THE EVILS OF ALL INTEMPERANCE.
By John G. Woolley
“The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.” Here is what comes of having a Bible written by “holy [but unscientific] men of old,” simply “as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Many subjects no doubt could be accurately treated that way; but no man who is not a “Ph.D.” ought to monkey with sociology. It has been definitely ascertained by up-to-date men of science who have been to Berlin and learned how not to be “moved” by anything human—and of course much less by anything so empiric as the divine—that this bit of Holy Writ is “wrong end to;” that, in fact, the pauper comes to drunkenness; and, but for strong, benevolent combinations of employers, would come to gluttony also. The certainty of this order amounts really to a demonstration; for the inmates of county “poorhouses” have been canvassed and have admitted it—notwithstanding their well-known natural modesty about permitting their stories to reflect credit, or bring sympathy, upon themselves. It follows, necessarily, that the beverage liquor traffic ought not to be abolished; for since the pauper comes to drunkenness, as has been shown, it would be an insult to science if, in the face of the fact, the saloon should be closed. On the other hand, if we simply abolish poverty, we shall avoid inconsistency and the powerful opposition of the saloon; for it stands to reason that it could not complain if it were left free to “work” the people for its present income of twelve hundred millions per annum, with the prospect, in addition, of swelling its receipts by the increase of the general prosperity. But I presume that, strange as it is, the newspaper for which these comments are written has a large, belated constituency who believe that the Bible was written right; and perhaps I ought to concede to them a brief review of the topic from that point of view. Who hath wo? who hath sorrow? who hath contentions? who hath babbling? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? whose eyes behold strange women? whose heart uttereth perverse things? who lies down in the midst of the sea? who lies down on the top of a mast? who is stricken and does not know it? who is beaten and does not feel? who hunts ruin for himself and all of his?—They that tarry long at the wine. And if you believe the Bible to be true—and I confess that to an unscientific mind there is some evidence that it is—then intemperance is the well-hole of a winding stairway, whence descend
poverty,
idleness,
rags,
wo,
sorrow,
quarrels,
babbling
wounds,
red eyes,
prostitution,
fear,
wreck,
imbecility,
insensibility,
fixity,
which is the newel post of hell. There is no hand rail down that flight, and anywhere, over the edge, is crime. So, then, it is clear enough that if you believe the Bible, the saloon ought to be abolished, and if that is so, it is the most important issue on the hands of every Christian government. Or if you believe the church—but there! nobody believes the church. What, nobody?—Hardly anybody.—John G. Woolley, in N. Y. Voice.