The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1907-09-28
GROWTH OF PROHIBITION.

Following the example of several northern
states Georgia has passed an absolute prohibition
law, effective January 1 next The fact has given
rise to an almost endless discussion in the secular
press as to the merits of prohibtive legislation as
a means of promoting temperance. Between total
abstinence and temperance there is a gap nearly
as wide as between temperance and drunkenness.
To the total abstaner one drink of light beer is in
temperance while to the sot it is merely Chaser
for something stronger. The lover of eonviviality
finds in the saloon pleasant place to spend few
idle hours with kindred spirits while the prohibit
ton advocate sees naught but woe and despair as
a result of such indulgence.
Now there can be no possible way to dispute
the proposition that the promotion of temperance
is very commendabe thing History and exper-
fence and ethics show that temperance is and al
ways has been strong force making for virtue
and morality. A man surely can't load himself up
with lot of intoxicants without feeling on the
day after some little contriton he can't, at least
until he gets hardened up to it. The day after he
is likely to say "never again" Then at some evil
moment friend invites him to have drink and
there is an inviting saloon where everything is
clean and the glassware sparkles under the electric
light. Temptation is strong and the flesh is weak.
Like poor old Rip Van Wrinkle, this one time
doesn't count, and tomorrow the resolution, "never
again. is renewed.
Combating intemperance of all kinds is one of
the cardinal principles of the church The saloon
business is one which a church newspaper may
handle with or without gloves. But it does no
good to denounce the saloonkeeper. He just smiles
and continues. 1t does no good to denounce the
drunkard He just drinks the more.
The growing generation will solve the whole
problem by removing the temptation from itself.
Georgias approaching prohibition is showing the
rest of the country how to do it. High licenses,
even to the point of seeming prohibition as in
Ohio at present, do not do the work The abso-
lutte removal of saloons from the public streets,
thus putting the temptation away affords the only
solution of what is one of the greatest evils the
world contends with today.
We believe the total abstainers are in the mi
nority, though we have no statistics ON the sub
ject. But the total abstainers are but small per-
centage of the people who recognize the necessity
for some practical means of promoting temper
ance. Enlisting under their banner are thousands
who drink to be sociable, drink to promote their
business interests, drink to crafty friends ca
price, drink gust because they don't know what else
to do. It might be good thing to furnish old
topers with license to permit them to buy their
grog, inasmuch their physical constitutions re-
quire the stimulus which years of indulgence has
made necessary to their happiness and perhaps
their life but if the country is to be saved the
blighting effects of the drink habit some radical
change will have to be made from the present sys-
TEN of placing the temptation to drink before
everybody who has the price.
The scofers at prohibition laws say there is
more intemperance where they are in effect than
elsewhere. This may be true, or it may not. How
ever it may be, the fact remains that ever since
the world began mankind has been weak in resist
ing temptation, and the sane and practical meth
cd of reformation is to remove the cause of temp
tation. The Georgians are doing that And so
will the rest of the country when it wakes I'D.