Fifty years history of the temperance cause

Front matter

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ATTKF.1A' ITBItETMLiKE

SnD STING! m

Preface

In order to insure efficient action in any direction, it is highly important there should be a full understanding of all those things which have a practical bearing on the subject in hand. In general, there is a vague sort of recognition of the claims of Temperance — a thoughtless assent to their transcendent importance ; and yet there is a deplorable apathy and indifference among the mass of the people with reference to the whole matter. With a want of consideration, and perhaps a want of knowledge, they are, in great measure, ignorant of the gigantic proportions intemperance is assuming in the land, and the impending danger, in consequence, to all the dearest and best interests of humankind. They are not aware of the startling facts, which are as so many revelations of the power and extent of a mighty evil that is working ruin in society, and impoverishing and degrading, not only individuals and families, but even the nation itself. They do not know how long is the procession that is marching on under the black banner of a most determined foe, nor of the blight and desolation the enemy is spreading in its course. They are but slightly moved by the stirring appeals that are now and then made to them by a passing lecturer, for they have no intelligent appreciation of the broad, urgent, and pressing need for action. To meet this condition of the common people, is the design of the present volume, and in its preparation access has been had to the best and most reliable authorities of this country and of Europe.

It aims to give a faithful representation of the drinking system, in its every aspect. It shows what it does and must inevitably do in the case of any person who allows himself

4 PREFACE.

to come under the influence of it, in any degree. It gives a record of the alarming results that attend it, and pictures the fearful end of the tippler — darkly shaded, indeed, but true, as. too many can testify. The story needs to be told ; told until the people — as the heart of one man — shall awake to the tremendous issues, and be moved to take part in the stern conflict ; told until the eyes and ears of all mankind shall be open to see and hear the sights and sounds that are associated with this phase of public and private life ; told until it shall reach the remotest hamlets, and inspire with courage and earnestness that shall be as a universally popular sentiment to resist the assaults of a dreaded invader. Temperance or Intemperance is the question. Shall the benignant reign of the one give us peace and prosperity, or the wasting desolation of the other be our grief and our curse ? The answer belongs to the people. Then, let none turn away fro'm these candid and impartial statements. Let no prejudice deter any one from a deliberate survey of the important work. Let no one shut his heart against the conviction these truths are calculated to awaken. It is a vital subject. It touches man's interest at every point. It appeals to every attribute of his nature, his affection, his honor, his ambition, his dignity, and as he regards his salvation, in all these and more, he should take heed to the call.

For such an end as this we would send this volume Into every family. We would introduce it into every home, and say to its inmates — it was meant for your highest weal ; take and read it. Let fathers and mothers give it to their sons as they go out into the world, and bid them ponder and practise ; so shall it be to them as a shield in the time of temptation, and fortify them in the hour of danger ; and thus there shall be a good beginning in the work of reform, that shall gladden the homes and hearts that are to add to the stability and glory of the American Republic.

J. E. STEBBINS.

Home of the Temperate,

Home of the Intemperate,

Drinking Punch and Flip,

Drinking Cider, -

Wine at Dinner, -

The Club Room, -

Billiard Saloon, -

Respectable Bar, -

The Groggery, -

Alms House and Potters-field,

Young Lady Offering Her Lover. Wine,

The Result,

German Beer Garden, - .

Wine at Twenty-one,

Whisky and Brandy at Twenty-eight,

All Kinds at Thirty-five, -

Healthful, -

Mo derate Drinking;

f Drunkards, -

Ulcerous,

Page.

Frontispiece.

Frontispiece.

- 33 33

- 63 63

- 63 63

- 63 63

- 75 75

- 97 - _ 108

- 108 108

- 108 108

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Delirium Tremens, - - - - - - - lOS^

Delirium Tremens, - - - - - - -113

The Five Points, - - - - - - - 129 ^

A New York Dancing Saloon, . - - - - 135

Signing the Pledge, ------- 145

Police Court, - - - - - - -173

Washingtonians, - - - ; - ^ . - _ 281

John B. Gough, - - - - - 309

Mother Stewart, - - - . - - - 309

First Call, or Laying Siege to Van Pelt's Saloon, - - - 345

Van Pelt Surrenders, ..•-._-._- - - - 351

Saloon Keeper Surrenders and Signs the Pledge, - - - - 421

Singing Outside the Saloon, - - - - 443

CHAPTER I. Intemperance — the Nation's Curse

OUR FAIR HERITAGE. THE CURSE UPON IT. NATURE AND EXTENT.

'UNITED STATES TAX. CAPITAL INVESTED. FIRST DISTILLATION.

DRINKING IN HIGH PLACES. ORDINATION BILLS. — FIRST SOCIE- TIES. — TOTAL ABSTINENCE. — THE CRISIS Page 17

CHAPTER II. Physiological View of Intemperance

AFFINITY OF NATURAL AND MORAL. — DEFACES THE HUMAN FORM. — THE DOCTOR'S EXPERIMENT. A PHILOSOPHER'S APHORISMS. ALCO- HOL NO PROTECTION AGAINST COLD. — ASSERTION OF AN ENGLISH SAILOR. — STATEMENT OF PROFESSOR SILLIMAN. DR. JEWETT's TES- TIMONY AS A MEDICINE 33

CHAPTER III. Intemperance as related to Heart and Intellect

RELATION OF MIND AND BODY. — KINGLY POWER OF INTELLECT. — DOOM OF TALENTED MEN. QUEEN CITY STATESMEN. THE WAN- DERING beggar. — powell's opinion. — epicurus. — hugh miller's

TESTIMONY. — THE MORAL NATURE. EFFECTS OF MORAL BLIGHT. 43

CHAPTER IV. Social and Religious Outlook

NO PART OF BEING UNTOUCHED. — HOME, THE HEART OF THE SOCIAL WORLD. — THE YOUNG MAN. — CASE IN WESTERN NEW YORK. — POV- ERTY NOT THE GREATEST CURSE. — LOSS TO SOCIETY. — BLIGHT UPON THOSE FACULTIES WHICH BUILD UP RELIGIOUS CHARACTER. 52

CHAPTER V. Origin of the Evil

MODERATE DRINKING. — EFFECT OF A SINGLE GLASS. — SUPPOSITION OF

ITS LIFE-LONG INFLUENCE. MODERATION INVOLVES THE GREATER

DANGER. THE MEETING. THE PAUPER'S STORYo — LITTLE BY

CHAPTER VI. What is the Stimulant?

CLEOPATRA. — THE FIRST STEP. — SOCIAL PARTY. — NEW YEAR'S CUS- TOM. — THE CREEK INDIAN. — ANECDOTE OF HENRY WILSON. — CHEM- ICAL TESTS. — PORT AND MADEIRA, SO CALLED. — WINE DEALER'S

CONFESSION. PROF. BUTLER'S TESTIMONY. — HORACE GREELEY'S. —

VOICE FROM PERSIA. — DR. HOLLAND. CALIFORNIAN IDEAS. — BIBLE

STAND-POINT

CHAPTER VII. Ale and Beer

MANKIND SEEK SELF-GRATIFICATION. — WILL BEER INTOXICATE.

"LOST OR STOLEN." — BEER OF GERMAN ORIGIN. — THE BEER-LOV- ING NEIGHBOR. — " THE LITTLE THING." — BEER BILL IN ENGLAND.

DUKE OF WELLINGTON. FRUIT OF INDULGENCE. BEER-BREWERS'

CONVICTION "

CHAPTER VIII. Rum and Brandy

STEPPING DOWNWARD. — TEMPERANCE PILLARS DISREGARDED. — WIFE'S METHOD OF REFORM. THREE STAGES OF DRINK. — ALCOHOLIC DE- RANGEMENT OF THE STOMACH OF THE BLOOD. — THE INEBRIATE'S

CONFESSION. — THE PHYSICIAN'S STORY. — RICH AND POOR ALIKE FALL. — WILKES BOOTH. — CASE OF DELIRIUM TREMENS. — THE MAN WHO THOUGHT HIMSELF SAFE. — THE MANIAC'S SHRIEK. . . .

CHAPTER IX. Where is it found?

ALCOHOLIC MISERY CANNOT BE PAINTED. — LOVE OF GAIN THE PRO- PELLING MOTIVE. — LORD CHESTERFIELD'S REMARK. — RUM SELLER'S TREATMENT OF AN OLD MAN. — THE COUNTRY TAVERN. — HOMES AND

IIAUNTS OF THE DRUNKARD. — FIVE POINTS. — GROCERS' NETS. — FREE LUNCH HOUSES. — FIRST-CLASS HOTELS. — CLUB-ROOMS. — EU- ROPEAN AND MODERN STYLE. — POWER OF EXAMPLE 120

CHAPTER X. Probability of Reform

HOPE A DIM STAR. — THE YOUNG LADY'S VICTIM. — INDIVIDUAL RE- FORM. — GOUGH. — J. HAWKINS. — CONFESSION OF A CONDEMNED CRIMINAL. — FATHER OF THE REV. NEWMAN HALL. — HOPELESSNESS OF THE WORK. — CONFESSION OF CHARLES LAMB. — SALVATION NOT IN RECLAIMING THE DRUNKARD, BUT IN SAVING YOUTH FROM BE- GINNING 141

CHAPTER XI. Blighting Effects upon Society

CELESTIAL INQUIRER. — CLAIMS OF THE LIQUOR FIEND. — INTEMPER- ANCE PRODUCES POVERTY. — INCIDENT WITH A BOSTON LECTURER.

FRUITFUL SOURCE OF PAUPERISM. — THE " SOCIAL EVIL " STIMU- LATES THE MURDEROUS PROPENSITY. — PROMPTS TO SUICIDE. — OPPOSES RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION. — INDUCES PROFANITY. — THE EN- EMY OF THE MISSIONARY. — THE INDIAN'S PROTEST. — APPEAL TO THE CHURCH 167

CHAPTER XII. National Loss

THEORY OF SOUND. — WHAT CONSTITUTES NATIONAL LIFE. — "BANK FOR LOSINGS." — PRODUCTIVE LABOR OF THE NATION LESSENED BY A DRINKING HABIT. — MOTIVES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY. — THE GRAIN- DESTROYING CURSE. — OBSTRUCTS TRADE AND COMMERCE. — IMPAIRS THE ARMY AND NAVY. — CURTAILS THE POWER OF LITERARY INSTI- TUTIONS. — AN IMAGINARY PICTURE 183

CHAPTER XIII. What is the Remedy?

NO "HAPPY VALLEY' BUT IN FANCY. — MORAL SUASION. — SIGNING THE PLEDGE. — SELF-RESPECT NEVER REGAINED. — GOUGH's CON- FESSION. — TOTAL ABSTINENCE THE ONLY TRUE REMEDY. — THE COURT CLERK. — TESTIMONY OF AN ENGLISH GENTLEMAN. — ANEC-

8 TABLE OE CONTENTS,

DOTE OF FARRAGUT. — BIBLE PRINCIPLES. — HOMES FOR INEBRI- ATES. — VIEWS OF MR. POMEROY. FROM THE PATIENT'S STAND- POINT. — CHAPLAIN'S STATEMENT. — LAW INTERFERENCE. . . . 195

CHAPTER XIV. Temperance Workers

GREAT PRINCIPLES IMMORTAL. — DR. BACON ON SLOW IDEAS. — THE FIRST PLEDGE. — THE EARLY AGITATION. — DR.' JUSTIN EDWARDS. — THE FEARLESS PREACHER. — HON. THEODORE FRELINGHUYSEN. — DR. JEWETT. — REV. THOMAS P. HUNT. — REV. JOHN PIERPONT. — JUDGE CROSBY. — " THE NOTT CONTROVERSY." — FATHER MATIIEW. — FA- THER TAYLOR. — WASHINGTONIANS. — JOHN B. GODGH 217

CHAPTER XV. Temperance Societies

UNITED ACTION, FIRST NATIONAL TEMPERANCE CONVENTION. VIEW

OF DR. HITCHCOCK. — MEETING AT FANEUIL HALL. — REV. JOHN MARSH. — WORLD'S TEMPERANCE CONVENTION AT LONDON. — TEM- PERANCE AND LIFE INSURANCE. SONS OF TEMPERANCE. — GOOD

TEMPLARS. THEIR ORIGIN. — FATHER BRISTOL. — TEMPLARS OF

HONOR AND TEMPERANCE. — EXTRACT FROM TEMPLARS' MANUAL. — RECHABITES. — GOOD SAMARITANS. — IS TEMPERANCE A FAILURE ? 237

CHAPTER XVI. Adulteration of Liquors

FASHION AND PURITY. — THE COLORADO SALOON KEEPER. — FOURCROY, THE FRENCH CHEMIST. — PROFESSOR LEE'S STATEMENT. — ASSER- TION OF DR. STORY. — STRYCHNINE. STRAMONIUM. — THE DEAD

FISHERMEN. — THE IRISH TOPERS. — COCCULUS. — CONFISCATION AT BOSTON. — ANALYTICAL OBSERVATIONS OF DR. COX. — PURCHASE OF NEW YORK PHYSICIANS. — " GUIDE " RECEIPTS. — THE DRUGGIST'S BRANDY. — RUM. — GIN. — BEER 258

CHAPTER XVII. License and Prohibition

GOOD AND EVIL AT WAR WITH EACH OTHER. — THE TWO LEADING PRIN- CIPLES. — FOR WHAT DO WE GRANT LICENSE? — MINER BEFORE THE MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATURE. — A HUNDRED DIFFERENT LAWS. —

DECLARATION OF DR. HUMPHREY. — CONSTABLE'S REPORT. — STATE BOARD OF CHARITIES. — WHAT ALBERT BARNES SAYS. — PROHIBITION

THE ONLY THING. — PROTECTIVE POWER. ENGLAND'S POSITION. —

NEAL DOW FATHER OF PROHIBITION. — TESTIMONY AS TO RESULTS. — CALL TO ACTION 274

CHAPTER XVIII. Legislative Action

TREE OF LIBERTY. — ANCIENT EMPIRES. — SUPPRESSION. — ORIGIN OF THE MAINE LAW. — MASSACHUSETTS LEGISLATION. — CONNECTICUT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE. — NEW YORK. — SPEECH OF HENRY WARD BEECHER. — OPPOSITION AT TAMMANY HALL. — LOCAL OPTION. —

CIVIL DAMAGE. — MEMORIAL TO CONGRESS. THE PLEADER'S WORDS.

— THE GREAT TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT 288

WOMEN'S TEMPERANCE CRUSADE.

INTRODUCTION. By Dio Lewis.

EARLY IMPRESSED WITH THE POWER OF PRAYER. — THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY LECTURES ON THE SUBJECT. — THE FIRST INSTANCES WHERE THIS POWER WAS TRIED UPON GROG SHOPS. — DIXON, ILL., AND BATTLE CREEK, MICH., DRIVE OUT THE DRAM SELLERS. — HOW THE MOVEMENT WAS SMOTHERED IN MANCHESTER, N. H. —

THE MOVEMENT ANALYZED. A PRAYER MEETING FROM BEGINNING

TO END. DIFFERENCE IN PRAYERS. — THE PLAN WHICH LARGE

CITIES SHOULD ADOPT 341

Chapter XIX

ORIGIN OF THE WOMAN S MOVEMENT. — THE NEW LAW FOR THE SUP- PRESSION OF INTEMPERANCE. — DIO LEWIS'S PLAN AT UILLSBORO'. — WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE THE NEXT PLACE. — HOW SLATER WAS SQUELCHED. — THE FIRST TABERNACLE. — SIEGE OF CHARLIE BECK, ETC 351

Chapter XX. Marvellous Spread Of The Movement. — Sudden Redemption Of

WILMINGTON. THE EPIDEMIC IN GREENFIELD. — TnE FAMOUS SIEGE

OF VAN PELT AT NEW VIENNA. — HIS WICKEDNESS AND HIS SURREN- DER. — THE GLOOMY HISTORY OF MORROW A GOOD TEMPERANCE

TRACT. ABOUT SELLING CORN TO DISTILLERS. — A WAYNESVILLE

PRAYER MEETING REPRODUCED. — A FORTY- NINE DAYS* SIEGE AT CORWIN 371

Chapter XXI Review Of The Legal Cases. — Were The Women Trespassers On

PRIVATE RIGHTS ? — THE CELEBRATED DUNN SUIT. THE WARNING,

THE TABERNACLE, AND THE INJUNCTION. OTHER FUTILE EFFORTS

TO ENJOIN THE WOMEN. — THE SCHEIDE INJUNCTION, AND HOW IT WAS DISSOLVED. LEGAL PROSECUTIONS AT LEBANON. — A COMPARI- SON OF THE LAW AND GOSPEL METHODS 393

Chapter XXII. A Chapter Of Temperance Laws. — The Celebrated Adair And

BAXTER LAWS. — OTHER MUNICIPAL AND STATE LEGISLATION. THE

" MCCONNELSVILLE ORDINANCE." — HOW FAR THE LAWS HAVE FAILED IN EXECUTION, AND THE REASONS THEREFOR. — LITIGATION

. UNDER THE ADAIR LAW. — DAMAGES SELDOM RECOVERED IN THE CITIES, BUT OFTEN IN THE COUNTRY DISTRICTS 410

Chapter XXIII

THE TRIUMPHAL MARCH OF DIO LEWIS. — THE MAN AND HIS OPINIONS. — THE XENIA MASS MEETING. — INAUGURATION OF THE WORK IN SPRING- FIELD, LEBANON, MOUNT VERNON, ETC. MOTHER STEWART, THE

SPRINGFIELD LEADER. — INTERVIEWS WITH SALOON KEEPERS. — WHY

THE MASS MEETING AT COLUMBUS FAILED. THANKSGIVING JUBILEE

AT WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE. THE TRANSFORMATION OF XENIA,

MOUNT VERNON, ETC. — REMARKABLE SURRENDER OF THE SHADES OF DEATH. . 425

CHAPTER XXIY.

THE MOVEMENT SPREADS TO INDIANA. — SHELBYVILLE THE FIRST POINT

ASSAILED. A JUVENILE SPREE THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE. — THE HOME

OF THE AUTHOR OF THE BAXTER LAW. — NOBLE WORK OF THE QUA- KER LADIES OF RICHMOND. SUDDEN UPRISING IN FORT WAYNE.

HOW THE INDIANAPOLIS WOMEN DIRECTED THEIR ENERGIES. — PRAYER AND THE BAXTER LAW JOIN HANDS

CHAPTER XXY.

THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT IN THE LARGE CITIES. — DIFFERENT CONDI- TIONS IN CITY AND COUNTRY. — THE EXPERIMENT FIRST TRIED IN DAYTON. — HEROISM OF THE PRAYING BANDS, AND INSULTING CON- DUCT OF THE MOB. — EXCITEMENT PRODUCED BY THE CAMPAIGN IN COLUMBUS. — DISCOURAGEMENTS FROM EVERY QUARTER. — PRAYER MEETING IN THE CAPITOL. — HOW THE MUNICIPAL CODE WAS SAVED INTACT. — THE CRUSADE IN CLEVELAND. — CINCINNATI A FORMIDABLE POINT. — THE THREE STAGES OF THE MOVEMENT THERE. — INTENSE OPPOSITION OF THE LIQUOR SELLERS AND GERMANS. — THE CHURCHES PUT TO GOOD USE. — PROCLAMATION OF THE MAYOR, ETC. . . . 461

CHAPTER XXVI

THE MOVEMENT IN THE EAST. — ON THE PACIFIC COAST. — IN THE SOUTH AND WEST. — WORCESTER THE TRIAL POINT IN NEW ENG-

LAND. — THE WESTERN PLAN DISCARDED. — THE INTEREST IN NEW TORK CITY. — INFLUENCE OP THE CRUSADE PELT IN CONGRESS. — DESCENT UPON THE MARYLAND LEGISLATURE. — GREAT RESULTS IN PHILADELPHIA. — DISGRACEFUL SCENE IN CHICAGO. — IN GENERAL. 486

CHAPTER XXVII.

LICENSE VS. PROHIBITION. — THE PROHIBITIONISTS TRY TO CAPTURE THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT. — LICENSE VIGOROUSLY OPPOSED BY THE LADIES. — THE PIRST GRAND CONVENTION IN COLUMBUS. — PROHI- BITION STATE CONVENTION AT MT. VERNON. — SECOND WOMAN'S CON- VENTION. — MASS MEETING IN CINCINNATI FOR AND AGAINST LICENSE. — GRAND WOMAN'S ANTI-LICENSE CONVENTION IN CINCINNATI. . . 4:97

CHAPTER XXVIII.

SOME ACCOUNT OF THE OPPOSITION TO THE WOMAN'S MOVEMENT. — BITTER ARTICLES AND ABSURD STORIES PUBLISHED IN THE GERMAN PAPERS. — A SPECIMEN OF BEER DRINKERS' RESOLUTIONS. — ATTI- TUDE OF THE CATHOLICS. — ARCHBISHOP PURCELL's LETTER. — A MANSFIELD PRIEST'S ANATHEMA. — DR. J. G. HOLLAND IN OPPOSI- TION, ETC., ETC 511

CHAPTER I. Intemperance — the Nation's Curse

OUR FAIR HERITAGE. — THE CURSE UPON IT. — NATURE AND EXTENT.

— UNITED STATES TAX. — CAPITAL INVESTED. — FIRST DISTILLATION.

— DRINKING IN HIGH PLACES. — ORDINATION BILLS. — FIRST SOCIE- TIES. — TOTAL ABSTINENCE. — THE CRISIS.

A fairer heritage is not to be desired than that which is given to the dweller upon American soil. Whether we look at the munificence of nature, or that which hath been wrought out by the agency of men in their onward march to civilization, we are compelled to say that ours is a goodly land.

From the forest-crowned hills of New England's remotest corner to the sunniest slopes on the Pacific shore, there are countless forms of beauty and grandeur to challenge admiration, besides an equal display of those things which develop into the more substantial utilities of life ; making the country what it is — rich and prosperous. The enthusiast in every direction may find in the rock-ribbed hills, the winding streams, the smiling meadows and broad prairies, the wild and picturesque valleys, the snow-clad mountains and the stretch of 2 < 17 > ocean, that which will meet his every want, foster his wildest ambition. The adventurer pushes on to new and unexplored regions, and at every step opens up new wonders to the gaze of the world.

The speculator, in his search for more of treasure, turns over the stones which hide the golden dust and the shining metals, and he finds that Nature opens her veins and rewards him with a lavish hand. They who would look above these material considerations, and desire the elevation of mankind in a higher sense, find their wishes met and their hopes strengthened in the universal diffusion of knowledge, the number and variety of the institutions which have for their object the accomplishment of these very ends.

The social, political, and religious advantages which are denied to so many of the nations of the earth, are open to the mass of the people ; and altogether, we are constrained to say, it is a goodly heritage. With these God-given conditions, that were designed to make mankind happier and better, we yet fail to come up to the requisite standard of goodness and virtue. The original paradise, we know, was dismantled by the fall, and since then there is no portion of the world without its dark features ; but enough was preserved from tho wreck and ruin to remain as a rich legacy, had it been cherished and kept as it should be. No one can look abroad at the present time, and not be painfully conscious that there is a fearful curse upon us — that there is a blighting influence at work — a canker eating into the very heart of society, and sapping the foundations of our dearest and best institutions. This gigantic evil, this cruel monster, is Intemperance ; and its frightfully increasing power and prevalence are enough to startle a world from its lethargy and indifference, and incite to active measures for the suppression of that which is becoming a terrible and wide-spread devastation. Were a foreign foe to invade our country, and arrogate to themselves superior power by dictating laws in opposition to those of our own beneficent government, with what earnest and decisive measures would they be met ! How strongly would the spirit be rebuked ! No means would be left untried to quell the disturbing forces. No sacrifice would be counted too dear to win the result, and restore harmony, by sending back the threatening invaders, and looking well to internal fortresses. But more to be dreaded than the wiliest and most determined external foe is this modern Giant of Intemperance that is stalking through the length and breadth of our land, leaving misery, poverty, crime, and every species of ruin in its path. The rebellious hordes may attempt invasion and raise their own issues, and all this will be met, for at the clarion call of the country thousands will rush to the scene of conflict, armed, equipped, and nerved for a mighty onset ; but the stronger and more seductive influences that are unceasingly at work, preying upon the vital interests of the nation, are left comparatively unchecked, and altogether without means commensurate with the necessities of the case. A want of consideration, it may be, is one prominent reason for the neglect. Many perhaps deplore it as it comes within their own narrow range of observation, perhaps within the circle of their acquaintance ; but a thoughtful, intelligent, broad view reveals the fact of a nation in peril — a nation in so much danger that it calls for the wisest and most careful- legislation, that, if possible, the imminent and threatened evil may be averted, and the cloud lifted that encircles us with so much of gloom.

Sad as the contemplation of these things may be, it is nevertheless a duty of every lover of his race, every citizen who is interested in maintaining a fair and prosperous condition of things in the country, to look the startling and alarming facts in the face, that they may be prepared for intelligent co-operation in the great work that needs to be done. To say nothing of the countless forms of wretchedness that is induced by the Demon of Drink, it is like a desolating scourge, that is impoverishing our land, robbing its inhabitants of everything that should be their glory and their pride. Estimates made with regard to the consumption of spirituous liquors are perfectly appalling. It has been said by one interested in these calculations that " there is a sufficient quantity of fermented and distilled liquor used in the United States, in one year, to fill a canal four feet deep, fourteen feet wide, and one hundred and twenty miles in length." " The liquor saloons and hotels of New York city" alone, he says, " if placed in opposite rows, would make a street like Broadway eleven miles in length." The statement is intensified in the assertion that " the places where intoxicating drinks are made and sold in this country, if placed in rows in direct lines, would make a street one hundred miles in length. If the victims of the rum traffic were there also, we should see a suicide at every mile, and a thousand funerals a day." Cculd "the drunkards of America," he continues, "be placed in procession five abreast, they would make an army one hundred miles in length." And all this vast company, under the influence of that which is nothing less than soul-destroying fire, are continually adding to the long catalogue of crimes which unrestrained human passion is capable of committing ; and thus it is that our public records are stained with the recital of the most atrocious and daring deeds of cruelty that fiendish malice can perpetrate. They carry the flaming torch of the incendiary in one hand, and the knife of the murderous assassin in the other ; and the fire and the bloodshed

ITS ASPECT ANT) ITS EEMEDY. 21

create a momentary sensation, and it has gone. Theoretically, public sentiment is against all this. It deplores the existence of so tremendous an evil ; but practically the great part of the people have been soothing themselves to sleep when they ought to have been awake and in earnest to meet the emergencies of the age in this direction.

A long, sad wail comes up from desolated homes, broken hearts, crushed hopes, and squandered fortunes, all over the land ; and with it there is borne on the breeze the despairing cry, "Is there no help for us?" To-day there seems a disposition to heed the cry, and haste to the rescue ; and thrice happy will be the day when these efforts shall be crowned with success. It is no trifling issue. It is not the work of any limited period of time, but an unceasing and persistent warfare waged against it will eventually do much towards subduing it. Philanthropists and good men need to be on the alert. Evil and selfish principles are active under the dominion of the enemy.

The investment of capital and the enlistment of energy in these departments are strikingly at variance with the enginery for good. In the single State of New York, where there are over seven thousand churches, there are over twenty-one thousand licensed dram-shops. There are no computations for the practical sorrows which flow out of this extended traffic. The sighs and tears, the groans, miseries, and woes, cannot be told ; yet statistics enable one to form some idea of what these may be, when* it is considered what the nature of the cause is which produces the effect. The amount of tax collected by the United States on spirits for a single year of recent date, with the amount in quantity which it represented, aggregated a money interest of over 1400,000,000. The corresponding tax upon beer for the same time, with the same representation, showed a money value of 1300,000,000 more. Added to this was the interest of the wine trade, of about $75,000,000. This, together with the import trade of liquors, beer, and wine, presented a total of nearly $165,000,000. This has nothing to do with the vast amount of capital invested in the requisite buildings and machinery to carry on the stupendous work, nor with the expense involved in the various demands in the prosecution of the trade. This swells the figures far beyond those we have given. Nor does the cost stop here. Back of all this is a story of loss which no money can supply. It has been said, if one were to take a final count of even this sum, at twenty thousand dollars a day, it would take more than" an ordinary lifetime to complete the task ; that, if it were in gold, and loaded in wagons, it would fill more than a thousand wagons of a ton each, and, if in silver, it would require more than fourteen thousand, while the procession would extend over seventy-five miles ; and all this would be but the representation of a single year of the terrible traffic.

It is estimated that there are those so confirmed in the habit of intemperance as to bear the name of drunkard, as to make an army of 600,000 in the United States ; 60,000 of these annually pass out of sight, filling dishonored graves, " unwept, unhonored, and unsung," because every trace of their manhood had been obliterated, and every promising hope blasted, by their mad career. Notwithstanding this lamentable fact, the places they knew are filled by others ; and the unbroken, ranks pursue their march, to re-enact the same fearful tragedies, and reach the same untimely end. Those who pander to the wants of this vast multitude are selfish and unscrupulous in their measures, and unceasingly ply their ruinous arts, regardless of the consequences. Others may seek to advance the moral and spiritual interests of the country, but they are everywhere met by this mighty obstacle.

The unequal contest is observed in the calculation that while 112,000,000 are annually spent in keeping watchmen upon the hills of Zion, 1700,000,000 are employed in ministering to the depraved appetites of men, inducing morbid conditions of mind and body, thus bringing into action a host of counteracting influences, which hinder the salvation of the country. Could the money that is appropriated in this direction be diverted from its accustomed channel, and go to swell the tide of human interests, churches, schools, colleges, libraries, and every benevolent institution would dot every portion of our land ; life and health giving streams would flow through all its borders ; and from countless homes and hearts would issue such a jubilant anthem as was never before sung upon earth.

It may be asked, " Is it worse now than in the days of old?" However that may be, it certainly ought to be better ; but a glimpse of the past may give some satisfaction to the propounder of such a question. Fashion and custom throw about these things, as in all others, their various forms at different periods, so that we find things regulated by another standard entirely as we go back.

A thousand years of the world passed away in blissful ignorance of the nature and power of alcohol. Even its existence, as extracted from fermented liquor, was unknown. Then the people of Arabia wrought out the discovery which has proved such a curse, not only to this nation., but to almost every other. When the process was first accomplished, " no one knew what this product of distillation was , nor was there any language that had for it even a name. They, however, called it alcohol, and that is now the chemical name in every country. The word had been previously used in Arabia as the name of a fine powder, which the ladies had used to give brilliancy to their complexions. It was soon ascertained to be a poison, and no one thought of using it for a drink. About the year 1230, it began to be used in the south of Europe as a medicine ; and from thence its use gradually extended for that purpose over various parts of the civilized world. Judging from its immediate effects," it was thought to be a valuable boon to the human race, cheering, strengthening, and prolonging existence, intensifying all the enjoyments of mankind, adding those that were hitherto unknown, until it came to be denominated "the water of life." The most extravagant things were written extolling its peculiar and wonderful properties. Said a writer of the times, in the quaint language of the period, " It sloweth age, it strengthened youth, it helpeth digestion, it abandoneth melancholie, it relisheth the heart, it lighteneth the mind, it quickeneth the spirits, it keepeth and preserveth the head from whirling, the eyes from dazzling, the tongue from lisping, the mouth from snaffling, the teeth from chattering, and the throat from rattling ; it keepeth the stomach from wambling, the heart from swelling, the hands from shivering, the sinews from shrinking, the veins from crumbling, the bones from aching, and the marrow from soaking."

With such ideas of its transcendent virtues, it is not strange that the indulgence of it as a beverage became more and more common. Ignorant of its physiological effects, and glorying in the exhilaration of the draught, many came to think they could not live without it. More and more extensive became its use ; and in 1581, during the Netherland war, we find the English giving it to their soldiers, to fit them better, as they supposed, for their work, and kindle anew their warlike propensities. It was not until the year 1700 that the people of our own country became interested in the matter of distillation, and then a distillery was opened at Boston. From that time the business rapidly increased, and spread through various parts of the United States, so that in 1815 the number of distilleries had come to be numbered by thousands, sending out millions of gallons of the fiery stimulant for a waiting people. " With the mass of the people," it is said, " distilleries were for a long time considered a blessing to the country. They furnished, it was thought, a ready market for the surplus grain ; they gave a new value to the orchard, whose superabundant fruit could at once be converted into brandy ; they brought ready employ to the carpenter, the cooper, the carrier, and furnished the nation with an excellent article, which it was importing from Holland and the West Indies at great cost. Pious men, deacons of churches, owned and labored in them, without loss of character. It is even affirmed that one of New England's strongest divines, filling one of the best pulpits in the land, ministering to the spiritual wants of a large congregation, was during the week employed in perfecting the operations and superintending the affairs of a distillery, which was adding to his material gain.