The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-04-18
The Drinker and the Drunkard.

There is significant distinction
drawn by DR.. Aked in his discussion OF
Christianity and Temperance IN APP
pleton's Magazinc-the distinction be,
tween drinking and drunkenness.
The evils of drunkenness arc notori-
Gus. he says. Nobody denies them. Few
people seek to minimize them, And no
body on the face of the earth defends
drunk kenness. And yet, on the whole
view, it seems certain that the harm
done by the drinking which never
passes into drunkenness is greater than
that caused by al the drunkenness IN
the world. This is not the same thing
as saying-as temperance advocates are
often accused of saying-that the mod
crate drinker is worse man than the
drunkaTd. 1T is a simple statement OF
fact that in bulk the injury done by
the constant use of alcoholic liquors III
quantities insufficient to create drunk
euness is greater and more widespread
than the more patent and demonstrable
harm done by alcoholic excess. Drunk
onness has stained some of the noblcst
names, destroyed some of the finest In
tellects, ruined some of the bravest
souls Of pulpit and pew. The priest and
prophet have erred through strong
drink All this is known, indisputable.
But there IS something more. Every
man or woman familiar with the work
Oh UuC cuuICuSS Ids DouuclStr CUM"
times almost in the agony of spirit, the
problem presented by the mass of
snug, callous indifference which no
preaching or pleading can pierce. The
preacher with his heart a6ame making
himself one with his Redeemer in the
effort to seek and save the lost, recelv-
ing branded upon his soul the stigmata
of Christ, sees in his congregation and
in the circle Of his friends such easy,
such complacent Indifference to human
sin and human suffering as comes near
to making shipwreck Of his faith IN
man and in the power OF God to save
man from himself. Is there not a cause?
The habitual use OF intoxicating drink
in quantities which never go beyond
what is called moderation which
has never caused drunkenness, and
which probably never will, creates more
than anything else with which we have
to do the type of character so hard to
move. The aspirations have been
little dulled. the conscience made q ut
tic less sensitive, the emotions a little
less responsive by the daily use OF a
drug, a drug called "alcohol" Would
any reasonable human being ask the
most eloquent of living preachers to
speak his message to number or per-
sons who had been drugged into lnscnsl-
bility by chloroform? Would u reason
able person expect the best results from
chloroformed into semiinsensibility?
Why make people dull and heavy and
stupid, and expect swift responsiveness,
generous ardor. warm. hearted zeals 1t
! is only question of degree. The drink
habit as practlced among Yeaily nice
people, good men and good women, peo.
pic who hnve never been what is called
| the worse for drink and who never
! will be, has certain physiological cf
| feet. and that effect is demonstrated in
the Indifference found among ten thou
sand congregations throughout the land.
| 1t is not drunkenness which is the
preacher IS deadliest enemy; it is drink
| ing.