Sunbury American and Shamokin journal. [volume] (Sunbury, Northumberland Co., Pa.) 1840-1848, 1847-02-13
WARNING TO LIQUOR SELLERS.

like every other page Of the history of strong
| drink, is written in blood! No class Of men
| suffer more from intemperance than those who
sell the poison. OF one hundred and fif,y.six
convicts in the Eastern Peniten,ary of this !
State in 1874, fcrtysir had lived at taverns!
In one town in Otsego county, New York. one
hundred and seventy three individuals were Il.
eensed in fortythree years. Fifty seven Of them
became drunksrds, and only FOUR Of the whole I,
number added TO their property. In single town
| of Albany county, in the same State, with pop.
ulaton of 5000, there were forty eight dealers
in alcoholic drink, during space Of thirty years
or these, roRTy-THREr failed. thirty died
drunknrds, and thirty.three of their sons DC.
came drunkards In the town of Peter5oro,
New York, twenty.nine persons were licensed
in thir,y.two years. Five of these aba ndoned
the business without any gain. and the remain.
der. Twenty FOUR in number, III became impo.
verished drunkards. In two streets OF Cincin.
NATL there were in fifteen years, sixty seven Ii.
quor dealers, FORTY SIX of whom had died
Grunkards! .-.....
! These, and other similar facts that might be
adduced, sufficiently prove that the liquor sci.
Ter is his own worst enemy--hat his only trUe
friends are those who warn him Of hie DANCE
rous and sinful occupation and tina, the proh-
blion Of the traffic would confer. the richest
blessing. on those whoare engaged in it.
WHAT IS THE REMEDY
| Fellow citizens, we now come to the point
Of this appeal, and propose to your consideration
one step at least in the way Of relief II is, the
enactment ofs general law allowing to the 70.
ters of each district in the State the privilege OF
determining by ballot. whether ,averns shall be
licensed or not in their respective districts
We might, in the premises, reasonably claim
more than this. The sale OF strong drink being
an aggravated nuisance. correct Legislation
would demand its entire prohibition. The ven.
ding Of other things. less noxious, has been pro.
hibted by law. The sale Of tainted meat, or Of
the flesh Of diseased cattle, the sale Of lottery
policies, end of publications Of various descrp
tions, are forbidden. The public good has been
considered TO require the prohibition. There
is much stronger ground for prohibiting the ssle
Of intoxicating drink. But public sentiment
has been corrupted. and it is no easy Thing to
purify the statute book at one blow. We there
fore propose to ask for nothing but what is on
it's tnce so reasonable. that j: the proper applics-
tion be made, there can be no doubt OF our sue.
cess. We do not even propose TO give 10 the
people the power Of sbolishing entirely the sale
of strong drink, but merely that intox ealing
drink should not be sold by the dram in public
houses, WHEN majority o: the people in the di.
; strict are opposed to such sale. .., ,.....
J We are son"limes charged with aiming t.,
control by law the sppetites Of men. and to pre-.
scribe what they shall eat and drink.-This
charge is so prcposterous that none but knaves
are likely TO repeat it. and none bu, fouls to give
it credence. II is not the Office of law to pro
tect indivldu against their own vicious appe
iites. But il Is it's office to prevent them from
injuring othcrs, and from holding on. 10 them
dangerous temptations. s.a Hrs
? THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE
. In every community where the habits uf the
: people have been changed BY the suppre sion O
!. licenses or the voluntary abandonment of the
f intoxicating cup, the good results have shows
!. forth conspicuously In the lurge town O
E Lynn, Massachusetts, which was formerly bur
E thened with heavy tax, for the support OF sixty
, paupers, the Westinghouse movrme nj reduced
their number uil MOI one was LETT. "Three
years sgo," snysa Massachusetts paper, publ
shed in ls4i, there were Ago inlnates In tls
poor house in Worcester.--iast year the in
n mates were reduced 10 eitren ?, In considers
ton Of this great reduction IN their Imnprr tax
. the town voted s50o 10 be paa annuslly 10 ,he
n Temperance S,cie'y, together with the use of a
A large hnil, md oil aud fuel 10 leh, and warm
4 H." In lsi3. while the city OF Buff.l .ln. with
its swarm OF liquor dealers, furnished is3 pau
. pers tue remainder OF the county furnished on
ly94 Six Of the towns which had no run
4 shops, furnished no, single paurer!
e II is true that The favorable change exhibited
. in some Of these instances has not been perms
Z nen,. The reason Of this is obvious the Law
!. continued TO license or tolerate the traffic. snd
. the temptation thus held out TO the people, pro
}. dueed retrograde movement. Were the on
J. ward moral progress sustained by corresponding
J. legal ensctments, there would not be the sam,
J. tendency to relapse. Ia 1882. Licenses wsr,
u wi.hhSld in three contiguous coun,ies Of xss
J, sschusetts, Plymouth. Mis,ol and htastsbe
"a embracing n napulstion, of LOO 0OOy Hhr>,