DRINK AND SOCIAL REFORM.

Taranaki Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 12865, 25 May 1905, Page 8

DRINK AND SOCIAL REFORM.

:■ To the Editor, Sir/— lf you will grant me a short reply to Mr Loan's note, I would Erst point out that those who belong lo the safcue school of economic roforjm as Ido are not so much for 'helping men as for helping them to help themselves, by restoring to them the opportunities of which they are bj&ing robbed, and personally I have no theory for the speedy reformation of the class he refers to, who make beasts of themselves, whether their wages are high or low, and I fail to see how any arbitrary measure can restore a strong- will power, in them. The only track is the long-plodding track of self-control, which we followed to obtain our virtues. As a practical reformer I would, like that word "theory'? dearly uoderstood. If it has a literal meaning at all, then it means, a forecast of a fact to occur, or the words of practice; there is no such thing as a good theory that will not work in practice, because practice finally proves the theory. 1 atoi not a builder of theories, beoause I know that what is not practical is not theoretical; although it may appear so. That is only because of man's inability to calculate all the items that are connected therewith. Practice does it with unerring accuracy. The most we can do is to find out things, discover laws and forces, and obey thfira. If by the <best thought my mind can supply I found out that drink is not the principal cause of human sufferijtg and want, and others think they find out vice versa,, then the test of prohil|iti(on is the test of who is right in theory. Let the Prohibitionist bufnp his head into facts as the Arbitration Court believers have done, and what your humble servant says will be proved.— l am, etc., iE. STEVENSON..