--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Smith, Joseph F. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 12 number: 10 published: 1909-08 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Joseph F. Smith, "Editor’s Table—Temperance and Prohibition," *Improvement Era* 12, no. 10 (August 1909): 830–832.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera12010unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera12010unse start_page: 830 end_page: 832 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1909-08) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera12010unse publication_year: 1909 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1909, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # Editor’s Table—Temperance and Prohibition — EDITOR'S TABLE. TEMPERANCE AND PROHIBITION. Prohibition is agitating the people of Utah just now. Every- body appears to be interested in the question. Meetings are held; resolutions against the saloon passed; and in various cities and towns preparation for action is being made against the liquor in- terests. Parents are awakening to the dangers that lurk in liquor — dangers that bode ill to the young people and the morally weak. Letters are received almost daily by the editor of the Era com- plaining about the laxity of the summer resorts, the looseness at the restaurants, and the free and indiscriminate use of beer and liquor by those who visit the resorts, — at the lake, and at other surrounding amusement grounds. Says one correspondent: "On the bill of fare in the cafe I notice wines, liquors, cordials and beers, and expensive imported mineral waters and ginger ale, but no local, cheaper soft drinks. Generally no soft drinks are served from the bar of the beer hall, and in order to obtain these the waiter must go into the pavil- ion." The same correspondent remarks, as illustrating the spirit of the place, that a young man said to him: "The cheap, temperance people eat out in the pavilion, and the people who spend their money come out into the beer hall." "This," he continues, "is the standard set and held out to the young people." It means that to be a good fellow only the beer-hall course is open to the young man. That is the trend of the environment. Any other course is "small" and "cheap," and it is thus that many young people are tempted for the first time. Another danger is that all this is considered respectable EDITOR'S TABLE. 831 everybody drinks beer at resorts. Here young men and women drink who would not think of entering a saloon. It is like the drug-store evil in the city. At the dispensary of the drug store, it is considered quite respectable to drink — ladies and gentlemen alike drink there. But this fact in itself makes the resort beer- hall and the city drug store so much more of a menace to the mo- rals of the people. They are worse because they attract more of the boys and girls than places that are stamped disreputable. It is further asserted that certain resorts are crowded with boys and girls, fifteen and sixteen years of age, and from those ages up to nineteen and twenty, seated at tables drinking beer, and even intoxicated. Girls have been noticed leeringly pouring beer from bottles into the glasses of their boy companions. Again 'Young boys and girls sit and slop beer until it is : ' disgusting. It is well-known what often happens to a girl who drinks with a man. It is easy then to accomplish her ruin." Now the remedy. First to parents: are your boys, or your girls there? Have you permitted your daughter, like other hun- dreds, to go there unaccompanied? Is your son away, with full liberty to do as he pleases? Do you have his confidence, so that you can trust him to tell you what company he has kept and thus be able to give him the counsel and caution that will steer him free of temptation? These are questions for parents in the home, but what about the public guards surrounding the young people? Many reply, prohibition is the only remedy. And it must be admitted that such scenes, conditions and conduct, as are above referred to will soon convert everybody to that truth. In a letter from Joseph S. Peery to the editor of the Era, giving particulars of an investigation which he made at one of the resorts, he says: yourself and go into these particulars because I know of the strong stand I favor of prohibition. The only way we can the other church leaders have taken in the get prohibitionand to close all these places of infamy and hell, is through efforts of the church leaders. The saloon men are so strong and are so much in hand they can successfully and glove with the politicians of all the political parties that combat every other effort except the leaders of the "Mormon" Church. It will when prohibition in Utah be to the everlasting credit and praise of those leaders is obtained, and when Utah will no longer be one of the few black spots on our look to Union map. To see the utter futility of our present laws we need but Ogden wherein the recent vote for higher license and better saloon regulation the city council stood six for the saloons and four for the proposed new ordinance. The papers there are with the saloon men. There is only one hope, and that is for state- wide prohibition brought around by the church leaders. Now this is a remarkable statement, because it is a well- known fact that the Church leaders and the Latter-day Saints generally are strongly in favor of temperance — have preached it for many years, and not only believe in voluntary temperance by which people become strong by personal choice, which is the best temperance by far, — but they believe in prohibition, if necessary, by which a guardianship is thrown about the young and the weak to keep them temperate. I wish to say here, once for all, that I am unalterably in favor of state-wide temperance and prohibition — I care not who is opposed to it nor whose cause is in conflict. But as for controlling the politicians, that is for the people to do. The field and the methods are open and well known. Our friend is emphatic in his statement that the saloon men are "so much in hand and glove with the politicians of all the political parties that they can successfully combat every other effort except the leaders of the 'Mormon' Church." Our corres- pondent's attention is called to the fact that so far they have also combatted "every effort of the leaders of the 'Mormon' Church" who are in no wise the governors of either the saloons or the politicians. Everybody knows that the Church leaders have taken a strong stand in favor of temperance and prohibition. It is for the people of all creeds to govern both the saloons and the poli- ticians, that the end desired may be realized. It is not fair to burden the "Mormon" Church leaders with this dereliction also. The people should know by this time where the leaders of the Church stand, after nearly eighty years of temperance preaching and teaching. One other thought. At the recent legislature numerously signed petitions were received from the people asking for state- wide prohibition. The legislature did not see fit to heed these prayers. Now let the people act, and prove their sincerity by closing the saloons wherever this is possible, and make good their declarations and desires by sending to the next legislative body such representatives as will comply with their demands for state-