Evening journal., 1907-09-05
THE JEW AND THE
LIQUOR QUESTION
He is Neither a Drunkard
Nor a ProhibitiOnist
BELIEVES IN USE WITHOUT ABUSE

$50 far as the Jewish people are con-
cerned. the world over, there is no
LIQUOR problem. Among the various
questions with which the Jewish world
is dealing at the present moment TINS
liquor problem plays absolutely no part
The reason is not far to seek. Men are
vexed by a question only when there Is
a bad social condition to be remedied.
If the evil does not exist, then the
problem does not exist. The liquor
problem is therefore only of interest
when certain evils arise from 1t. The
most familiar bad results of liquor are
drunkenness and the crimes that are
frequently committed in the condition
of intoxication. If to-day every man.
woman and child would use alcohohe
beverages in such way that no harln
would arise from their doing so there
would be no effort 10 pass laws touch-
ing the use of liquor. In other words,
II there were no drunkards there would
be no anti-liquor movement
'sNow among the Jewish people the
world over, drunkenness as an evil is
practically unknown; there have been
and still are Jews addicted to drunk
enness, but they are so few in number,
that they only proved the general rule.
am well acquainted with most of the
larger Jewish communities in the United
States. and rarely have 1 heard of a
Jewish drunkard. In fact, Jewish stat
istics the world over reveal an almost
insignificant extent Of the evils of drink.
The best proof of this fact is the re-
cords of the United Jewish Charities
of New York City. DR.. Lee X. Frankel,
now the national authority on Jewish
charity, has stated in public time and
again that, despite the vastness Of the
Jewish charity question in New YORK
CITY. the problem of drunkenness hard
" plays any part. Statistics show
that less than 5 per cent OF those VINO
apply for relief trace their destitutlon
to drunkenness This speaks volumes
for the sobriety of the Russian Jew
who is the chief burden at present on
Jewish charitable institutions.
IF drunkenness is practically MI
among the Jews, there is no liquor
nroblem among my co-religionists In
nv pulpit 1 rarely ever touch on this
question, for it would be a waste OF
time Yet the Jewish people are far
from being Prohibitionists. on the
other hand, from time immemorial, al
coholic beverages have been used by
the Jews; indeed, there could be hardly
a Jewish religion without wine, which
in the literature of the Bible, and II
later Jewish literature, has been in
vested with almost a holy significance
Prohibition cannot be proved from the
ola Testament The Psalms and th'
Proverbs contain the most glowing de-
scriptions of wine and its inspiring
effect. Take the glorious 104th Psalm
than which there is no more poetic
outburst in the Bible. Among the
elements of nature which to the Psalm
lists mind show the greatness OF GOO
wine is singled out in the 10Th verse
And wine that maketh glad the near
of man" Consult a Biblical concord
ance and you will find scores or laV
orable references to the use OF WINE
AT the same time the Old Testamen
condemns drunkenness, and the pro
phets castigate in no uncertain term
fhe drunkenness and RIGHTEOUSNESS o
their times. The story of the fall
Noah shows that the Biblical writer
were fully alive to the evil effects o
overindulgence in wine or Intoxicating
drinks.
But Judaism in no part of its cree'
condemns the use of alcoholic bever
ages Wine is an integral element o
the services. The most hallowed Jew
ish ceremony is the Kiddush servic
of the Sabbath eve, in which a GU
of wine is sanctifed IN the followin
set blessing: Blessed is the Lord an
Lod, King of the Universe, who createt
the fruit of the wine In the beautifu
and soul-inspiring Leder, or Passove
home service, four cups of wine ar
used at different intervals in the even
ing's. devotion. To imagine Jewis
home service without wine is unthink
able. BY admitting and consecratln
vine as Judaism does as one OF tn
elements Of nature, temperance wa
inculcated in the Jew so that It J
here to this day. l remember distinctl
what the noted evangelist, Sam Jones
told me in this connection. He sal
that If all the people were temporal
as the Jews in the use of liquor, h
would not preach for prohibition.
"To my mind the liquor questio
cannot be solved by any Legislation
Prohibition has failed ignominiousl!
The states that We're dry for year
have almost become wet, and Sout
Carolina. that had the once gloriou
dlspensary system has given up th
ghost. Legislation has accompishe
very little toward bringing about tn
ideal use of LIQUOR When men cannC
get by law what they want, they wi
get it by stealth. The main reaso
why the Jew is temperate is that tn
Jewish child in the normal Jewish HON
does not have liquor withheld frof
it. We seldom desire very much
that we can get. Experience has show
that childan reared in homes wher
liquor is tabooed fall quickly into il
abuse, whereas in the large majority
households where liquor is drunk, tn
children grow up to be moderate. in i
use.
The German people are case
point. The German, as all Teuton
f must have his beer; and to quan thi
" beverage in all places and at all time
\ is considered perfectly proper. The Gel
\ man will go with his entire family
. the beer garden, meet his neighbor, dis
cuss the events of the day and liste
TO a band concert or witness a pla
This condition is found in ST. Lou
and Cincinnati, where there is a lars
German element.
Il am not making out case for q
saloons or places of drinking, bl
! merely bringing out the fact which car
not be contradicted. that temperate
cannot be legisated into a people.
\ there were no saloons people wou
still find means TO drink. on the 9TH
hand, any individual who has learns
in his life self-control, cannot be Il
into excess by all the temptations
the world The fault is not with Il
saloon. but with the individual. If OF
man goes to excesses, why should a
H.