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Temperance
Drunkenness and Crime Before the Flood and Now
—The
evils that are so apparent at the present time, are the same that
brought destruction to the antediluvian world. “In the days that
were before the Flood” one of the prevailing sins was drunkenness.
From the record in Genesis we learn that “the earth also was corrupt
before God, and the earth was filled with violence.” Crime reigned
supreme; life itself was unsafe. Men whose reason was dethroned
by intoxicating drink, thought little of taking the life of a human
being.
“As the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son
of man be.” The drunkenness and the crime that now prevail, have
been foretold by the Saviour Himself. We are living in the closing
days of this earth’s history. It is a most solemn time. Everything
betokens the soon return of our Lord.—
The Review and Herald,
October 25, 1906
.
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God’s Judgments in Our Day
—Because of the wickedness
that follows largely as the result of the use of liquor, the judgments
of God are falling upon our earth today.—
Counsels on Health, 432
.
San Francisco’s Object Lesson
—For a time after the great
earthquake along the coast of California, the authorities in San Fran-
cisco and in some of the smaller cities and towns ordered the closing
of all liquor saloons. So marked were the effects of this strictly
enforced ordinance, that the attention of thinking men throughout
America, and notably on the Pacific Coast, was directed to the ad-
vantages that would result from a permanent closing of all saloons.
During many weeks following the earthquake in San Francisco,
very little drunkenness was seen. No intoxicating drinks were sold.
The disorganized and unsettled state of affairs gave the city officials
reason to expect an abnormal increase of disorder and crime, and
they were greatly surprised to find the opposite true. Those from
whom was expected much trouble, gave but little. This remarkable
freedom from violence and crime was traceable largely to the disuse
of intoxicants.
The editors of some of the leading dailies took the position
that it would be for the permanent betterment of society and for
the upbuilding of the best interests of the city, were the saloons to
remain closed forever. But wise counsel was swept aside, and within
a few short weeks permission was given the liquor dealers to reopen