_DRINK_.


I have no intention of imitating those intemperate advocates of
temperance who frighten people by their thunderous and extravagant
denunciations; I leave high moral considerations on one side for the
present, and our discussion will be purely practical, and, if possible,
helpful. The duty of helpful men and women is not to rave about horrors
and failures and misfortunes, but to aim coolly at remedial measures;
and I am firmly convinced that such remedial measures can be employed
only by private effort. State interference is always to be deprecated;
individual action alone has power to better the condition of our
sorely-tempted race. With sorrow too keen for words, I hear of blighted
homes, intellects abased, children starved, careers wrecked, wives made
wretched, crime fostered; and I fully sympathize with the men and women
who are stung into wild speech by the sight of a curse that seems
all-powerful in Britain. But I prefer to cultivate a sedate and
scientific attitude of mind; I do not want to repeat catalogues of
evils; I want to point out ways whereby the intemperate may be cured.
Above all, I wish to abate the panic which paralyzes the minds of some
afflicted people, and which causes them to regard a drunkard or even a
tippler as a hopeless victim. "Hopeless" is a word used by ignorant
persons, by cowards, and by fools. When I hear some mourner say, "Alas!
we can do nothing with him--he is a slave!" I feel impelled to reply,
"What do you know about it? Have you given yourself the trouble to do
more than preach? Listen, and follow the simple directions which I lay
down for you."

First, I deal with the unhappy beings who are called periodical
drinkers. These are generally men who possess great ability and a