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Show 3asCMeMTWiAwri.mUw wrti MRdtvlUVf(HMAnwRw Far Capttni Contomptlon. The pr capita consumption of alcohol alco-hol has begun to decline In this country, coun-try, although Its consumption Is Increasing In-creasing In other nations. The New York Medical Record puts this decline during tho last ton years at 30 per cent Prior to that time there was a continual contin-ual Increase. During thoso years como of our prohibitory laws have been repealed, re-pealed, others have been weakened; less rather than more temperance platform plat-form work has been done, and more than 4,000,000 pcoplo have come to us from foreign lands, bringing with them Ahe alcoholic habits ot the old world, In the face of all theso unfavorable conditions, why has tho per capita consumption con-sumption of alcohol in this country decreased during this time, while previously pre-viously It Incieased? Our English friends aro doing as much church society so-ciety and Band of Hope work as wo, nnd perhaps moro, and yet England's drink bill for 1897 ran up to 116,600,-000 116,600,-000 more than tbtt of the preceding year. The only new feature Introduced Into temperanco work In this country during the last ten years so generally as to touch all sections, and tho only method of lmportanco In which our temperance work differs from that of England, Is that of temperanco education educa-tion In tho public schools. It Is this which Is getting tho truth to the peo-plo peo-plo so generally ns already to bear fruit. It Is this which Is laying the foundation for the Intolllgonfsobrloty of the future American. Wo would not tor a moment question tho value of other temperance efforts which have holped to secure these results, but the flgurcs show that such efforts without temperance education woro inadequate to produco this decline "Duty determines deter-mines destiny," said President McKln-ley McKln-ley In his Omaha speech. It is the legal duty of nearly all tho school boards and teachers In this country to seo that all pupils In nil schools are taught tho nature and cfTocts of alco hollo drinks a.nd othor narcotics, together to-gether with other laws of health. The way In which that duty Is performed during the next fifteen yenrs will lu-fluenco lu-fluenco mightily tho destiny of this nation. Tho God of nations Is calling us so to educate our people that this calamity may bo averted from thoso for whom we are newly rcsponslbio, as we at the same time save our own children. |