28 ALCOHOLIC POISON.
ports none of these practices. In a subsequent
portion of this work we have considered this
point at greater length.
Good men, even ministers, do many evil things,
All men are human, One man’s transgression is
no apology for another's sin. This argument is
only a subterfuge. It has no weight.
18. All Nations Use Stimulants.
Some will argue from the fact that the use of
liquor of some kind is almost universal that the
appetite for it is a natural one. Admitting that
inheritance may have made it such, the argu-
ment is still worthless; for what nation is there
among whom lying, stealing, and other crimes
and vices do not also exist ? If intemperance is
a universal evil, the fact should be most deeply
deplored, instead of being made an excuse for
perpetuating the vice.
But intemperance is not universal. Until
taught the use of alcohol by white men, the
North American Indians were wholly unac-
quainted with the fiery beverage which they
have appropriately named “fire water.” And
the introduction of liquor among these savages
has done more toward their extermination than
any other cause. Many other barbarous tribes are
still in happy ignorance of this enticing poison,
Again, the appetite for fermented drinks is not
a natural one. Offer an infant brandy ; it is re-
pulsed at once, as it should be. No beast natu-
THE DRUNKARD'S ARGUMENTS. 59
rally loves alcohol, though there are several ani-
mals which, like man, may be taught to love
liquor and demand it as imperiously as any old
toper. The hog is an animal of this kind. The
resemblance of man to this animal, in this respect,
is not flattering, at least.
Dr. Floyer, a writer of the early portion of last
century, relates the case of a brewer's dog which
learned to like beer and ale, and formed the
habit of licking ale and yeast from the brewer’
trough. After a few years he began to suffer
greatly from gout, his feet and limbs swelling
prodigiously. The drunken dog finally died, as
thousands of other drunkards have, of dropsy.
Even though an artificial appetite has in some
cases been created, this fact does not change the
. relation of alcohol to the system in the least. Al-
cohol is a poison still ; and the system will treat
it as such, in spite of an inherited or an acquired
appetite for it.
"17. The Use and Sale of Alcoholic Liquors Is
a Source of Great Revenue to the Government.
Says the liquor dealer, The manufacture and
sale of alcoholic drinks gives employment to
more than 500,000 men. It furnishes a market
for more than 40,000,000 bushels of grain each
year, and pays to the government an annual tax
of $60,000,000, or about two-fifths of the whole
revenue of the country.
Such arguments are actually urged by the