XXXIITHE ALCOHOLIC TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT
San Francisco, October 22d.
To Editor of New York Newspaper which is often read by all Japanese who can afford it, I assure you.
Dear Sir—I am given to be told by some wise Editors, etc., that these U. S. is now enjoying the temperance of Prohibition in many States and more too. Although I can not notice such a movement in this street, perhaps it is slightly true. In several sections of this kingdom whisky-drunking is becoming unknown by law, salooners is quitting that sinfulness & all bar-keeps is retiring from that public office. In South, army of reform is playing “Marching Through Georgia” on water-pitchers. Is this a truthful news what I hear? I enquire to know, so I can go there, please.
By newspaper print I read this early morning: “Wave of temperance against salooners is creeping in direction of New York.” First I greet this with glad banzai, then I am depressed of thought. Wave of temperate prohibition is on road to NewYork, but will it arrive there? And if it should do this, what will happen to it when got there? That is problem for Japanese Boy.
And yet I am earnest to say it. Prohibition of drunk is a comfortable blessing to demand, because it is very difficulty for white persons to be tame when exposed to wild beverages. Irish, Swedish, Italian & Jewish is most useful for calamities by feeding them whisky. Japanese is also too patriotic when enjoying bun-bun.
In the great cities of America where persons is brought together for living over each other by sky-scrape apartment the sell of whisky spoil the low layers of society. Labouring classes stop being it because of alcohol poison and other ingredients to be found in it. Labourer so poisoned can not support dear wife & child because he is resting in jail for what he done. This is especially true of Chicago.
Tip-top layers of society also enjoy poison from this liquour curse, but they are less pitiful because they do not rest in jail. Salooners must not be forsaken by wealthy persons because these can still be respected when least respectable. But salooners must be closed up from low layers of society which must continue to work and keep up appearances of great city. If not these, who would?
Whisky is divided into four kinds of bottle by following statistick:
1. Whisky of Scottish descent to be drunk standing up.2. Whisky of Irish descent to be drunk setting down.3. Whisky of American nationality to be took in bed.4. Whisky of patent medical origin to be took before death.
1. Whisky of Scottish descent to be drunk standing up.
2. Whisky of Irish descent to be drunk setting down.
3. Whisky of American nationality to be took in bed.
4. Whisky of patent medical origin to be took before death.
None of these beverages must be taken without family physician. Alcohol do most injury to cities. In country districts it is less harmful because there is more room for it to stampede.
At the Sunday school of which I am a membership to learn languages, etc., we there have Japanese Boy Temperance League which meet every Tuesday night for prohibition conversation. I attend to this meeting regularity, because free lemonade of delightful sourness is furnished free. Hon. Miss K. N. McGee, Christian lady of light-weight beauty, come there to teach us how to do so. She instruct us in the song-sing melody, “Cold Water is the Drunk for Me,” and explain about the various mocking qualities of wine. When she say “wine is mocker” do she meanabout some wine which is imitation of some other brand? She does not answer to reply.
She say, “Mr. Togo, you must not drunk any drink however mild, because this lead to stronger and stronger yet till gray hairs to sorry grave.”
“Do water-drunking lead to lemonade drunking?” I require.
“Maybe so it might,” she otter.
“So thus, do lemonade-drunking result for soda-water thirsty?”
“Perhaps is,” she contradict.
“Then if, do soda-water collapse to ginger-ale tonic?”
“I signify it.”
“And this then: Might Japanese Boy what is raised by ginger-ale crave for beer-drunking from this?”
“I am dangerous to reply,” say this Hon. Miss McGee.
“So sorry to hear!” I terminate. “Because weak-drunk lead to strong-drunk, strong-drunk to powerful-drunk—and yet you say it! What for you teach Japanese Boy ‘Cold Water is the Drunk for Me’? Water lead to lemonade, lemonade to soda-water, soda-water to ginger-ale, ginger-ale to beer-glass—sakes of living! What to do with this thirsty?”
“Togo,” she commute, “you are too foolishto learn what of. This evening-time when lemonade is pass around you must avoid it because too tempting.”
I listen, and yet I will not do so.
The reason why I make disagreeable argument about the temperance is not because I do not believe it is good for all human animals. O no! It is most best blessing for those communities which desire to be cleanly and modern plumbing. But why should this hon. lady be so Christian in the way she say it? Can only Christians be prohibition? What about heathens like I am-so who do not care about wine-sip & beer-gulp? Must they accompany this quietness of thirst with song-sing about cold water? Answer is, No! Many heathens is very abstemperous of stomach. Many Christians is not. Many Christians when become filled up with alcohol feel obliged to make crimes including boastful talk which lead to murder of something. Will driving out of salooners in business do good for those bad persons? I hope to be.
To enquire about what will happen to salooners when drove out I go to Hon. Strunsky, Irish gentleman who conduct saloon.
“Honourable sir,” I magnify, “if the legal laws of this San Francisco become prohibition, so sorryfor you! What would you do with this saloon to make profitable wealth from it?”
“That is easy to reply,” say Hon. Strunsky. “I would turn it into a drug store.”
I am shuddering when I think of that deceptive man.
I have obtained a slight job of employment waiting on table-board of Fujiyama Restaurant, H. Sunigawa, Prop. This profession give me $2 weekly sum, also three times daily to eat it. As addition to money sum I receive $1 weekly from my cousin Nogi to help him do Japanese spy work. From this sum of $3 weekly pay I expend it away as following:
After this money has went you can count it, Mr. Editor. I have to keep $1.34 of weekly cash which I will save together for sufficient boat-fare to go back Japan. Maybe I will not go at that time—if so I will do something else and get married.
Of evening time I am frequent to attend lectures where I learn facts of intelligence very cheap. Last night I go to speech of Dr. O. Sumuchi, Japanese surgery, on subjeck of “Alcohol Inside of People.” Hon. Dr. Sumuchi had most beautiful lecture because of magic-lantern showing human stomach under surprised conditions. Following charts was showed during lecture:
No. 1.—Pink of colour. Exposure of stomach during calm moments before alcohol has got there.No. 2.—More red of colour. Exposure of stomach which enjoys happy, smiling expression because alcohol have arrived.No. 3.—Angry mix of colour. Exposure of this stomach when alcohol have remain there too long for polite welcome. Stomach now enjoy angry rage and desire to quit.No. 4.—Colour of Scottish plaid. Exposure of stomach when alcohol have continue to do so too late. I am sorry for this stomach because it look so brilliant, yet feel so dull!
No. 1.—Pink of colour. Exposure of stomach during calm moments before alcohol has got there.
No. 2.—More red of colour. Exposure of stomach which enjoys happy, smiling expression because alcohol have arrived.
No. 3.—Angry mix of colour. Exposure of this stomach when alcohol have remain there too long for polite welcome. Stomach now enjoy angry rage and desire to quit.
No. 4.—Colour of Scottish plaid. Exposure of stomach when alcohol have continue to do so too late. I am sorry for this stomach because it look so brilliant, yet feel so dull!
Dr. Sumuchi say so about that stomach when so fanciful from decoration of alcohol. He say, “Such stomach is so satisfied by alcohol it will burn up by striking match to it.”
“Persons enjoying such a stomachs must avoid swallowing matches,” is answer of Japanese Schoolboy.
This is translation from Japanese temperance legend:
Some time back in astronomy before the world got a very good start and homely giants of disgusting profile was employing timber-trees for tooth-pick, there reside in high top-mountain one bad Drink Dragon. Now when that there Drink Dragon got thirsted he was a very serious snake, thank you. When them giants would hear one grand roary-sound from mountain they would make considerable eye-wink and decry, “Hon. Dragon is enjoying trouble!”
One morning by daylight this great Worm made landslide down mountain in search of something with which to squelch his thirsty. Soon again he come to Hon. Ocean and snuggest, “Good morning, Mr. Ocean, I have came to drunk you up, please.”
Then Ocean laugh considerable joke. “This is pretty wrong place for thirsty Snake to come for gobbly rejoicing. I am great Prohibition Wave. Nothing to do, Hon. Serpent!”
Then this Drink Dragon throw fire-engine sparks from his gills making earthquake and he go at that Hon. Ocean to devour it up. And Ocean, with cyclone of storms, rise up on back legs to meet Hon. Dragon. One, two! theyarrive together! Such mixing of destruction, such powerful struggly! Ocean make hiss on red-hot steam-pipe of Dragon and this Serpent make hot stew of Ocean. O great jiu jitsu! First Snake push Ocean to moon, then Ocean drag Dragon to North Pole. But finally, when both is tired out, Dragon say, “Excuse it, Mr. Ocean, while I scratch my eyebrow.” And while Dragon was doing that peaceful act, Hon. Ocean took mean advantage and gollup Dragon to deep-down bottom. But he was not dead. Oh no, thank you, Snakes is not slewed with this quickness of speed. Ninety-nine thousand years relapse and Dragon swim up, one day, on wave of temperance. And this time he is called Sea Serpent and is permitted to remain, please.
Moral for this tale is thus:
Water-Wave can not drowned Drink Dragon, but it can cause very unhappy feelings for that brutal beast, thank you.
Hoping you are the same,
Yours truly,
Hashimura Togo.