Whether  the  elimination  of  the  saloon,  and  all  its
illegal  substitutes,  should  be  by  prohibitory  law  or
by  the  steady  pressure  of  public  opinion  and  the
corresponding  increase  of  restrictions  on  its  manu-
facture and  sale,  may  be  open  to  question.  It
would  be  a  victory  on  a  higher  plane  if  strong  drink


172  THE  NORMAL  LIFE

were  to  be  overcome  by  the  voluntary  growth  of
temperance  principles.  All  the  reasons  for  re-
fraining from  indulgence  in  strong  drink  are  equally
strong  reasons  for  not  indulging  other  vicious  ap-
petites and  it  might  seem  safer  to  save  the  young
men  altogether  from  carnal  temptations.  There
are  numerous  measures  short  of  prohibition  which
are  genuine  temperance  measures;  and  on  a  high
plane  prohibition  itself  is  not  one.  It  is  too  primi-
tive, too  naive,  too  direct,  too  crude,  to  be  called
by  so  moderate  and  restrained  a  term  as  temper-
ance. But  this  crude  directness,  this  writing  into
the  law  of  a  downright  conviction,  if  it  is  not  diplo-
macy or  education,  is  at  least  legitimate  warfare
and  religion.  It  is  an  impatient  short  cut  with  an
old  and  nasty  foe.  Like  the  Palmer-Owen  bill  to
prevent  child  labor, — which  just  failed  of  passage
in  Congress  and  probably  will  pass  another  year, —
it  does  the  business.  And  we  can  surely  sym-
pathize with  the  determined  reformer  who  says  that
he  is  weary  of  pleading  with  boys  and  men  not  to
fall  into  the  net  which  plotting  villains  spread  in
plain  sight  before  the  eyes,  when  it  is  practicable
to  gather  in  the  nets  once  for  all  and  break  them
like  playthings  in  the  hands  of  strong  men.  There
is  no  need  to  keep  temptations  needlessly  about  for
the  sake  of  developing  character.  All  that  are
required  to  develop  strong  character  will  remain
after  we  have  done  our  level  best  not  to  lead  men
into  temptation  but  to  deliver  them  from  evil.
