The Washington herald., 1916-03-14


uotzhe books interpreting our modem sooiologzezi
problems IN terms Of human values Tl.e.r booss
'nctads The Spirit q the Ghetto" ''Ths Aufobi-
7E1pp Of Thief. The spirit q Labor" Ar
Anarchist Womau and '-Typs Frnm Oh
| strests" Mr.. HEprOod ts Tradusts q HEr,uT6
| r. and has done great deal "a psTiodscsl an
| magazine NOrk-l
The present mood OF the United States.
like that OF Europe Is temperate.
But with this chRstened mood In the
! background, the evil OF prohibition resrE
| its ignorant head I'm the spectacular
foreground Of our political and social
| life. The cause Of temperance Is the
| cause Of civilization. The cause Of pro-
hibttion indicates an underlying fanati-
| cism which IL never present in the most
enlightened communities.
| The most beautiful civilizations Of the
1ast have never been PuritanicsL Their
| principle has been one Of balance and
proportion. and their spirit that Of per
sonsl freedom. II may be said with
sential truth that all high beauty. vheth-
| er Of plastic art or OF social conduct,
4 is inseparable from q fine and Just pro-
| portion. Proportion Is a necessary ele-
| nent Of true form. whether in art or In
conduct The classic example Of the
Greeks at their best period Will occur
| 70 every reader says an article In the
/ Forum
The bottle is a symbol Of both good and
/ evil. In itself Il is good. like sexual
love, but like everything else that IS
| good, and especially like love, IL is dan
| gerous In proportion TO its virtue To
| prohibit the use OF wine and other drinks
| mat express the spirit OF wine IS in
principle the same as 10 prohibit love
| on the ground that Il often leads 20 great
/ evil II = like trying 10 suppress life,
| because lie involves such terrible things
Inc love Of life itself may be 50 feverish
: ana intense that IL consumes one-thC
/ love Of work. the love Of beauty. may be
| oeNourinG passion. and as such partly
! evil Even such love should he con-
( trolled by a certain element Of cool
! ness, OF the recognition OF other consi6-
| eratiOns, which introduces the uecsSssy-y
! form, establishes that equilibrium which
| is the true culture. Tho hiE moral
wrecks that ] know are all due 70 an
| extreme attitude. excess in sclf-indulE-
ence or In Self-reuUnciatiOn-ov er-eNpres-
/ sion or OveT-TeTTcssion-and the two are
| intimately related. There is an incy1-
| table swing from one extreme 10 Lhs
| other. Deeply dissipated persons have a
! Puritanical streak, or represent q resc-
I ton from something else that g. evil
such as social narroWness or Industrial
and political injustice-from despair be
| cause the conditions OF their lives shut
out from them richness and JON
Cause and Effect Rcversed.
| Let US see how the strong Prohibition
[ movement which is even attempting
national law against the manufacture
and sale OF intoxicating drinks. il re-
/ lated in some detail, 10 various aspects
OF our community life.
There exist in our society. as IN all
/ societies, crime. poverty and diseasr tn.
! ProhibitiOnisLs maintain. some sincere'~
and some insiucer'Iy. fanaucaIIy and
/ iCally-sometirrS they moan
/ well, sometimes they do not-that drink
4 is, II not the only Gauss. a. least an uD-
/ portant cause Of these evils OF Grim.
/ poverty and disoas.. What they do no.
see. or what they pretend not 20 Soc
. sometimes ono. sometimes the ofhC- lz
/ that drunkenness is much more Tho 70
suit Of crime, poverty and disease than
/ the cause. that drunkenness is born Of
I bad social industrial and cultural oonGf-
/ lions. and is not in any important sense
{ a cause OF them. They do not see OF
/ will not acknowledge that they see. that
TO do away with drunkenness. ", must
/ do away with the underlying social and
/ industrial causes OF drunkenness. that
/ TO get rid of the drink evil. il is not
enough 10 l"Elslate against il Or try 10
repress fl, but 10 be willing to crIticise
. ourselves as a society and as an I'm
perfect culture. and 20 introduce some
constructive agencies which will stin1u-
late oUr social vitality We cannot SUP
. pr"ss drunkenness with the poIicerns Ms
club or by the mandates OF me leEisIa-
ture; that has been proved 70 any id
I teligent students satisfaction
. II IS too much to expect human ra-
ture beinE IS 1t Is. thar individuals and
groups OF individuals who o~~rrpy a Do
sition Of undue and Ia 7nfuI advsr-
taSe, will. Of their own free Will for
tn" sak" Of getting rid in Iar-r measurp
|oI CFnnC, Ho' ertE and o lLu's'l.uess. give