Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-17
JOHN BARLEYCORN
AND HIS MANY PARTS
His Ingenuity, His Cosmic Ca.
reer and His Seventh
and Twentieth Cen.
tury Setbacks

-- -
LNVEN bone-dry United States will have
- to take second place as temperance
league. Its predecessor--doubly its numerical
superior-dramatically sprang into being
some 1900 years ago, when a middle-aged
business man of Mecca proclaimed himself
the prophet Of God and started 10 prosely-
tie on behalf of new social habits as well
as new religion His cult, called Moham-
mechanism in his memory forbids the con-
sumption of all wines or other intoxi-
eating liquors. and today some 2oo.ooo,ooo
OF the faithful" observe that drastic
mandate. Backslders are Of course. dscov-
erable, but on the whole the temperance
tenet OF Islam has been observed with SIN
gular fidelity Arabia is socially as wen
rs physically dry, and the great Saraha is
both literally and metaphoricaliy desert
In other portions Of the Moslem world
abstinence involves the application OF con-
sderably more moral discipline. The millions
OF Mohammedans in India and Java dwell
under governments and among peoples not
officially affiliated with blue-ribbonism. So
far as the civil law is concerned. the Bonn
bay Benares or Batavian Moslem may drink
he will refrain.
IN Persia, however, a certain tolerance of
alcoholic stimulants has always characterized
the members of the Sunnite Mohanmedan
sect That this tendency is of long standing
is revealed in the graceful but bibulous auat-
rains OF tentnaking Omar. In the days of
the Rubaiyat the dry factions seemed to have
lacked full coercive or persuasive powers in
Ispahan. Persas neghbors the Turks how
ever, seem to be made Of sterner stuff. It
has been limited by blue-ribbon zealots that
the Ottoman's substantial qualities as a
fighter may in part be traced to this austerity.
1t cannot be said, however, that Moham-
mechanism, backward in many respects, even
at times fanatical and cruel has been in any
sense potent factor in the recent spread of
the prohibition movement. Economic reasons
have operated strongly. That they must have
been powerful is evidenced by the magni-
tude OF opposing forces sustained by the force
Of custom and tradition going back to the
hoariest antiquity.
WlNE. however is the true veteran, not
w spirits The latter, produced by distil-
lation. were unknown as beverages until the
twelfth century OF the Christian era. Even
today, save where people of northern races
or antecedents do congregate, they are not
;he ruling potation Scots. Brtishers Irish
Scandinavians and Americans have brought
whisky into both prominence and disfayor.
But ai amazing variety of other drinks
some of them OF extremely curious compost
tion--are TO be encountered elsewhere in the
wet communities. Drinking customs are
equally odd, and occasionally they furnish
knotty problems for the statistcians.
Thus France. Italy Spain and Portugal,
high up in the list of wine-growing and Wine
| consuming countries, do not rank in the same
order on the subject OF inebrety. The prac-
| tice OF duting wine with water is very
| prevalent in the first two nations named,
| while the latter rate among the soberest of
! realms for the reason that they generally
| prefer TO sell rather than drink their heaviest
wines
In the great vats OF Jerez-formerly spelled
Here's, whence our corruption "sherry"--s
stored gallon upon gallon Of that extremely
| 'heady" dessert wine much OF which is
| shipped to England. The Spaniard tipples
| with "aguard!ente," white brandy, ansettc
| Favored, but comparatively rarely 10 the in
| 'oxication point The lighter wines OF his
| land--Valdepenas, Manzanillo, Rioja white
| and red--are his table beverages. and sin,'-
| lar fairly nnocuous decoctions are quaffed
| in Portugal, whence most Of the really strong
native port is shipped abroad. 1t should be
added that both the Spaniard and the Por-
! tuguese are wont TO flavor their coffee with a
! dash of brandy, They seldom drink it
straight"
| TNRANCE, the greatest Of Wine producing
| l. nations. has also long cultivated foreign
markets. With the extinction OF absinthe, the
greatest peril to the nation has been elm.
mated. All the non-Moslem world had pur.
chased her fermented juices OF tho grape
! Germany. Notwithstanding the ascendancy OF
! beer, greedi!y coveted the most expensive
champagnes. The willy Gaul who sold it often
contented himself with imbiblng the much
mildcr and more "plebeian" variety known as
| "tisane"
Since Horace's day and before It also
| Italy has rejoced in her Falernlan -- now
called Falerno-has abhorred even dreaded
| spirits and has cung TO her delicate loca
wines-Orvieto, Lacrima Christi, Grignoilno
| Frascati, Capri-whose bouquet is so eva.
| nescen: in export, Chiant was. OF course. hel
trade wine. Her dessert wine. MARSHA, like
Madeira in it's island habitat. is usually
taken in small quantities.
| Potations fearsomely captoned, and her,
grouped together for that reason alone ar,
vodRa, pulque sake and kava. They all sug
gcst fervency but only the first mentioned IL
really fire-water. Wartime Russia threw of
its curse, but restored it under the regim,
OF peace" and Bolshevism. Its trag
potency is writ large in the grim annals o
that enignatic nation.
Mexico dotes on her sour smelling puque
dccoctIon from the cactus plant, but tn
rest Of the world envles her not az all. !
great deal is consumed in the land OF on