And now we must say a few words, and they must be very few, concerning that new development of the drink question in America, “inebriate asylums.” Attempts have been made to establish them in England,[367] but so far only to a very limited extent, and they are not recognised by the State. In the United States there are at least four such institutions. The “Washingtonian Home” was opened in Boston as far back as 1857; the “New York Inebriate Asylum,” at Binghampton, was founded the following year; the “Sanitarium,” in Philadelphia, started in 1867; and an asylum at Chicago in 1868. These institutions are aided by the State legislatures, and it is calculated that in the one at Boston, out of 3000 inebriates who have been received in nine years, 2000 have been completely cured. They are all voluntary asylums, that is to say, the “patients” are never detained against their will; and those who seek refuge there pay part or the whole cost of their maintenance. Very interesting but painful accounts have been given by visitors of the condition of the inebriates, some of whom are brought by their relatives or friends completely intoxicated; and those who have conversed with the inmates, and with the medical men under whose care they are placed, tell us that there are certain canons of intemperance, if we may call them so, which are quite stable and undeviating. First, it is impossible for a drunkard ever to become a moderate drinker. Secondly, there is no hope for an inebriate until he thoroughly distrusts his own resolution, and excepting as a total abstainer for life. Thirdly, he must avoid on system and on principle the occasions of temptation, such as places where liquor is sold, and persons who will urge it upon him. Even the wine given at the communion table should be avoided. “_That sip might be enough to awaken the desire; the mere odour of the wine filling the church might be too much for some men._”[368] This is the deliberately expressed opinion of one of the most experienced “inebriate” doctors in the States. As we have said, at present the American institutions are voluntary, but it is expected that there will one day be an asylum for incurable drunkards who will be forcibly detained, and compelled to earn their own livelihood. This, then, is the position of the drink question in America. The contest between the sober portion of the community on the one hand, and the drink-sellers and their depraved customers on the other, a contest in which the state very properly sides with the cause of temperance, has successfully reached a stage far in advance of that which it has attained in Great Britain, and the people are devoting their energies and their inexhaustible resources to arrive at a practical solution of the problem which has hitherto puzzled all men and all ages. CHAPTER XV. THE CAUSES OF INTEMPERANCE—MODERATE DRINKING—REMEDIES FOR INTEMPERANCE—THE POLITICAL ASPECT OF THE QUESTION.