mBmmmmammmBmmmamm

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

Chap.' .-.. Copyright No.

Slielf_fc/_V~5 1 3 b

. -.03

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

_

.J m .

INTEMPERANCE

AND THE

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

By CHARLES FFRENCH O'CONNOR.

"The drunkard shall not obtain the kingdom of God." — St. Paul,

Gal. V. *« He that is temperate shall prolong

life."—Eccles.

1895. j U

1&CL

•0*

COPYRIGHT, 1895,

BY

Charles Ffrench O'Connor.

■ INTEMPERANCE

AND THE

TEMPERANCE CAUSE

The drunkard shall not obtain the kingdom of God." — St. Paul, Gal, V. * ' He that is temperate shall prolong Kltr—Eccles.

The vice of intemperance is so afflictive, an- noying, and unjust, not only to the intemperate himself, but to the temperate, that means are taken to remove it. There is no right to do so by coercion other than by just law, for more harm than good comes from it.

It is an error to think that intemperance is the cause of all other crime. It is not, like money, "the root of all evil," and this say is mistaken to mean, there is no evil that money is not the cause of. Wine and liquor are not evil in themselves, for they come directly or indirectly from God, and the evil from them is from their abuse, or adulteration. The Scripture

— 4 —

speaks of the great good of wine, as well as of its great bad from abuse, and the medical pro- fession gives its testimony the same. The Scripture also says, " sober drinking is health to soul and body. " — Eccles. xxxi: 37. And if it did not say so, the truth is that what is good for the one is good for the other. St. Paul says, 44 whether you eat or drink, or whatsoever else you do, do all to the glory of God." — / Cor. x: 31. The observance of that alone would not only cause temperance, but greatly perfect us.

A temperate use of intoxicating drink incites to noble doing, but as intoxicating drink is sensual, and the intellectual is superior to the sensual, it is only by the temperate use of in- toxicating drink that there is the good and true enjoyment of it. And if the intemperate will not be temperate, he is no man, he sins, is mean, despicable, and unworthy of the good drink. The prevention of the good of wine and liquor is not only by the intemperate, but by those who err as to intemperance.

Intoxicating drink causes good spirits, and this is one of the reasons why it is taken. It is a luxury, and therefore it should be taken with wisdom. When taken to excess it mars or overcomes the intellect and causes a false pleasure which sometimes is bewitching, and

therefore intemperance is sin, and an illusion and delusion. And it is on account of this pleasure that the degenerate intemperate will not be temperate. But as the false pleasure is sin, it has no merit, and the true which has and which is greatly the better, is destroyed by it. "Oh! that a man would put an enemy in his mouth to steal away his brains." As intemper- ance is sin, religion is the only remedy for it, and how in common sense can what is not ac- cording to religion be so. It is impossible for an intemperate to be temperate without God, that is to say without religion ; and all temper- ance causes that were not so, failed.

As an instance of the efficacy of religion for intemperance, there is the prodigious and un- equalled success of the Very Reverend Theobald Matthew. As the intemperate knows he does wrong, and cannot govern himself, he should pray to God to help him, and if he will not be temperate, his intemperance, it is most likely, will be fatal to body and soul. No one can stand the thought of going to hell, but there are intemperates who do not care if they do go there. It is an error to think that we can be apart from God without being of the Devil. In a woman the evil of intemperance is to the utmost, and worse than in a man.

— 6-*

The intemperate are of all classes, and if the otherwise good and intelligent of them would reform, their influence to reform the others would be much. "When the wine is in, the wit is out," and there is more diversity of evil from intemperance than from any other vice. Intemperance is from pride, excites, is wicked, deranges and sometimes makes insane, conse- quently the intemperate is bold, fearless, auda- cious and scurrilous. He blasphemes, is quarrel- some, revengeful, violent, furious and like a demon, is malicious, heartless and brutal, in- jures, murders, or commits suicide. He is wayward, irresolute, a wanderer, unreasonable, inconveniences, annoys, and many of the intem- perate are artful, deceptive, and lie as to their intemperance. He teases, torments, is regard- less, reckless, noisy, insensible and causes dis- aster, is dirty and malodorous, but some of the intemperate are very cleanly. He is an intoler- able nuisance, and disgraces himself and others. He injures his body and mind, has bad judgment at times, even when sober, he prevents his getting employed, is foolish, wastes his money, is incompetent for profession or business, and in want or ruin. He weakens his constitution, is unable to stand much sickness, and soon dies, or has a sudden death, or dies from delirium

— 7 —

tremens. It is quite common for the catholic intemperate to die without the Sacraments. He causes to others frequent or constant care, solicitude, fear, dread, great suffering, agony, want, trouble, unhappiness, heart break, and death. And he has little or no discernment of that, and as to what he has, he is indifferent. "Oh! thou invisible spirit of wine, if thou hast no name to be known by, let us call thee Devil." The United States Government, the best of all governments, and most abused from dis- honesty, ignorance and incompetency, promotes the evil of intemperance because the tax on imported wines and liquors is high, and which causes bad ones to be made to sell at a less price and which also is high, because the poor and middle class who are temperate are deprived of the good, and who may need them in sick- ness or debility, or want them for pleasure and to cherish life, and thus the vampire govern- ment, by the political, drive many to intemper- ance, insanity or suicide. And because the law is not enforced as to every disorderly place where there is intemperance, if it was there would not be such a place. There can be ne- cessity to sell liquors on a Sunday, and if so there is no right to prevent the selling, unless there is fault given against just law. The Scrip-

— 8~

ture plainly shows that Sunday is not against necessity. God does not prevent to go to Hell, but the fanatics do as they think. Shakspeare says, "the man that has not music in his soul is fit for murder, stratagem, and spoils." He uses the word music in a general sense, and it is exemplified by the false government and fanatics even as to murder, because the prevention of the poor could cause death, though there was a medical allowance which could not be had.

There could be no law to prevent there being saloons, or to prevent a person from making a living by keeping one. The prevention would be the contrary of promoting temperance. At one time there was a law in New York to prevent the selling of liquor, but it was a dead letter. Unless there is fanaticism and despotism strong enough, it is impossible to prevent the sale of liquor. And a person's home where there is intemperance, is a bad place to keep liquor. Many of the intemperate will not steal anything except liquor, and if they have any scruple they think it too trivial to notice.

The revenues from excise and high license are immense, and if it was not for this which suits the rich they would be more taxed. Tax luxury, yes, but this should tax the rich more than the poor. What do the rich care if they pay the

highest prices for liquors, or they can buy at wholesale or import, should the temperate or intemperate be wronged in any way. In the revision of temperance bills, there is always wrong enough left to suit the political.

The people of the United States of America, though subject, are indirectly sovereign, and they should use their suffrage to prevent the injustice of the government by the political in any way. That would prevent the domination of the constitution by the political. The duty to State is grave and of the highest, and there- for the merit and honor of being its representa- tive, and the citizen who does not his duty to prevent an unjust representative, and have one who is good and competent, is worse than the unjust representative and unworthy of citizen- ship. There is evil enough which cannot be helped without that which can be, and the good and competent apart from party should concert against the unjust politicians and see that they have nothing to do with their doing. That is the way to oppose them, it being the same way as they oppose, and therefor there is no need of revolution in this nation. Party nor State consti- tution should not be contrary to the Federal Place, pocket, and peculation are not pa- triotism. As to destruction, history does not

— 10 —

repeat itself as to this nation, because the politi- cal evil from incompetency, dishonesty, and the nation being praised keep it together, but it may yet dismember. When it was in its integrity, it was thought that all the prin- cipal nations of the world would become the same. It can only be maintained by the true blue.

A right government is a republic, and when the people of a despotic government want to change to such, they must not think that the United States Government, the best of all governments, is not so, because it is abused. It is from the people, and when not abused it can prevent anything to the contrary of it.

I notice one of the injustices to the intemper- ate. There is no right to arrest one who is but slightly intemperate and who does not break the law, though followed by a disorderly crowd of boys and girls. He occasions the disorder, but is not the cause of it. It is the crowd that is disorderly, not he. The good and intelligent policeman is like the good soldier, noble, manly, gentlemanly, honest, and of great merit, is ever discriminate to make an arrest. The govern- ment has only the right to punish to maintain the community, otherwise it is despotic, because God himself punishes us here or hereafter.

— 11 —

What is bad for temperance, religion, or other thing, is the erroneous assertion of him, ec- clesiast or secular, who is of note or distinction, being believed by him who should determine for himself, or be neutral. And of the two the latter is the worst, for the former has not com- mon sense, and the latter may have, but does not use it. We must go by truth, and not by self or another.

I object to a pledge as a general one which states the quantity to take, because it may be too little, causing unnecessary abstinence, dis- agreeable privation, and perhaps the pledge to be broken, or it may be too much if taken at once. Because those accustomed to stimulant can take a larger quantity than those who are not, without intemperance. Because as consti- tutions differ, so does the quantity to take, and because by nature, conscience, experience and common sense we can tell if we are going to take too much, or should not take it at all, the same as in eating, and if this was not so there would be no accountability. The pledge of the Reverend Felix Varela, who was saintly, highly intelligent, and able, is the correct one. It is to be temperate, and if necessary to abstain entirely. It was attacked, and he vindicated it. The person who cannot take intoxicating drink

— 12 —

temperately should not take it at all, because it is best for him, and his intemperance is worse than that of the intemperate who could use it temperately if he would.

Company is very dangerous to temperance where it is likely to cause to drink too much, and which is easily yielded to, through pride of human respect. When enough has been taken, the invitation to drink must be resolutely de- clined, or the company avoided. As the noble horse will not drink what is unclean, or not drink if it does not want to, should a man drink what is bad for him, or drink if he does not want to, and be inferior to a horse ? The in- temperate should not be prevented in any way from being temperate by the invisible Devil who ever seeks to destroy us in some way. The Scripture says, uwe are a spectacle to Heaven and Earth/' and we should not give scandal. If there is any hardness to become temperate, it can be eased by weaning, to drink less at a time, or to weaken, or to change to a less stimu- lant, or other than alcoholic, or to take the mind from drink, and which may be easier done by occupation or diversion. If the intemperate would abstain in mortification, he would become temperate, such being the great virtue of self- denial.

— 13 —

Temperance means the use of what there can be intemperance with, and wine and liquor have ever been, and ever will be temperately used in the highest civilization which is christian. Still, as there is great danger from them to many, it is most wise for them to be moderate in their use, or not to use them at all. St. John the Baptist in his wisdom took no intoxicating drink.

Intemperance is in all classes, and there is nothing more deplorable than to see an intem- perate who otherwise is good and interesting and more or less talented, injuring or destroying himself or herself for time and eternity. And there is nothing more meritorius than to con- vert such a one, it being not only for God, but for the intemperate himself and others. Oh! that all those who have not experienced the evil of intemperance, could realize its dreadfulness and were as desirous and zealous for temperance as those who are. I wish and hope and pray that the intemperate, as the matter is his own, will value for himself and others the good of temperance, and have the common sense, manli- ness and goodness for the love of God and him- self, and others, to take the good advice, or to determine himself, to become immediately tem- perate with or without stimulant, resolutely

— H —

bearing his self-denial till he has conquered his inordinateness. And having done so, he frees himself from the danger of loosing his soul, and has the proper use and enjoyment of his faculties for the design of God in him, and causes peace, joy, love and happiness for himself and others, and the respect and admiration of Heaven and Earth.

jB?™r»Hr.

1

INTEMPERANCE

I

i i

AND THE

TEMPERANCE CAUSE.

[pi i

By CHARLES FFRENCH O'COHNOR.

"T^ drunkard shall not obtain the kingdom of God." — 5?. Paul, Gal. V. "-He that is temperate shall prolong m life."—Eccles.

1

I

ne:w YORK. 1895.

1 I

1

—

mSHSSLSE CONGRESS

0027331 670 A