THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION IN THE UNITED STATES.

Evening Star, Issue 9830, 19 October 1895, Page 1 (Supplement)

THE TEMPERANCE QUESTION IN THE UNITED STATES.

[By Ulysses.]

The official position of the Roman Catholic Church in America on temperance is given in sections 260-3 of tho ' Acta et Decreta' of the Plenary Council at Baltimore, under a special heading of ' De Societatibus ad Ternperantiam Promovendam,' the substauce of which is here given. After stating that the abuse of intoxicating drinks is the cause of evils much to be deplored, and that this excess is constant excitement to sin and the fruitful source of misery, that it ruins numberless households' and destroys multitudes of souls, the Council proceed to declare that this offence is frequent among Catholics, that its prevalence is a scandal to non-Catholics and an obstacle to their conversion, and that therefore the utmost pains must be taken to extirpate it. Therefore, priests are bidden to persistently denounce the evils of intemperance and the occasion of it. Then they are to commeud the practice of total abstinence, and total abstineuce societies are approved by name as worthy of great praise and support. Then follows a .remarkable utterance, which I append in full:—

We also admonish our faithful who make a business of intoxicating liquors that they seriously consider with how many and how great dangers their business is encompassed, though not in itself forbidden. If they can find a more respectable way of livelihood let them do it. If not, let them take the greatest pains tq avoid for themselves and others the occasions of sin. Let them not sell drink to minors, nor to those who they have reason to believe will use it to excess. Let them keep their saloons shut on the Lord's Day, and at no time let them allow blasphemies, oaths, or lewd language to be uttered in the walls of their shop 3. And if, by any fault or connivance of theirs, religion is disgraced and men are ruined, let them know that there is a Judge in Heaven who will certainly exact of them the severest punishment.

This decree was promulgated eleven years ago. To us who are outside, but deeply interested, looking at it racially, I find that the chief opposition to temperance laws and temperance conviction comes from the Irish and Germans. Looking at it religiously, it is from the Romau Catholics and the Lutherans. If we could only convert the Lutheran and Catholic Germans and the Irish Roman Catholics in our country to total abstinence, the task of enforcing Prohibition laws and the decent and proper observance of the Christian Sabbath would be easy. It was the Catholic Total Abstinence Union which was commended by name in the Plenary Council's decree. The twentyfifth anniversary of this organisation was held in New York city quite recently. Ten thousand delegate representatives were present from all parts of the country, and their utterances were earnest and radical enough to warm the hearts of teetotallers and Prohibitionists of every degree. The Papal Legate (Satolli) favored them with his presence, aud Archbishop Corrigan presiderl. Of the temper of the assembly there could be no doubt. Whenever a man spoke in favor of the saloon or against Prohibition he was promptly hissed off the stage. Arch- I bishop Ireland's name was cheered to fhe,. echo, without regard for the feelings of the presiding archbishop. They gave a warm welcome to the women, some of whom were acceptable speakers. Father Zurchfer, a German priest of Buffalo, took part in one of the seusational incidents of the meeting. He spread before the audience a number of Catholic papers, in which he showed liquor advertisements side by side with the portraits of Archbishops Corrigan and Ireland, and led off an attack upon a German Benedictine abbey in the State of Pennsylvania -\ which makes and sells beer. He had the sympathy of his auditors, who cheered him. The following resolutions were adopted :

Whereas, the Catholic Church in the United .States is doing everything iu its power to lessen the evils of intemperance; and. Whereas, she has, through her bishops m Plenary Council assembled, approved and heartily commended the laudable .practice of total abstinence; and, Whereas, to avoid all the cavilling from any source, the Holy Father commended the prelates of the United States for their action on the question of temperance; therefore, be it Resolved—That the Catholic Total Abstinence j Union of America, in its twenty-fifth annual convention, assembled in New York, reiterates its ' loyal obedience to the holy cause of total abstinence. Resolved-That, with the advice of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, we ourselves totally abstain from the use of intoxicating drink in order that we may thereby with.good grace ask our co-religionists to follow.our example. Resolved-That the advice given by the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, urging Catholics to get out and keep out of the saloon business be again reiterated by this convention. Resolved—That we give the weight of our influence to every legitimate movement that tends to abolish the sale of intoxicants on the ford's Day, and we urge the complete closing of saloons on Sunday, and on Saturday night at as early an hour as possible. ' . ' Resolved—That we urge everywhere by votes and influence the enactment of such laws as the " screen law," the " single entrance law," and all laws which may in any way help toward the strict enforcement of the present excise laws, Whereas there is one platform upon which all Americans can stand, irrespective of religious belief namely, the platform of temperance; therefore be it - Resolved--That we co-operate with our nonCatholic fellow-citizens in every legitimate effort to restrict the evils of intemperance. Resolved—That we are pleased to notice the absence of intoxicants at many of the.banquets given by Catholics, and we respectfully request Catholic societies to discontinue the use of liquors at their entertainments. ~„,,. Resolved—That we respectfully request Catholic journals to aid our cause by refusing to publish liquor advertisements. ~.,., Resolved—That we urge the formation of total abstineuce societies among women, girls, and boys, and we urge our male societies to give them every encouragement in their power. Resolved—That we have reason to thank God and rejoice on this day of our silver jubilee. For twenty-five years we have labored to promote the holy cause of total abstinence. Encouraged by the success that has attended our efforts in the past, we will continue our labors with even greater energy in the future. The German Lutheran Church in America, unfortunately, ia not in a condition to give an authoritative deliverance upon any question—least of all upon temperance. It is divided into too many subdivisions, having little or no conncxional interest with each other. "'■'■,, The General Synod, with 180,000 enrolled communicants, almost but not wholly En-glish-speaking people, in its deliverances and in its life has pronounced against the saloon and against Sabbath desecration. Saloon-keepers and intemperate men are not tolerated in its communion. The General Council, with a membership of 300,000, are more conservative and less agressive, but yet favor a closed saloon ; and the sanctity of the Sabbath day. The United Svnod South, with a membership.of 40,000, mostly in the Southern States, are good people, but lag behind towards the rear of the procession. The "Missouri Synod, with a membership of 400,00Qj who are almost wholly German — honest," law-abiding, industrious, and thrifty coming recently from Europe, where beer flows like water, and where the Sabbath has degenerated into a holiday, are rapidly becoming Americanised, and will in the near future fejelthe impulse of their sisteg churches. ; It is a fact that the liquor business in this country is rapidly passing out of the hands of the Irish into those of the Germans. The latter are our great brewers and great beer drinkers. This fact directs the attention of reform and evangelising agencies to the stronghold of the enemy. With the ad-

tempwuioe standard of.fche Qelrmans and Irish we »hall not only have a Sabbath-day "closing of the'qaloons, but a seven-day closing. ' The attitude of the Democratic party of lowa towards Prohibition this year has two significant features. First, silence as to whether or not the Scaite Legislature will this- coming winter submit a prohibitory amendment of the Constitution to the people for approval or rejection; Second, that the only part of the people of lowa whose view they espouse, and whose cause they take up, ■is'that part of the people who want to be in the liquor business without compliance to law of any sort. It is amazing that a great party should take up such a position. This question in lowa is beyond debate. It is either State-wide prohibition or give the present modified law a fair trial. There are no very large cities in lowa. It is an agricultural State, and the farmers are temperance people. They will not elect liquor men to represent them in the Legislature. There is no tendency towards a | license law. Foreign immigration has almost wholly ceased. In town and country the tendency is steadily and certainly towards temperance. , A few weeks ago the Chicago, Milwaukee, ahd St. Paul Railway Company, one of the largest and most efficient railway corporations of the country, summarily discharged from its service forty-Bix locomotive engineers and firemen, nine conductors, and eighteen brakemen because they drank liquors and frequented the saloons. This is a potential sort of a temperance movement. In this age of machinery men must stop drinking and keep sober. Man may have the right to control his own life and his own conduct, but when he is respon-, sible for the lives and safety of other people the situation changes. Then he must do whaj; the duties of that position demand. Management of machinery also demands that there shall be no drunkenness.

The attitude of the Republican party towards temperance and prohibition in lowa, sb far as honesty of purpose is concerned, is very little improvement on that ofrthe Democrats. The party leaders care more for votes than for principles. But the pdljple are for temperance, no matter what their party affiliation may be. When the I proposed Prohibition amendment of the State Constitution is submitted to the people oii its merits it will be approved by 100,000 of a majority instead of 30,000. • A* WAR. In the state of Indiaua a temperance , law, called the Nicholson law, is in force, but it is working in a direction opposite to that which was intended or expected. One of its provisions requires that in case the majority of the legal voters in a town or ward remonstrate against the granting of a saloon license it shall be withheld for two years. The effect is that when a license is asked for those opposed to it start out to secure the required protest from a majority of the legal voters. In some cases the ineaus used to secure the requisite number of name 3 have involved threats, boycotts, aud social ostracism. The temperance men and women boycott the baker, the butcher, or the grocer who refuses to sign the protest. In this way local animosities are stirred up and the peace of neighborhoods is disturbed.

The first result of this measure has been to induce temperance and good, well-mean-ing people to resort to the boycott, a weapon which in a great moral controversy cuts both ways, and is prolific of dissensions that disturb the public peace.