The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1911-09-30
After Dinner Drinking Common in
Past Years Now Scarcely
Indulged in.
Many of the Leading Men in the
Present Ministry are Total
Abstainers
A Remarkable Change in the Habits
of the People has Taken Place
in Recent Years.

In the last issue Of the Chicago
Sunday Tribune #. P. OConnor con-
trasts in an interesting manner the
present attitude toward drink in Eng
land with that Of a few decades ago.
He writes in part as follows:
There used to be a greater contract
some years ago between the habits of
Americans and Englishmen than there
is today. When first l went to Amer
lea, thirty Years ago, I was inclined to
think there were very few, if any,
at all. My American friends used to
laugh at this judgment as delightedly
simple in its optimism but it was
natural impression to one who took
most of his meals In hotels where one
rarely, If ever, saw any alcohol on the
table. l. remember that when, follow
ins the English method, ordered a
pint of some light wine, my friends
often begged to be excused from join
ing me. Public opinion. especially in
the smaller and more western towns
would have been then severe upon
anybody who was seen taking liquor
at his meals.
In England at that epoch, you would
have been surprised If you saw any
one at hotel meal who did not have
a whisky and soda or a pint of Wine
or a pint of beer at his side.
7 have seen n great change in This
respect in England and especially in
the house of commons. Today the
number OF men in all classes Of society
who never touch alcohol is enormous
and is growing. One of the first to
set the example was the Duke of
ground landlords in London whose
wealth is enormous. He was grand
father OF the present duke, and was
rather an ascctic in all his tastes.
In those dnysI am speaking OF the
sos and 7O's--it was not uncommon
to find members Of the House Of
Commons all the better for liquor af-
ter dinner. Disraeli was fond of
| good glass of wine until he became too
old and too delicate to touch anything
but weak brandy and water. But
| there are records of his early days Of
| his now and then having wound up a
debate after having had plenty Of
wine. There is still living a promi-
! ncnt man whose thick speech was re-
corded in the papers one morning after
he had delivered an impassioned ad
dress. Disracli delivered a speech Of
some hours length at a great meet
f; ing in Lancashire-of length indeed SO
portcntous that some of the papers did
not report it in it's entirety till the
next day. 1t was a brilliant speech in
| assagcs--notaby in the passage in
| which he described Gladstone and his
ministry as like extinct volcanoes. l
have often heard that he was supplied
on this occasion with all unlimited
quantity of white brandy-he was
really too exhausted to have got
| lIllOuEil ouNH q PcA IS'sOA' 'PSS>r'
without some such assistance. Bis
marck, in the same way. consumed
bottles of Mosele during some Of his
historic orations.
Many Under Influence of Drink.
l In those far-off days, there were
plenty Of members who came to the
House Of Commons nearly always
| more or less under the influence Of
| drink. 1t caused some amusement,
but it did not shock people then as it
would now. Gladstone belonged. to
the end of his days, to the good old
! generation that loved good old wine
and thought it necessary accom-
paniment to any decent meal. Regu-
larly he took his couple Of glasses OF
champagne, and regularly, too, he ven
tured on even robuster port, a heavy
wine that only men Of strong constt-
tuition and perfect digestion can stand
and now rather out of fashion. But
then Gladstone, unlike Disraeli, who
Il was always delicate. had q splendid
j physique, the digestion OF an ostrich
y and stern self lf-control. But he never
concealed his love for Wine-and eS-