The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1914-10-24
DOMAIN OF TEMPERANCE.
A TEMPERANCE LESSON FROM
EUROPE.

With liquor-drinking in disfavor in
high places, and it's sale widely for
hidden, this country is nevertheless
consuming more liquor per capita
every year, while In Europe, where
everybody drinks" the consumption
of intoxicants is decreasing. At least,
one eminent temperance worker, DR..
Wilbur F. Crafts, believes such to be
the case. He calls it 1.-The riddle Of
reformers the world over" that "coun-
tries with little or no prohibition are
decisiVely reducing the national per
capita consumption of liquors, while
the United States, with more prohibi-
ton than any other country, has never
succeeded in accomplishing such re-
duction in the nation as a whole, ex.
cept. temporarily in years of financial
depression" Here are some of the
facts, as DR.. Crafts cites them in The
Continent (Chicago):
Il got directly from the German
Government in Berlin official figures
showing that the per capita consump-
tion of beer in Germany steadily de-
creased from 1851 liters (about III
quarts to the liter) in 1900 to 1876 in
1910. An unusual summer sent this
consumption thermometer up to 1864
in 1911, but it was still 10 liters below
the figures of 1900. The consumption
of distilled liquors also decreased, but
in less marked degree. Germany still
consumes nearly twice as much beer
per capita as the United States, and
twice as much per capita of stronger
liquor-a conclusive answer to those
who argue that free use of beer will
displace whisky.
1.-THE fact to be faced is that Ger
many, with no prohibition and no tenn
perance lesson laws, is steadily reduc-
ing the per capita consumption Of
liquors by out-of-school temperance
education and organization; that is,
by an organized abstinence movement
led by university professors and the
Emperor, and by labor leaders. An
authoritative statement of the EN-
peror's near abstinence is that the
Emperor takes alcohol only as far as
the duties of representation require
The first known abstainer in Germany
heroically took the pledge so recently
as 1893 in the face of universal ridi-
Guile, and now there is third of a
million not only pledged but organized
in local lodges of Good Templars and
other societies, to whose ranks 100000
were added last year,
Bulgaria, with no prohibition, has
only one-eighth as large a per capita
consumption as Germany and only one.
fourth as large as ours, in part because
of the temperance literature circulated
by a missionary, Rev. J. F. Clarke, but
more because of the moral influence
for abstinence of Mohammedan scru-
pies.
'In Holland, with no help from leg
islation, there has been a per capita
reduction directly due to an abstin-
ence movement distinctly Christian,
led by the minority of abstaining
preachers.
I'm Great Britain there has been a
reduction of consumption with not
even localoption law, until recently
for Scotland only. But every third
child is enlisted early in abstaining
Juvenile temperance societies.
Norway, with only a little dry
territory as yet, has reduced the con-
sumption and consequences of drink,
not by the now discredited Norwegian
system of sO-called 'disinterested man.
agement' with it's per cent dividends
and good salaries and big subsidies,
but by local option in part and chiefly
by the organization of every tenth per-
son in total abstinence armies. In
Sweden there is reduced consumption
also with little aid from law as yet.
Of the Socialist members of Parlia-
ment eighty-four are total abstainers
and workers for prohibition. OF the
total $50 members of Parliament 1853
are avowed and aggressive abstainers."
So, remarks DR.. Crafts, dry land
is in sight, "as far away as Scandi-
navia," and he adds:
"The only thing that might prevent
the early enactment of prohibition
there is the amazing failure of Amer
leans to reduce our per capita con-
sumption of liquors and the non-en.
forcement of dry laws, which partly
it; and the still more funda-
mental reason for it, that we have
grossly neglected educational temper
ance work in public schools and even
in Sunday-schools, and most of all out
of school, and have not given due
effort to the enlistment and organiza-
ton of abstainers."
We have done much in this country.
1--WE have reduced the per capita con-
of liquors by local and larger
in the mostly rural dry
areas; but, we are told, because the
big cities were manifestly beyond the
reach of prohibition we have seldom
even tried to pledge individuals there
and organize them to help each other
in the good old way, with the result
that the city facilities for drinking
have been increased rather than re-
and the increase in consump-
ton of liquors in the cities has more
hon offset tho ,,oouo ....1