Intemperance and the temperance cause

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.

Chap.' .-.. Copyright No.

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

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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

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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

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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

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AND THE

TEMPERANCE CAUSE.

[pi
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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.

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ne:w YORK.
1895.

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mSHSSLSE CONGRESS

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