The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1911-05-16
SAYS IS PER|Ls
B.EsET COUNTRY
Liquor Traffic, Divorce and Municipal
Misrule in List Cited b. Rev.
Wilbur F. Crafts

ington, spoke before the Pastors
union, in the Y. NJ. c. A. auditorium.
Monday morning. on National hopes
and perils." He said IN part:
II shall touch on many reforms In a
survey OF National perils and hopes.
In measuring both | shall use as a
Washington's farewell address. IT Is
substantially true that virtue or
morality is a necessary spring OF pop
ular government Whatever corrupts
that spring | count peril. II has
been Swallowed since the Civil war by
Is clouds of increasing evils. some OF
them cyclonic. Here Is the dark roll:
Consumption of liquors. murders, di.
vorces, lynchings, labor riots, munich
pal misrule, misunderstanding, impur-
ity. yellow journalism, brutal sports,
graft, judicial maladministration and
lawlessness.
I'm nine OF these evils We beat the
world, that Is, the so-called Chris
tian nations, namely: Murders. di-
vorces, lynchings, labor riots, NUM-
cipal corruption, yellow Journalism,
graft, judicial INSTRUMENTATION and
general lawlessness. We have TO go
outside of Christendom, to Japan, TO
find a country with so large a pro-
portion OF marriages wrecked by d.
vorce. We have to go again outside
of Christendom to find in China an
other nation with SO much graft and
judicial administration. have as
sumed that Spain is lower In brutal
sports, but | am not sure that the
All - ,,H. &c n
than fighting In which there are bru-
tai men on both sides. II Is small
comfort that we are not worse than
he French in Sabbath-breaking and
impurity, but In both France is i'm
proving slightly, and In both We are
growing worse rapidly. In the con-
sumption of liquors We drink only
half as much per capita as Germany
and Britain In beers, and as IL TO
show that beer Is not substitute
for whisky, those countries consume
twice as much as We do OF hard
liquors also. But Canada consumes
only one-fourth as much per capita
as we do. and all our temperance eff
forts have not yet reduced the per
capita consumption OF liquors, which
falls only in hard times, in unfeeling
disregard OF Henry Georges theory
that poverty is the chief cause OF
drink On the contrary, we reduce
our liquor consumption 10 gallons a
year per family in hard times.
Our doctors and professors fall
behind Germany in laboratory expert
mentation OH alcohol. The Germans
show that a printer will average
tenth more work when he drinks
nothing for day than when he
drinks single ounce, which is not
moderate drinking but microscopic
drinking. We fall behind France in
putting these new discoveries as TO
alcoholism and physical degeneracy
before the people in municipal post
ers, that proclaim in the name or the
republic, above the signature of the
mayor and health officer, that alco-
holism is chronic poisoning that
comes from the daily consumption
of wine, beer or spirits, even to the
extent that would not produce drunk
enness.
The supreme reform is to enlist
the churches in reform, in which the
Presbyterian Church of the United
States has done pioneer work, by es-
tablishing permanent temperance
committee and labor department The
Methodist church of Canada follow
ed with department of temperance
and moral reform and the Presby-
terrain church Of Canada came next
with a department of social and
moral reform.
ITO get rid OF our national perils,
we must find and remove or reduce
their cause. Our philanthropic work
deals far too much with consequences
and far too little with causes. In place
of aims for poverty, let us demand the
preventive charity or just wages and
moral reform"
Causes OF evil, he said, were the
Civil war, which segregated men from
their bones; the invasion OF lager
beer under the claim that II was a
temperance drink; unrestricted and
unlimited immigration commercial
ism, and IAN unexampled luxury
which multiphes libertine dudes as
wormy windfalls under great family
trees"
Mr.. Crafts addressed a meeting OF
women in the Central Methodist
church on AN international argument
against alcohol and the saloon" Mon
day afternoon. In this address he ad-
vocated the framing Of an ordinance
for Detroit for the censoring OF NOV
ing pictures by member Of the board
of education or an officer OF the So
ciety for the Prevention Of Cruelty to
Children.
The Pastors union, prior to the ad-
dress OF Mr.. Crafts, adopted resolu-
ton, presented by the Rev. E. II.
Pence, for the appointment Of COM
mittee to go to Toledo to interview
Billy" Sunday, evangelist, in regard
to his coming to Detroit. Mr. Pence
said Detroit needed something to
arouse 1t COR its self-conscious ma
teriality. having apparently forgotten
that 1t had an immortal soul.
The following were appointed to the
committees: The Revs. NJ. p. Fixes,
E. II. Pence, c. B. Allen, j. p. Huget,
A. Homrighaus, Charles d. Williams,
c. ]. Tannar, j. NJ. Nyce and DR.. A. u.
Studer, of the Y. NJ. c. A.