A “Degraded” Habit

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Jul 1, 1903

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 29, No. 26.

A “Degraded” Habit.

In an address before the State Bankers’ Convention at Topeka, Kansas, Capt. Joseph Waters is reported to have said: “Between the business exactions of the great employers and the prohibitory law, I care not which or both, or when or where or by whom, the habit of drinking whisky in Kansas has been degraded. When a man on tip-toes goes after dark, down a dark alley, in a stable, closes the door, locks it, puts the key in his pocket, then moseys up the ladder, pulls the ladder up after him, closes the trap-door, goes to the darkest corner of the hay-mow and takes a snip from behind a pile of hay, education beyond the kindergarten period or primary class has got its work in on that man.” It is a good thing that in some localities the “habit” has been “degraded.” It is but a just penalty and a fair retribution, for the “habit” has been degrading and destroying human beings—body and soul—for many centuries. There is need for further degradation all over the land.