
downstairs a heavy form filled with
type in each hand, when they could
carry only one in both hands, they
were amazed that the "Water Amer
| ican,n as they called him, was
stronger than they who drank strong
beer. Franklin tried to explain to
the other fellows that the strength
gained by the beer must be only in
proportion to the grain dissolved IN
the water of which it was made; ana
that if they would only eat penny
worth of bread with pint of water,
it would give them more strength
than quart of beer, but they wouio
not be convinced; and thus, says
Franklin, "these poor devils keep
themselves under"
In 1884 temperance reformers began
systematic work to induce Industrial
and manufacturing concerns to give
up issuing grog rations (for, as you
know, in those days they rang the
town bell at ten in the morning and
at four in the afternoon as the signal
fer all workmen to take their dram)
Strange as it may appear, the results
were satisfactory, and in October of
that year: seve MY years ago, the
board of underwriters of New York,
not cranky corporation, met at the
office of the American Insurance
company of that city and passed the
following resolutions:
RESOLVED: That the different Marine
Insurance Companies in the city OF
New York will allow deduction OF
five per cent on the net premiums
which may be taken after this cate
on all vessels, together with outfits,
if on whaling and sealing voyages,
terminating without loss; PROVIDED
the master and mate make afndavlu,
after the termination of the risk, that
no ardent spirits had been drunk on
board the vessel by the officers ano
crew during the voyage or term Iof
which the vessel and outfit were
insured.
All that rigmarole means that If the
officers and crew swore that they
were total abstainers during the
voyage. the insurance company would
refund half the premium paid when
they started out; i. e., if vessel and
outfit were worth $4,000, the pre-
MUM at ten per cent would be So, 00G.
and if total abstinence was the rule
on shipboard the owners would get
back the neat little sum of 81, 500
Don't you suppose they would pick
out a captain and crew that didn'i
drink? Of course they would. AND
it is no wonder that, with that reso.
luton for text, a congressman il
1847 made such a powerful speech
that the "grog ra,ion,' which wa
then served to every blue jacket, wa
forever abolished in the United State
navy.
Things have been getting livel.
since then. In 1897 Carroll D. Wright
, of the United States department o
labor, decided to investigate thi
, question, and can only speak of on
: phase. He asked about seven thous
and men at the head of great indus
trial establishments whether the
made any requirements as to tots
1 abstinence, and, if SO, what? All bu
233 replied; ard more than half G
them did make some requirement i
regard to total abstinence, Will
! 1924 required total abstinence wheth
b er on or off duty.
Are you discouraged? Think c
i these things and rejoice. Take on
d or two of multitude of examples
The Miller & Sons Piano company {
, Boston, in letter dated May III, l9O-
. says, among other things: sit is not
question of giving preference to tn
/ moderate drinker. We simply wi
+ not have moderate drinker in OF
d employ. Our business interests re
Guire, men who have clear heads, an
We do not propose to have those wh
:, are all muddled up with drink O
J. May s, 1904, E. c. Westervelt, pres
le dent of the great Bissell Chilled Plo
il scompany of South Bend, writes, "W
IS think the drinking habit of workir
men the greatest curse of the countI
ID. to-day. We Away let go man WI
Y is a drinker if we can fill his plat
? with a non drinker. : = = We new,
Is promote drinker, b cause his habi
: l.