Omaha daily bee., 1917-01-07

WdISJ REPRESENTATIVES, houuSaS
Stevens of Pennsylvania, Cakes Ames
of Massachusetts,, George w. Julian
and Columbus Delano of Indiana.
Dusty little pamphlets from re-
mote corners of the library OF con-
gress furnish kindling for the only
light shed on the views and senti-
ments of old-time~ members of con-
gress respecting the drink evil, the
means with which it was most de-
sirable to combat it, whether by ex-
ample and moral suasion or by law
and law enforcement.
The 1884 meeting was called to
order by Senator William Wilkins
of Pennsylvania, asked to take the
chair in the absence of Lewis Cass,
secretary of war, who had been
elected president OF the society year
before while he was member of
the senate from Michigan. Chaplain
w. H. Stockton of the house, accord
ing to the report, addressed the
throne of grace" Then Walter Low
RE, Pennsylvania Scotch-American,
who had already been a senator from
the state, read the first annual report
of the society! This that it con-
tanned was loudly applauded:
''The frowns of public law have
been pronounced against the vice
and irregularities of intemperance for
many long years, and in the result it
is feared that the sanctions of penal
enactment have tended only to ag-
gravate the evil. When and where
have fine and Imprisonment arrested
the progress or stayed the ravages
of this remorseless scourge? While
the statute books have been crowded
with prohibitions and penalties to re-
strain from intemperance, and while
the courts have faithfully enforced
them, the evil itself has reached a
magnitude so tremendous as not only
to evince the feebleness of such
means, but almost to drive every mind
to despair of any deliverance by any
agency. And never until the light OF
truth and the power of example were
consecrated in the cause of temper
ance was any single ray of hope shed
over this subject.
"ln view Of this influence, it may
be profitable to remark that it is al
together persuasive 1t approaches us
with no weapons; it seeks all its at
tributes from judgment and con-
science 1t leaves the arena of penal
discipline and harsh remedy and
strives to prevail by such instruments
as illustrate the energy of the human
will, when it dare resolve and be
steadfast in the promotion of its best
interests.
"And we'll and nobly has the ex-
pertinent succeeded. 1t has dried
many fountains of intemperance. 1t
has turned back food of evils and
corrected depraved public opinion.
No cause has ever before so strik-
ingly exhibited the unhappy influence
of personal example. 1t has enlisted
sympathy, encouraged hope and con-
hdence and brought into exercise a
formidable array of public sentiment,
which has directed against the baneful
social habit an incorporating op-
position
Can any man in or out of congress
of this day and generation compose
as fine an exordium to a temperance
address as that produced by those old
boys at the time when the stars fell?
Some Temperance Orators.
As soon as Secretary Cass had COM
pleted his recitation of the annual re-
port series of speeches ensued. At
torney General B. F. Butler of New
York, of President Andrew Jackson's
cabinet, was. the first speaker. He
said the society was zone of the most
useful and glorious institutions of the
age and eminently worthy of the &C
tive support of every patriot and phil
anthropist." On this day, February
A24, he said temperance organizations
were holding meetings in legislative
halls in many of the states and in the
British isles.
Senator William Hendricks of In
diana, in speech following, stated
that there were 5000 temperance So
Y I'cieties in existence in the United
States.
Representative Henry Laurens
! Pinckney of South Carolina. to the
4 text of resolution by him con-
demning the use of ardent spirits in
the navy, made vigorous speech, in
part of which he said:
While the government has no
authority to interfere, it has no right
to encourage or increase intemper-
ance by. indirect premiums or direct
temptation. In other words, it has
no right to throw the weight of its
influence and authority into the scale
of intemperance, causing the COM
munity to regard it as venial and
harmless thing, which is not only not
openly disapproved and reprobated by
the legislature of the union, but
actually encouraged by the policy and
countenance Of the government"
l. The speaker referred to the allow
.ance of grog to sailors, for which, of
course, an item of congressional ap-
preparation was provided. He COM
mended Secretary of War Cass for
elimina ting liquor from the army and
was hopeful that Secretary Levi
Woodbury. would do the same for the
navy. IN. vi
Among the speakers at this meeting
were Senators Samuel Bell of New
Hampshire, Thomas Ewing of Ohio,
!, Arnold Naudain of Delaware, Theo-
dore Frelinghuysen of New Jersey,
John Upton of Indiana, and Felix
Grundy Of Tennessee; Representa-
tives John Reed OF Massachusetts, the
then father of the house," Daniel
| Wardell of New York, Elisha Whit
tlesey of New Jersey, Eleuthious
Cooke OF Pennsylvania, William w.
Ellsworth of Connecticut, one of twin
sons of Oliver Ellsworth; Lewis
| Condict of New Jersey and James NJ.
Wayne of Georgia, subsequently
many years a member of the United