Evening journal., 1907-10-15
A Temperate Statement
From a Temperate Man


by l. A. RubInstein, I
Rabbi. Temple OF Truth, Whining K
ton. Del.
Mingling among the good people of
Wilmington the past few weeks. 1
have repeatedly been approached for '
my views on the burning question Of
the day that is agitating the best minds
of the State at the present moment
the liquor problem-and whilst 1 am
not particularly eager to enter the
lists OF either conlbatants, I do not feel Il
as If / ought TO refrain from express
ing an opinion altogether on a subject 4
of such vital Importance to all. In this
great liberty-loving country every man /
should have an opinion Of his own. In
politics he should be one thing or
another. Republican or Democrat. Re
ligion is likewise well defined in the
various denominations that abound. /
But he can not adord TO be OF the |
non- -committal type. 1t may save his /
peace of mind for a while, but sooner /
or later he viii be found out. strang-
er in his own land, and will be Stunned
by all parties alike, not as an unde-
sirable, but as a useless citizen. Give
me fish or meat, but not an eel, il Is
too slippery And SO since / have been
asked for my sentiments on this ALL
absorbing topic. ] do not hesitate for
a moment 10 say frankly and candidly
that l favor open barrooms-not that
L have not seen the evils of drink or
that I do not sympathize with the in
nocent victims Of the brutal drunkard
/ If I could save one soul from the de-
grading and perniciOus influence. 1
would be the FIRST one 10 head the-pr
lcession against IT, but ! do not believe
that prohibition will initiate towards
its suppression, or that we have the
right TO prohibit an article which is
in every sense legitimate and in many
INSTANCES an actual necessity. Il is not
forbidden relieiously, since it's use is
Praeticed in the rites of many church
ritual Il is not forbidden morally,
since there is no more moral involved
in q man taking a drink to stimulate
himself than there is man taking a
bite to refresh himself. Il Is certainly
not forbidden socially, since Il Is the
very essence OF good fellowship No
one can possibly ind fault with It as
i a comm Odity or a product. The only
objection that we have against II is is
improper use or excess, which is bring
ing so much suffering and misery upon
humanity. But will prohibition remedy
this evil? ! doubt It. No, am sure
il will not. We have enough negative
and affirmative commandments and
laws 10 make us all saints, but the fact
that we must not steal does not make
US all honest, or that we must not
lcommit murder praHct our lives from
the assassin, or that we should honor
lour parents prevent an ungrateful child
from bringing the life Of a devoted
father or mother TO an early grave in
disgrace. sc. Neither will prohibition
make man sober and respectable il one
is naturally depraved. He will get il
somehow, and will indulge in Il all the
more, in proportion to the difficulty
he may have 10 procure it,
! We all remember the Parkhurst cru
sade against a certain offence in New
4 York, which has since been taken up
: in many other cities. Is New York
more moral to-day on account of that
crusade? The evil, instead of being
concentrated, has scattered and in
Tested the most exclusive quarters, and
YOU find virtue and RIGHTEOUSNESS
stalking side by side. and il is difficult
10 tell which is which And so will 1t
be with prohibition. Georgia my own
State, has gone through all the STAGES
for the suppression ~of drink until Il
has finally decided sesinst il alto
sether, and If ! am to Judge BY the sue
cess it has achieved in its local option
efforts, ! am pretty sure that State
prohibition will not be an unqualified
success. have travelled far and wide.
and can safely assert it, that I have
! seen quite as many if not more. drunk
1 ards in some Of the prohibition cities
and States than In those where they
have open saloons. The very struggle
for prohibition affects us economically.
a great deal more than the casual OBJ
server can tell. 1t paralyzes our trade
and has a depressing influence in a
thousand ways. and II you should sue
ceed, it will merely enrich strangers
at your own expense. The Jug trade
has sprung up as a result OF prohibit
tion, which simply means the spending
OF our hard-earned money in another
state or locality, to the detriment oil
\ ourselves. So If prohibition was at all
4 possible, Il should rather be made q
national problem than a local issue
and at this stage I would like 10 pu-
down my observation as far as the
liquor traffic affects us locally. I dc
not say that It would require a search
light of great magnitude TO f7u the
baleful and pernicious results of dfinl
in many Of the city's street corners
lbut broadly speaking ! can safely sa,
that ! have never seen a more sober
i industrious, hard working, orderl,
community than Wilmington anywhere
And what is true Of Wilmington mus
certainly be true of the State. Tn,
people seem to be we'll fed, we'll dress
ed; the churches and schools we'll at
tended. What is wrong here7 VIII,
all this stirring up Of a question tina
should be reached by other and NOR,
helpful means? Then again the ques.
tion arises in my mind. why max,
lhypocrites OF ourselves on a subiec
that is perfectly permissible If uses
in moderation, for there Is no gain.
saying the fact that many a leadel
for prohibition is drinking now ant
will do so long after prohibition ha.
lpassed. Again. why should the mo,