The end of the Civil War brought about the Prohibition Party as well as the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. Both organizations had loud voices in the temperance movement. Between 1880 and 1890, the second great state-wide Prohibition wave was upon the United States. During this decade of outspoken intolerance, the Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pa was born. It is no surprise that members of HSMC took action against the believed evils of alcoholic drinks.
Moses Auge
In a previous post on founders working in the newspaper industry, we mentioned that Moses Auge published a small temperance newspaper from 1870-1874. The paper was run out of the back of his hat store. Unfortunately, for him the paper failed to turn out a profit, even with Auge editing the paper himself with no pay. In addition, Auge was a founding member of the Norristown branch of the Sons of Temperance.
Isaac Roberts
The same year that he, along with our other charter members, founded HSMC in 1881, Isaac Roberts also organized the Temperance Reform Club. He also partnered with humorist author Charles Heber Clark (also known as Max Adeler) to open the People’s Coffee House in Conshohocken. Clark served as president and Roberts was secretary. The Coffee House served as a location to protect others from the temptations of alcohol. They offered coffee as the main drink of the many room building that included a lunchroom, free reading room, game room, and gymnasium.
Personal Practice
Of course there were other members who abstained from alcohol but were not active in the movement. Isaac Chism’s obituary claims he was abstemious from intoxicants. Additionally, we know that Dr. Hiram Corson often talked about not imbibing in alcohol. However, his beliefs seem to stem from the idea that cold water was better in treating illnesses than “the drink.”
Temperance can be tied with religious beliefs, such as through the Women’s Christian Temperance Movement. Next month we will see which founding members were dedicated to their respective churches a little bit more than the average parishioner.