Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1913-03-08
The Decline of Drinking.

The Decline of Drinking.
1t makes me smile TO myself When
I hear some of these mnraliSts raving
over the curse OF drink said the vote
ran barkeeper as he rang up the nickel
that had just bought a glass of but
termilk The utter needlessness OF
this waIlopine of the Rum Demon is
proved by the fact that times have
changed and people have changed with
them.
Z am thinking of Ncw-Year's Day
and its celebration nowadays as conf
pared with the celebration OF 20 years
ago. When | make this assertion, |
ask you to observe the people on the
| first day of the new year and then re-
memper what | am about to say. See
| for Yourself if | am not night
In the first place, people take booze
seriously now. When | first started
| in the mixing business years and
years age the proportion of men who
| drank was vastly larger than The pro-
portion Of men who didn't. Therefore,
Prohibitionist or a man who didn't
believe that all booze should be shun-
ned amounted to something. He was
a man among men because of the
"But in these daVs drinking is not
considered a part of mans duty TO
his country There are thousands OF
| men right here in this town who do
not drink because they don't want to.
| They don't believe that ii IS wronga
and they think that every man who,
drinks should be allowed to do so il
he wants to. but they don't care any
IL; pn
permanent passengers on the water
wagon
This change in the outlook toward
booze is shown in the celebration Of
New Years Day. If you noticed
ycu didn't see any great number of
soused individuals parading the streets
on New Years. And neither will You
see so many people swearing off and
getting miserable over their depr!va-
ton.
The truth is that the Observance 81
all the old New Years customs is pass
ing. Up North they hardly know what
it means to pay New-Hear's calls and
down here it is rapidly becoming \
decadent custom. To great many
people New Years Day is nothing but
u day eff.
Perhaps it IS a good thins that reo-
pie don't pay calls any more on New
Years Day. 1t used to he that man
with a good many friends would start
out early 70 call on them. In Difference
to the old superstition that bad luck
results if a woman is The first to cross
the threshold on New Years Day he
would call on his best friend first so
that he would be able to avert all bad
luck.
His friend, of course, would have
something to drink, for what would a
New Years call amount to if there
wasn't something to go for 1t might
be PUNCH or it might be something that
comes out of an ordinary bottle or the
friend might simply have few bot
ties of beer stuck away on the ice. but
he would be sure to have some sort OF
booze, 5i-ss.5 55r,
Thus, IN the course of the day, the
man who was calling would absorb
many varieties of booze, besides hay
ing his friends wives loading him up
with cake and similar junk. When Ne
got through he would be moderately
lushed. or else sick at the stomach.
And the next day he would feel SO rot
ten that. after getting a hummer or
two to straighten him cut, he'd make
a resolution and stick 10 II i"f per
| haps two solid weeks.
Gradually however, the custom of
| calling on New-Year's Day is passing
away, and with il passes tie Well
known New-Year's skate
| '.In the good old days when every
| body called on everybody else, New
| Years Day in drinkery @as exceed
| ingly quiet, for nobody had any reason
| to spend money when his friends were
| giving away all he could drink Inc
week or two following were also quiet.
for people had all made resolutions ana
were all riding high and dry on the
water wagon.
Now, however I detect little differ
ence between New Years Day and
the ordinary day of the week. | see the
| same old faces, hear the same old stale
stories. ge; the same monotonous ella
kidding that always have got. No
body goes calling any more, and When
they haven't anything else to do they
drop into my studio COR their drink
1.-THE making of resolutions concern
ing the drinking Of booze is on the
Wane. The same people VINO lew
years ago would make New Y ear
resolution have quit drinking by now
and the men who, if they had hVeo
then, would have gone on the water
wagon, are the men who do not drink
About the only fellows who resolve
these days are the one who have go'
a brannigan on New Years Eve ano
feel that they must quit,
That's what | have observed. The
fondness and regard for booze ism
! half as strong as it used to he. ahe
neither is the fiery character OF the
; Rum Demons denunciations. | honest
/ ly and seriously believe that the aver