The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1846-05-22
4 Barrel Of Nvhiskcy.

against post, in front of any one of
our rum selling stores; and moraliz-
ing upon a fresh cask, as it comes
rolling down the skids. Let us help
his meditations. A barrel, in itself
considered, is no mighty affair. Sup
pose it were filled with water; it
would scarcely serve washer wo-
man for a single Monday. Oriffull
Of oil, it would only light the hou-
ses, in such town as this, for few
winter evenings. But if filled with
whiskey, it is far more serious con-
Germ. Small as its dim ensions are,
it contains little world. Philoso-
piers talk about ga reservoir of
power;'' here they have it to per-
lection. No engine that could be
introduced into this town, would DO
so much work as one barrel of whis-
key, while it lasts.
Let us make some calculations.
A good sized barrel contains thirty
three gallons. We might make some
allowance for water, necessarily ad-
ded after the spirit is slowed away,
to reduce its proof, and mitigate its
mischief; for storekeepers in the
country have the same humanity, or
milk Of human kindness, that is
found in the milk-man who serves
the city; they always "assist nature"
by adding water. But for the pre-
sent we will put this sort of reduc-
ton out Of view-we merely intend
TO reduce it to small glasses, or halt
gills and we find that it makes
2ll2 of these-say in round num-
bers, 2l00.
Now jus look at it; you that have
ever swallowed hali-gill of whis-
key-only a single smaller-know
very well that there is something
in it. Some Of you, TO be sure, pre-
tend to have such strong heads that
one small glass can make no impress
sion upon you; but it is a mistake
You are not just the man you were
before that dram; you are less fit to
be juror, or a witness, or bust
ness man, or to engage in any scri-
Gus train of thought or conversation.
You can think and converse, to be
sure ; and so can lame dog hobble
about on three legs.
But we won't stop upon tribes
We will suppose man to take reg.
ularly three smallers a day. SucI
man we affirm to be a drunken
man, no matter what may be the
strength of his head. or the weight
of his character. Fitted as he may
have been, by nature or rather BY
his Maker, to be useful, active, ant
exemplary in life, an honor and al
ornament to his neighborhood, OF
perhaps his whole country, he will
by the means Of this potent fluid
become SensclcsS and worthless, ;
disgrace to his family, a plague t,
society, and burden to himself
and in this horrible condition a bar
rel Of RIM wW hecp him j0r t,rc
gears What an amount of sin anC
misery coopcred up in a barrel o
whiskey
Now take another view of it. In
aginc yourclf il a large hall or lee
turc room, where one thousand per
sons are sitting in all gravity an,
order. In one corner of the room
standsN{a little cask of whiskcy
From this cask a 1ewAimps are en-
gagged in drawing iiggers to serve
the whole company every man il
the house gets two, and the barrel i
exhausted. Wait a few minutes til
the stuff begins to Know di,
you ever see such mctamorphosi
in all your life? What silly, stupid
catering, haw-hawing set they hav,
Iecome.--Thcre you have, in les
than ten minutes, one thousand mel
gone crazy! And for what? VIII,
all from that barrel of rum in Tn,
corner!
Farther, let man come to court
and witness all the trouble, expense
and waste of time in trying cases o
assault and battery, riot, tipplin!
houses, and the like; then @,
down to our aims house, and con
template the paupers, pcnt up 70
life, and dragging out an cXistcnc,
at public charge; and then let hin
consider, that single barrel Q
rum might do all this mischief, an
waste all this money!
But for fear of making too long
story, we wind up by saying, that
barrel of whiskcy ought be locke
upon with the same emotion as
kcg of gunpowder, When we Sc
the shopkeeper putting the barrel o
tap, let us shudder as if he wer
approaching the keg with a shov,
of live Goals. And when we see tn
poor drunken creatures huddlin
around with their empty bottles, le
us imagine all the destruction an
misery (without the noise) whic
would follow from supplying fire t