The Washington herald., 1922-10-21
By WILLIAM ]. BRYAN.

1sraels great prophet Isaiah 10
announcing a future Of blessed
ness:
The Lord hath anointed me to
preach good tidings unto the meek:
he hath sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty
to the captives. and the opening OF
the prison to them that are bound.
ITO proclaim the acceptable year
OF the Lord, and the day OF VEN
geance OF our God: to comfort all
that mourn;
To appoint unto them that
mourn In Zion, to give unto them
beauty for ashes. the oil of Joy
for mourning, the garment OF praise
for the spirit OF heaviness; that
they might be called trees of
Righteousness. the planting of the
Lord. that He might be glorified.
And they shall build the old
wastes. they shall raise UP the
former desolations, and they shall
repair the waste cities, the DESC
lations of many generations"
While temperance is not singled
out from other virtues and made
the basis of this prophecy and
promise, the language is appro-
pirate to describe the benefits that
will come with the abolition Of In
toxicants and the establishment
of world temperance. a cause that
will have the united thoughts and
prayers of Christians the world
over a week hence.
Cuse Of the Ares.
Alcohol has been curse
throughout the ages.
When Noah came out of the ark
he planted vineyard and drank
Of IL and was drunken. The Good
Book tells Us that his sons In
took a garment and.
walking backward that they Nigh:
not see their fathers nakedness,
spread the garment over him as
he lay drunk in his tent. And
Il was wine. not whisky. that made
Noah drunken-wine from his own
vineyard.
From that day down to this
there has not been q generation
that did not suffer from drunken
ness and not a land in which al
coho! was not extracted from some
thing and used to paralyze the
brains Of men.
Homer used the word Wine
bibber" as a term OF reproach.
Alexander the Great. In a drunken
quarrel at the table. killed a ia
vorite general who had saved his
life. 1banex. the modern Spanish
novelist, brings an Indictment
against the use of wine. in a re-
cent novel. and the same indict-
ment can be brought against the
use of beer.
1t is the alcohol in a drink that
does the harm. whatever name may
be given to the beverage. and its
effect Ii everywhere the same.
As found in nature. alcohol is
harmless; It is so diluted with other
elements that. when taken into the
stomach. it has no evil effect.
Whisky Is made largely from corn
and rye, the most wholesome Of
foods, and yet when alcohol is sep
arated from them and used by it
self it is destructive of body. mind
and soul. So with barley, grapes
and apples.
History's Indictment Of Drink.
God never made a human being
who, in a normal state, needed al
cohol. and He never made a human
being strong enough to begin the
use Of alcohol and be sure he would
not become its slave. II alcohol
is not needed and can never be
purged OF its dangerous qualities,
no excuse can be given for its use
as q beverage.
History shows that It Is the cause
of crime; its use brings poverty.
dsstitution and desperation. 1t not
only reduces man to want. but be-
numbs his moral sense so that his
conscience does not restrain his
hands from theft when hunger
ovsrwhelms him.
Drink SO degrades 4 son that he
will curse the mother who brought
him into the world.
1t so hardens the husband that
he will break every vow made at
the marriage altar.
1t SO brutalizes the father that he
will rob his children OF food and
beat them for complaining.
And yet, some men are so en-
shaved by love Of money that they
will manufacture and sell that
which they know will wreck ths
lives and homes Of their customers.
But this is not so hard to ex-