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The Commoner
VOL. 15, NO. 5
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A PERFECTLY CORKING TIME!
Washington Evening Star.
Mr. Bryan's New York Meeting
From the New York World, May 1,
19153
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Seven hundred and fifty fewer peo
ple than Carnegie hall will seat gath
ered there last night to heur Secre
tary of State Bryan talk temperance
at the second meeting of the National
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O N 45
B
Abstainers Union. The planned-for
overflow meetings in Calvary Bap
tist church, across Fifty-seventh
street, didn't have to be held.
There was, however, no lack of
cordial appreciation among the 2,350
men and women, boys and girls, who
waved a Chautauqua salute as Mr.
Bryan, wearing a wrinkled alpaca
sack coat began his hour's talk. They
gave generously when a collection
was taken toward making the new
pledge-signing movement national in
its extent. Most of them, it seemed,
signed the pledges that ushers dis
tributed. Agrees to Sign With Pledge Takers
Many more, officers of the union
expect, will sign pledges during the
next few days, for there was a quick
ening of interest when Mr. Bryan
agreed to attest as witness any pledge
that was submitted to him.
"I have signed with the pledce-
taker," he explained, "every time I
could, and I'll do it to-night, for as
many as I can. But if I don't have
time to do it here send your pledges
to mo at Washington and I'll spend
Sunday signing them with you."
Secretary Bryan addressed the
union's first meeting in Philadelphia
on March 15. About half the 12,00))
men there present signed cards at the
meeting. Since that time the num
ber has grown to nearly 25.000. and
perhaps 10,000 of these sent in their
cards to Washington, Major J. J.
Dickinson, who accompanied Mr.
Bryan from the capital last night,
wouldn't 'even try to estimate hoV
many times his chief has taken the
pledge within the past year.
Np announcement was made of the
number of signers last night.
Former Representative W. S. Ben
net presided at the meeting. The
Right Rev. Frederick Courtney made
an opening prayer, the Rev Rufus W.
Miller told the plans and hopes of the
union and the Rev. C. F. Reipner
stirred the first applause by saying:
"Total abstainers are no longer
fanatics. The Pennsylvania railroad
is going to sweep its bar out of its
station as soon as the license it now
has expires."
High School Girls Cheer Him
Booker T. Washington was among
those whoat on the platform, and
before the' meeting closed he made a
little speech. Mrs. Bryan was there
too, smiling n a box with Mrs. Henry
L-. Stimson, Mrs. M. E. Loomis, Mr.
and Mrs. Nathan Straus and H.
Grant Straus. Excellent music was
furnished by the orchestra from De
Witt Clinton high school, under Jos
eph P. Donnelly, and another group
of Clinton boys yelled "Bryan, Bryan,
Bryan!" for a tiger till a crowd of
girls from Wadleigh were moved to
cheer also.
A surprising number of Japanese
was included among the delegations
from Columbia, New York university,
City college, Brooklyn Polytechnic
institute and Union and General The
ological seminaries. Arnold A. Mow5
bray, chairman of the press commit
tee, said that twenty-five "Tammany
men from the Fourteenth district"
were in the hall, but it wasn't pos
sible to identify them from wherp
the reporters sat.
A letter from Cardinal Gibbons to
J. Jarden Guenther, associate secre
tary of the union, was read before
Mr. Bryan spoke, the prelate saying:
"I feel that I must congratulate
those who have the privilege to hear
Mr. Bryan on this occasion. For the
subject, temperance, is one in which
he is deeply interested, and one in
which he has good opportunity to
use that charming oratorical power
with which he has been gifted. I
trust that he will inspire many of his
audience with the love of temperance
in all things." . ,
Mr." Bryan began his address with
a statement of some of the things
that might be done with the $2,500,-
000,000 spent annually for liquor in
this country. He pictured the sum
as 50 per cent greater than the value
of the corn crop, and more than one
quarter as great as the annual prod
uce of the 268,000 manufacturing
establishments of the nation. Each
year it would, he said, build from
ocean to ocean 100 macadam roads
sixteen feet wide and seven inches
deep.
of intoxicating liquor. This ont,
in itself to be sufficient. Ught
Bad for Body, Mind, and Morals
"But the case against alcohol doe
not, however, rest upon negative ar
guments. The use of alcohol is dis
tinctly and undeniably harmful' it
impairs the strength of the body
even when taken in small quantiter
it injuriously affects the mind and it
undermines the morals. If, by con
sent, we try to protect the young
man fr6m the use of alcohol until
he is twenty-one, is not the presumn.
tion strongly against the use of al
cohol after one reaches maturity?
"Drink leads to idleness. No era
ployer cares to put business in the
hands of a tippler; the man who
drinks can not safely be trusted with
the care of life or property. Read
the advertisements in the want col
umns. Did you ever see one like this:
'Wanted, a good moderate drinker
for a responsible position?' No sa
loon keener would stand snnnsnr fm.
such an advertisement, for total ab
stinence is a virtue even behind the
bar.
"There has been a growing dispo
sition in this country, and through
out the world, to emphasize the evils
of strong drink, but even the most
enthusiastic advocates of temperance
have been surprised at the ghastly
light the war in Europe has throwu
upon the subject.
"It has been found that patriotism
patriotism, that compelling force
which throughout the ages has led
men to offer their lives for their
countries is no match for the appe
tite which alcohol cultivates in its
victims. Loyalty to Bacchus, Gam
brinus and Barleycorn is greater
than loyalty to king, or kaiser, or
czar.
"The use of drink has been found
to be so destructive of efficiency that
the belligerent governments, not on
moral, but purely economic grounds,
have been compelled to resort to re
strictive measures.
"The aeroplane that drops its bomb
from above, the submarine whicn
shoots its torpedo from below are
Would Lift the "Mud Embargo"
"The amount now spent in pav
ing the road to perdition," he said,
"would, if spent for good roads, soon
lift the mud embargo from the entire
country."
A hint of Mr. Bryan's political at
titude toward the liquor question
came when he said:
"All Who labor in t.liA nnnso rf
temperance seek to lessen the use of
intoxicating liquor, some by persuad
ing people not to drink, some by urg
ing laws which will prevent the man
ufacture and sale of liquor, while
still others divide their energies be
tween the two lines of work.
"As for myself, while I have defi
nite VieWS as to thfi monno 1of
should be employed in solving the
legislative problem presented by the
liquor traffic, I shall confine myself
tonight to the first line of argument
and appeal to those present, and to
those I may reach through the press,
to take up their position as individ
uals, on the side of total abstinence.
Why should the individual abstain
entirely from the use of intoxicating
liquor as a beverage?
"First, becauso both experience
and investigation show that no ad
vantage of any kind, physical, mental
v muiui, ia to De gained from the
I moderate, or even the occasional, use
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