Putnam patriot., 1910-03-11
The Ups sad Downs Of Reform Work.

8fE EAAaAFt As H@+A*tAg "ts st@ Dfts. as#s6s gre lcd to exeiaInr. noW comes fle mlIienlamw No doHbt there is mach sa s4ag good comes from suea waves, bot greater d spfessiga and dark. neza fell9ss them -8eh has been tha IltsioEg af religious Hesleais since the days ot the Apostles. Europe @as at one iIme evaugeilzed, and wave aflef aase ef fesiyais passed over t. but pos the various Continental nations are calied Rsdless or infiieI fhe sane ts lfae Of Inc temp@fanee cause Some eighty yeafs agD. such lining as q sa- IooB ~as hardly known la Ses Eng land. The sast mullitHdes that came ffom Europe brought ~ith them their drinking eastoms. bfe~efies before un- known, began the making ot beer. and the eontaaisH spread.
 Then followed remarkable revival of tem persnee, bat after year began to decline, and soon forgotten except by the thousands who had been res eued Time after time similar temper ance waves have been seen, did their good work aud passed of Cough, the Mufphys, Francis and son aSed, 7 and few others, made m indeiibie repats- ton as temperance orators. but their isbors are but remembrance.
 in the meantime the nations drink uiil has gone en steadily mounting ID from millions to tens Of millions; from teus io hundred of milliops--un- III nov this country Is lar on in it's se- cona billion dollars expense for alsoho- lie liquors.
 i fes years ase 4 temperance move fhent passed over the south. The dis pensary system sas adopted as "A step towards obliiefniion af the drink habit. II worked well fof A ume in seeom- plishing ilz purpose, hni got in disfe- pute because of the fraudulent use nade of ii by the politicians who had control of the system. The cause of temperance had been promoted by 1t, however, and the people demanded prohibition, and state after Stale WAS carried prohibiting the sale and man. ufactufe nf al spiiftuoas liquors, The movement is siill going on, but the op. position has been increasing ip force, and is gradually checking interest in the cause.
 It seemed for time that the south, hitherto hopelessis given up as oppos- cal to The temperance cause, would be an example for the more enlightened East 10 follow. After a tflal Of pfohi, hltion In nearly ail the New England states. they have mainly gone back to some fotm of license. Al the recent town elections iu Vermont and Nassa- ehusetss. more "dry" towns adopted to Eo stmet. la each, than the teYefse, indicating steady decline of interest in the cause ol temperance. which ani- mated it's people with joyous degree at oae time.
 Il might seem inexpIioable to see Il cause so beneficial to every community should fetfoFsd and give place To the most costly waste that lniarioasls af- tects every tadldual in The land.
 II k not neSplteaole, bul k easily made plain Ia he understood. ia the iltst place it requires selfssctitiee---of time and money without hope of pe- ouniaty reward, That alone will dis courage the luke warm and half-heart- cd proiessed temperance men. Then follow dlsc0urageinents when tempe rance laws are seen to bc disregarded bs law officers, encouraged by pollti- clans: then these who have the cause al heart, sceing se many friends be. come indifferent er loia opponents aud know how hopeless Is the struggle to se- eav further legal enactment, cease all effort tn the unequal contention. Not ali, however. fhose who regard vital principles as biadlng on them ss dn- sies to b~ carried into effect as part of thelr religion. do not hesitate al any sacrifice when the proper opportunity prv~rais itsell. Therefore ss anything regarded as an ctil exists aad can he destroyed or ies>eaed il is te be fought in any pFopef way hcst calculated to secure saccxss TAls docs nol mean In \ spirii te cause annesssx~afy offence 10 any one. Men who dc things not considered Illegal. are to be treated as men simply differing as to the right fainess aF ~fongfaine~s Of their acts or helless. In that spirit we have a right to contend. in ~eason and out of season for what ~e deem ls right. he il rvll- gion, morality Of the public welfare.