When one of the European dictators decided to build an army which he hoped would conquer the world, he decided that his army must be comprised of supermen. Because the war he contemplated was to be a mechanical war, run on the plan of precision and minute accuracy, he trained for physical fitness, so that his men would be keen and alert, and could fight . with clear heads and steady hands. He placed great emphasis on temperance and on keeping the body physically fit. As a result he had an army of well-trained soldiers. The Bible says, He "that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things." I do not suppose that this noted character even knew that such a verse was in the Bible, but nevertheless he carried out the principle in action.
If we were to hear an announcement over the radio that twenty thousand people were killed in our nation and a quarter of a million wounded by a public enemy last year, we would be alarmed, and would instantly arise to action. But since the accidents that took just such a toll of human life last year, resulted from the use of alcohol, and not from the work of some foreign enemy, we think nothing of it, but settle down to inactivity and wait for someone else to do something about it.
Seventh-day Adventists have been advocates of temperance and prohibition from earliest days. This is a part of our articles of faith, and our baptismal candidates have clearly presented to them the evils of intemperance, and take a vow against all intoxicating liquors. And yet we have not sensed the attention and support that the temperance reform demands in presenting it to the world. "God desires that now, as never before, the minds of the people shall be deeply stirred to investigate the great temperance question and the principles underlying true health reform."—"Counsels on Health," p. 445.
Psychologically the time is here for us to arise as one man to do battle against the liquor traffic, because the crimes and debauchery that are coming upon the world, heightened by national emergencies, are causing people who were once against prohibition to turn an inquiring ear in regard to the proper place of temperance in our national life. A survey taken recently by the Gallup Poll shows that right now forty to fifty per cent of the people of the United States would vote dry. Even the wets are getting alarmed at the way the liquor traffic is conducting itself. Irving S. Cobb, who is not a prohibitionist, is quoted thus in the Washington Evening Star: "The next time this country votes liquor out, and there will be a next time unless we curb the offense among our own ranks, . . . it will go forever, never to return." We are told through the Spirit of prophecy :
"The use of drugged liquors is making men mad, and leading them to commit the most horrible crimes. 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. Have we not a solemn responsibility to put forth earnest efforts in opposition to this great evil?"—Id., p. 434
In the old days men said, "Just look at prohibition. It is a failure, because we have bootleggers on every hand." But some have estimated that there are ten times more bootleggers today than there were in prohibition days. You remember we were promised that the old saloon with the brass rail would not come back, but what do we have ? In the old days there were 177,790 saloons with brass rails. Today we have 400,000 saloons with brass rails and bars, and an estimated million places in which to buy liquor.
People are getting their eyes open, for States like New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois have voted three fourths dry. Out of fifteen thousand local option elections on the wet and dry issue in the United States, eleven thousand political units have voted dry. One of the most encouraging signs is that many of the newspapers are turning dry. Statistics show that eight hundred newspapers are now putting out articles against the liquor traffic. Everyone knows that when the newspapers turn against the liquor business, the public mind will be influenced that way also.
The sad part of this whole situation is that so many American youth are being made alcohol addicts, and do not realize it. Women as well as men now put their feet on the brass rail. Alcohol slows down the vital processes of each cell of the body. Its action may be likened to the effects of ether, chloroform, or morphine. This slowing of function is most noticeable in disturbance of the nervous system. That is, judgment, reason, self-control, and various skills are the first to be impaired by alcohol. It is the most dangerous poison widely included in human consumption. Ten to thirty percent of the cases of insanity are attributed to alcoholism. No other poison causes so many deaths, or leads to or intensifies so many diseases, as does alcohol in the various forms in which it is taken.
Would to God that the young people of our denomination would arise to help in this great task that lies before us as a people. The Spirit of prophecy tells us to "educate, educate, educate" against the drink habit, and says that our young people are the most effective force against it in the world today. The other day in a certain town in Texas 7,000 young people put on a demonstration, in which flying banners and flags demanded that we do something about this appalling drink situation. Now is the opportunity for our Missionary Volunteers. "There is no class of persons capable of accomplishing more in the cause of temperance than our God-fearing youth.... Let every God-fearing youth gird on the armor and press to the front."—M., P. 441.
Here at the Medical College our department has produced an eight-hundred-foot sound motion picture, which we have entitled, "Liquor as the Doctor Sees It." This we are using effectively in our health work. We go to the high schools and contact the physical-education teachers, who are usually aware of the evils of alcohol, tell them about our motion picture, and ask permission to show it to their classes. Not one has ever refused to let us show our picture. On the contrary, they seem to be glad to have us come. After the picture is shown, which takes about twenty-five minutes, we open up the rest of the period for questions. The students ask sincere questions, and as a whole seem eager for scientific facts.
In our temperance work in the public schools and churches we omit any material that might be classed as propaganda, and stay on the scientific side of the question. Our film deals with experiments regarding the effects of alcohol on growth, how it affects the nerve cells and slows up reactions in driving, athletics, and other motor skills.
One fact that seems to impress the general public as much as any other is that it costs our country more to take care of drunks than is received from liquor licenses. For example, the police records of Los Angeles show that it costs the city seven million dollars more to take care of the drunks than was received from liquor-license fees the first four years of the repeal of prohibition. The State of California has paid out thirty million dollars more than was received in licenses. I believe that if these same statistics were gathered from all the States, we would find that the proportion runs about the same. Our film brings out this fact in a very vivid way, by showing a picture of a Los Angeles prison that has more than six hundred drunks in one ward.
This temperance work is one that belongs particularly to our medical group. Yet each of us has a part to do in circulating literature on temperance, and in joining other organizations as far as possible in temperance work, thus creating a favorable impression of our work, breaking down prejudice, and offering opportunities to present our distinctive views concerning the prophecies and the law of God. We should organize in such a way that we can present temperance petitions which may be sent to our legislators. In word and deed we should be true advocates of temperance reforms.
It is not only our duty but our privilege to present this work at our camp meetings and evangelistic meetings, to hold rallies and mass meetings in our churches, and to give lectures in clubs, churches, high schools, and colleges. Again, we read in "Counsels on Health:"
"I am instructed to say to health-reform educators, Go forward. The world needs every jot of the influence you can exert to press back the tide of moral woe. . . . May the Lord arm those who labor in word and doctrine, with the clearest messages of truth. If His workers will give these messages with simplicity, assurance, and all authority, the Lord will work with them."—Page 444.
