Omaha daily bee., 1909-08-15

K( the country. Within a period
OF five years, eight states, viz,
- the six New England states,
Michigan and Nebraska, adopted prohibit
ton. New York. Indiana and Wisconsin
also enacted prohibitcry laws, which, how
ever. never went into effect, having been
declared unconstitutional by the highest
courts IN those states.
Now, again, after a lapse of fifty years,
the country is witnessing another ITEM
perance wave" which has already risen
higher than its predecessor. Nor is the
end yet in sight. While in some sections
of the country, the wave" has spent it's
force and appears to be receding, in other
sections It is increasing In volume and
strength. There are. at present, eigh.
states in which statutory prohibition OBJ
tains-four in the south. three in the west
and one in New England. Under the local
option system, a number of other states
are being prohlbitionized on the INSTALL
ment plan. Not long ago II was stimate
that saloons were being closed at the rate
of thirty a day-nearly 1000 a year.
Beyond Performance.
The prohibition leaders boast that, while
ANh years dEO tleTt were only O,VJO,UUU
people living in dry territory, there are
now 2S,OOo,O OO. II prohibition and temper
ance be the same thing, we are certainly
making prodigious strides toward the mil
lennium. But sober minded people have
no faith in the professions and promises Of
prohibitionists Fifty years ago the lead
ers of the crusade thought they saw the
dawn of the perfect day, when there would
not be a dram shop nor a drunkard in all
the land. They were confident that the
problem of intemperance. which had per-
picked and baffled mankind for thousands
of years. was as good as solved. The great
dragon was about to be slain and his dead
carcass hurled into the bottomless pit. But
It turned out to be all a dream The
dragon was not slain; he was not even
seriously wounded. If he disappeared at
all, It was only to betake himself to the
cellar to await the passing OF the storm.
In the course Of a few years, the temper
ance wave passed away. and the frenzy
and hysteria that caused 1t. and was caused
by 1t, died out.
The crusade not only did not solve the
liquor problem, but It complicated the prob
lem with new difficulties. The states that
oAOBhNb NAN ~ oOOh ASN'Aa
themselves confronted with two evils In
stead of one, the old disease of intemper-
ance and the new remedy OF prohibition.
And now, the successors OF the men that
rallied round the standard of Neal Dow
are making precisely the same promises
and predictions that were made of old,
They assure us that the present movement
means business. They prophesy that this
wave VIII not subside until II has swept
over every foot of American soil and has
done to the rum traffic what Jehovah
did t. the Egyptians in the Red sea.
At h Expense of Truth.
Prohibitionists have simplified the liquor
problem at the expense of truth, reason
and common experience. Instead Of s%uitinG
the remedy to rthe disease. they have tried
determined remedy.
The liquor problem is one Of the most
complex Of all social problems. 1t does
not stand out alone, simple, distinct and
isolated, as prohibitionists would have us
believe. Il is at once a moral, an economic
a physiological, a psychological and, in it,
final analysis, a purely personal problem
1t contains many elements and involves
many perplexing difficulties. When we lool
below the surface and study this problem
in Its deeper aspects, we find that its roots
are inextricably intertwined with those Of
other social problems. So that genuine and
thorough temperance reform must be con
Quoted along many different lines.
The liquor problem is not exclusively moi
chiefly a legislative problem, and hence I
cannot be solved by legislation alone. Thu
evil Of lntemperance is not caused, though
It may be aggravated, by bad legislation
and II cannot be removed. though 1t maj
be lessened, by good legislation. The mali
lines OF temperance reform. tho most po
tent agencies for the building up OF mora
character land moral character is the basi
of temperance in all things), lie wholly out
side the scope Of legislation. Legislation
has, of course. its part to play-and a no
unImportant part-in- any comprehensive
program of temperance reform; but whei
legislation ,encroaches on the domain o
the church and the home. when It venture
to act as a substitute for purely socia
and moral agencies. It not only fails to &C
complish any good, but causes the creates
harm. Speaking generally, the work tina
legislation can DO in the moral sphere 1
Of a negative character-preventing an
suppressing the e%vil-while work OF a posi-
tive character must be done through othe
agencies. In undertaking temperance re
form work along any line, we must lear
TO be patient. and TO be modest in on
expectations. We must bear in mind tina
temperance reform IS very largely a matte
OF moral and social revolution.
Abolition or Regulation.
Liquor legislation must necessarily folloN
one of two general policies. 1t may aim a
the abolition OF the liquor traffic, or at tn
regulation OF the traffic. These two policie
are extreme opposites at every point an
in every feature. The object OF one is {
Kill. that OF the other Is to cure. II is o
this broad question Of general policy tina
- the people are divided today.
No legislative system has ever been MOI
extensively nor fairly tested than that c
prohibition. During the last sixty years
has been tried on the statewide scale |
many different sections of the country an
under the most diverse social and politics
conditions. the periods of trial rangin
from three years in Nebraska to ~fifty-thrS
years IN Vermont. BY it's record. by whs
A. - - - -k.a a. kaa ~ Am