Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/544

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TEMPERANCE


486


TEMPERANCE


against alcoholism meet regularly every two years; the sessions, excepting that held in 1909 in London, have always been held on the Continent. According to official statistics thirteen congresses have been held (1912). The congress has met twice at The Hague, and once at each of the following cities: Paris, Brussels, Antwerp, Christ iania, Stockholm, Bremen, Vienna, Budapest, Zurich, Basle, London. At first the advocates of temperance exercised most influence ; in 1887atZiirich and in 1903 at Bremen sharp disputes arose between this party and the total abstainers, who now control the meetings of the congresses. Since 1899 the Holy See has been repeatedly represented. Full reports of the sessions of the congresses are published. For about ten years a German total abstinence congress has been held on an average every two years, the seventh meeting being at Augsburg in 1910; similar congresses have been held for Scandinavia and Fin- land for the same length of time at the same intervals. The eighth Swiss abstinence congress was held at Lausanne in 1910; at its sessions local option was urged. In other countries the holding of national conferences began at still later dates: the first Aus- trian congress against alcohol was held at Vienna in 1908; the first Russian at St. Petersburg in 1910; the first ItaUan at Milan in 1910; the first French total abstinence congress at Grenoble in 1910. A French congress of the opponents of the use of alcohol (held in 1903) was not of much importance. The Cathohcs of Holland and Belgium have so far had two national congresses. Among the special congresses held by the members of a single organization, those of the "Good Templars" are noteworthy. In some countries, par- ticularly Germany and Switzerland, there are societies which hold educational courses of a scientific charac- ter for the study of alcohohsm.

(5) Successes of the Temperance Movement. — ^The main success is the increased understanding, every- where apparent, of its claims. Civil rulers repeatedly emphasize in their pubUc utterances the great impor- tance of strict temperance, while churchmen of high rank are either total abstainers or else warm friends of the movement, in whose interest they have issued many pastoral letters. As regards legislative action the advance of the movement is slower. Complete prohibition exists in Iceland. In Finland it has been repeatedly demanded from the provincial diet, and a similar demand has been made once in Sweden. As in these two countries the number of deputies who are total abstainers grows continually larger (in Sweden they form one-half of the house), the Governments cannot permanently withstand the pressure. In Sweden the ministry in 1911 appointed a special commission to take the preparatory steps. Prohibition of spirits for the country districts in gen- eral exists in Sweden, Norway, and Finland, and a local option law for the cities, which is to a great extent enforced. An energetic struggle is now being carried on in Holland, Switzerland, and Germany for a local option law. In criminal jurisprudence the Pol- lard system is slowly winning adherents; of late two small German states have adopted it, and it is else- where in use. Russia and Switzerland have intro- duced a government monopoly of spirits, but this has not been of any particular use to the temperance movement, except that in Switzerland one-tenth of the profits (alcohol tithe) must be apphed to the work against alcoholism. Many countries voluntarily give such aid, as: Sweden, about 200,000 kronen ("S.')4,000) in 1910-1911; Norway about 17,000 kronen ($4590); Holland, 20,000 florins (SSOOO), etc. A number of countries have intro- duced special instruction in temperance into the primary schools, notably Belgium, Sweden (when^ there is a sjiecL-d oour.se for male and female teachers), Norway, and France. Kspocially great has been the effect of the temperance movement on the reform of


taverns. The celebrated Gothenburg system is largely used in Scandinavia and Finland. In this system the taverns are entrusted by the Government or commune to special societies {Saiidag), who onlj' receive a hmited gain while the profits go to the State or commune for pubhc purposes. In Sweden these profits have amounted in twenty years to 83,000,000 kronen ($22,410,000). The tavern is carried on by a government official appointed for the purpose. The "Independent Order of Good Templars" opposes the system because it gives the communes too great an in- terest in the sale of alcohol. The "German Society for the Reform of Taverns" {Deutsche Verein fiir Gas- thausreform) employs the following method: the inn or tavern established by the com.mune or by a society is given a manager with a fixed salary, who has in addi- tion a commission on the sale of food and non-alco- hoUc beverages. It is always provided that strong alcohohc liquors are never to be in stock. There are many temperance taverns in Switzerland and Sweden, and some in Germany, Hungarj', and Holland. Reference should, lastly, be made to the very satis- factory increase of provision for the cure of drunkards. In Germany there are over 40 institutions (six Cath- ohc) where treatment is given, besides numerous homes for drunkards belonging to cities and societies. Several cities have appointed official nurses to take care of drunkards; about half of the patients become permanent abstainers. In Switzerland there are about ten such institutions, one being Catholic. These two countries are far in advance of the others in the effort to cure drunkenness.

The bibliography of the temperance question is enormous. Nearly 15,000 publications in Europe and the United States are listed bv Abderhalden, Bibliographie der gesamten wissenschaftl. Literatur nber Alkohol u. Alkoholismus (1904). The current liter- ature of the subject is given by the bibliographical journal Blat- ter fiir die Gesamten Sozialwissenschajten (Berlin), and by the two international temperance periodicals (see below). The most important systematic, work is. probabl.v, Helenius, Die Alkohol- Jrage, which has excellent bibliographies of all countries. The original work was translated from Finnish into German in 1903. The best historical work is Bergm.\n, Ni/kterhetsrorelsens tSrld- historia (19001. well illustrated, also issued in a much altered German translation bv KK.^rx (1907). The most important statistical work is that issued by the British Board of Trade men- tioned at the beginning of this article, in connexion with which see HoppE, Die Tatsacheii vher den Alkohol. Year-books con- cerning the movement in various countries are published by Warming, for Germany and Austria-Hungary; Hercod, for Switzerland; Nielsen, for Denmark; Dcckert, for Norway; etc.

Numerous periodicals are published: in Germany, over 70; in Denmark and Sweden, about 25: etc. The most important of these journals are: Internal. Monalsschrift zur Bekampfung der Trinksitten (Basle); Die Alkohol/rage (Berlin), issued in German, French, and English; MassigkeitsbliSUer (Berlin); Mimer (Stock- holm): De Wegwijzer (Amsterdam) ; Afholdsbladet (Christiania) ; L'abstinence (Lausanne); Folkevennen (Copenhagen); Le bien social (Brussels); Les annates anlialeooUques (Paris). Catholic periodicals are: Volksfreund and Der Morgen, for Geriaany; Volks- wohl and La Ligue de la Croix, for Switzerland: Kreuzfahrer, for Austria; Sobrietas and De Drankheslrijding, for Holland. See also for movement in Belgium: Malherbe and Lemmens, Les ,s',~ ■■-' .!,- I, . ; /r.ijice (Brussels, 1900); Waslet, Het Volksgeluk; 1S\: V / i!li- antialcooliqiie en Belgique (Brussels, 1901); \ I I "I I : -. ;i, M.timelsocial (Louvain, 1904); in France: Denis. .1/-,' ,. , ' r,7 75rt-.- Bekgeret, ValcooUsme; Bertillon,

L'atc'M'i ■ - 1 I ' mbattre; Savoy, Les tresors de'la

sainte al 1 Forel, La boisson dans nos

ma-urs; I:i IIgger, numerous writings, in-

cluding -\ . '. .Abstinenz; Alkohol u. VolkS'

U'ohl, etc.; in til'- iini I till n laiiii-'. Efklund, Dryckenskapen (Stock- holm, 1S90): Peteh^son, En studie ofner GOteborgsystemci; Halversen, Dct nnrske Totalafholdssetskab; JoBQENSON, Afholdt- sagens hislorie in Danrnark,

WiLHELM LlESE.

Great Britain and Ireland. — In Great Britain and Ireland the State regtdatcs the liquor traffic by imposing duties on the manufacture and importation of spirituous drink and by confining its sale to those who pay for the privilege and fulfil other conditions as to place, time etc. Those who drink, therefore, must pay more for their li(iuor th;in its intrinsic value and must oI>serv<' certain legal limits in the circumstances of their drinking. Thus the State aims by the one act at maintaining public order and