The Detroit times., 1917-07-04
A Warming of History
~ WALTER V. SNYDER.

On February %. 1912, Abraham Lin
coin delivered a speech before the Spring
field Washingtonian Temperance Society.
1t is recorded in his works edited by
Nicholay and Hay. 1t opens with these
words:
Although the temperance has been In
progress for near 20 years, II is apparent TO all
that u ia just now being crowned with degree
OF success hitherto unparalleled. The list OF its
friends Is daily swelled by the additions Of ff-
ties, of hundreds and Of thousands The cause
itself seems suddenly transformed from cold.
abstract theory 10 living. breathing. active and
powerful chieftan going forth "conquerlng and
20 conquer
We will follow this statement of the
progress of the movement by recital of
history given by Rev, now Bishop Matt
S. Hughes, of the Methodist Church. in an
address at Worlds Social Progress Con-
gresS in San Francisco in April, 1915.
The address is entitled:
The ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS the Saloon and Social
Progress.
In the year 1916 they placed tho first tenn.
perancc law upon the statute book OF a state &e
state Of Maine. And that Maine law
the original law passed in 1876 has been altered
ana strengthened bur has never been repealed.
Then the movement went ON ftom 1876 20 1860
and there We're Prohibition laws In Maine. New
Hampshire, Vermont. Rhode Island. Connecticut
Massachusetts,, Delaware, New York and Mich-
gan and other states until l. states had passed
Prohibition laws some 81 them twice In New
Jersey tho popular vote was in favor OF H. but
they succeeded in overcoming the popular voice
m the legislature n the movement had gone on
as X starred in 1916, the American saloon would
have been extinct by 1868 what stop
ped i'7 The Civil War
Il was necessar, 70 raise more revenue. and
ker of
and one man In Washington. man 90 powerful
intellect, who knew what that meant Lincoln
when he bill was laid before him. declared that
ne would rather loee his right arm than sign
H. But finally. with tho promise OF the liquor
traflc thar IL should DO repealed after the war.
he did sign IT, That promise has never been full.
hlled by the liquor interests
A more accurate statement as to just
what happened and was said by Lincoln
whenshe signed the bill levying tax on
liquor than Bishop Hughes gives in the
address quoted from. was given by Major
J. b. Merwn at the National Anti-Saloon
League convention in 1918. Major Mer-
win was present when the revenue bill
was signed In response to a request by
Howard Russell to tell just what Lincoln
said at the time, Major Merwin said:
He hesltated in regard TO signing that docu-
ment. MI Chase as pure man "a Ohio ever
produced. said. Mr. Lincoln. we have got 10 have
tho resources OF evil well good 10 end this
rebellion and We must have the resources" He
hesitatcd. and hesitated and hestated and final
~ Mr. Chase said Mr.. Lincoln. we cannot stand
n any longer" Very we'll" says Mr. Lincoln 10
Henry Wilson. 10 myself 70 Secretary Chase OF
the Treasury Il had rather lose my right hand
than 10 sign document that shall perpetuate the
liquor traffic. but soon the eNgencies pass
away viii turn my whole attention 10 the repeal
OF that document" and that his design.
At this point, speaking of the exigen-
cies. remember that that was not world
wide war A worldwide famine was not
threatened The necessity of conserving
food products did not then constitute
factor in the problem as it does now. To
quote further from Bishop Hughes:
The liquor interests stayed AZ home during
tho and fattened heir purses at the expense
~ the people. n is a significant hing that the
United States Brewers Association dates from
the year 1862. while we were in the midst OF the
civil War, they were at home fixing up their
fences
When tho smoke lifted from tho battlenelds
and the soldiers came home out Of these states
that had prohibited The liquor trafic, only one
remained true. and that the state Of Maine.
All The ground was lost during that time.
u gave the whisky rattle lis great opportunity
and il was quick 20 seize q. When the enemies
Of liquor came home. like General Dow, they were
for jumping In AZ once 10 recover their lost terri
tory Then sounded the voice OF the whisky
Politician We had just been through a great con-
flct. We were now In the period ~ reconstruc-
tion and no patriotic citizen would Introduce any
Irritating question AT this time
Shall we, in spite Of all of this, fall into
the same trap in which they were caught
more than 80 years ago. and go backward
as they did? We will do this unless we
make it the occasion to go forward to final
victory.