The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-03

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
HISTORY and literature are so stud
ded with the hobnails of vinous
L l hilarity all the way from Noah and
onward through aeons of notable per-
sons who are not commonly represented
as examples of strict sobriety, that 1t
would seem a much-ado- o-about-nothing in
| Colonel Roosevelt to seek to fix by legal
| inquiry and affirmation the various kinds
of intoxicants he has never used and
which he actually detests, and the precise
number of drinks he has not had for
breakfast.
With what purpose is his proceeding and
! to what end Whether he drinks wine,
| or beer, or cocktails or mint juleps-or
| does not drink at all--may be said in
sense to be nobody's business but his own;
asuredly nobody's concern except the I'M
mediate circle about him. AS a rule in
such matters, and with the general public,
denials do not deny; the hostile continuing
| to make the accusation, the rest, even
where impressed, remaining either indif
ferent or forgetful. Mr. Bryan makes
himself a little absurd by the pains he
takes to proclaim himself a total abstain
err In like manner Mr.. Roosevelt makes
himself a little absurd by the effort to
prove that he is not drunkard.
| 1t goes without saying that he is not.
Whoever thinks him so would not believe
| to the contrary, though one should rise
| from the dead. His whole life, the piles
of continuous labor standing to his credit
and the physical vigor he has applied to
undertakings the most strenuous, give the
lie to his accusers But the charge itself
| Lrimportant If true.
| When told that Grant was a drunlard
Lincoln wanted to ascertain what brand
of whisky he got drunk on so that he
might send few barrels to the other gem
| eral commanders" meaning, of course,
| that Grant won victories and that these,
not drink. established the measure of his
service.
| A few years ago In the most joyous and
sinister way, yet without evil intention. a
citizen of this town-perhaps as penalty
| for the atrocious crime of being a Ken
tuckian-was held by the mint-iulep joke,
though he might have proved an e!ibi
touching the fantastic stories put forth in
his name, and, in like manner, most ex-
emplary citizen of Indiana was sought by
the pert paragraphers to be ;mpaled as
The national drunlSard for having cocktails
served at a luncheon rendered by the Vice
President to the President of the United
States. No serious consequences followed
either instance of journalistic horse play.
Yet, whilst they lasted they were cruel
in their way, and to their victims not in
the least facetious. whilst being in point
of fact in both cases serious assaults upon
private character.
| The simple truth is that the use OF IN
toxicants hinges altogether upon the
abuse of them. If man in drink kills
his neighbor he is likely to be hanged: if
he commits a burglary he is sent to prs-
on; but if, falling to light his cigar with
toothpick, he begins to weep, he is led
from table and put to bed Yes, sir" said
a famous statesman, 81 get drunk-but
like a gentleman Sergeant Prentiss,
owning to drinking the wines of France
and Spain, declared that he was never
drunk but once in his life, and that was
when lie was obliged to share the bed of
his competitor, Governor McNutt, at a
crowded hotel and woke next morning
dead drunk from absorption"
Time was when getting drunk was COLI
sidered a virtue, the strife for honors be-
tween the three bottle and five bottle men
altogether open and above board 1t is
related of a celebrated popular orator
that he affected intoxication. People
would say. "If he speaks so gloriously
drunk, how might he not speak SOBER"
the actor all the while doing a carefully
prepared stunt and strangely exutinC in
the reputation of being a drunkard. The
late Colonel 1ngerscll. after his early man.
hood an ascetic as to drink, once indited
a bibulous prose poem in extollation of
some rare old whisky friend had sent
him.
| An encyclopedia might be compiled from
the greatest masters of letters-from
Shakespeare to Swinburne, from Milton
to Dickens and Thackeray-'in praise of
wine The horrid example, such as
Burns and Poe have not sufriced to OBJ
scure either the general humor or their
own genius. To make merry with ones
friends-even the extravagances of un-
guarded gayety-has ever been venial
offense; and for the very obvious reason,
that occasional conviviality is one thing,
whilst alcoholism is quite another thing.
Habits of all sorts go largely by fash
ion. Each county--almost eacn locality
has its own. Let him not boast who has
never been tempted; nor be too censorious
of his weaker brother whose
fault we partly may compute
Yet know not what's resisted
And so we return to Colonel Roosevelt
Surely man who has lived in the world
three and fifty years-in the limelight 80
of them-the head of happy and prosper
GUS household-a good husband and father,
o prodigiously hard worker-could afford
to let tongues wag as they will about his
exits and his entrances, his food and his
drink. and his intimate personality. Il
a humiliation to have the most world fa-
nous of their living countrymen-an ex-