Burlington hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington, Iowa) 1845-185?, 1850-01-24

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;u.t commenced we have only driven in
- cnemy's outposts. We find him
strongly garrisoned and fortified by the
l emil arm, and well provisioned by legal
snactments, bidding defiance 10 every form
Il attack, and dealing out death and mise
y on every side. Here your committee
you'd remark that it is their firm belief
that whilst intemperance sits enthroned
under the protection Of the civil arm ev.
~ effort to rid ourselves Of the evil will
h vain. We should unite with our breth-
ren in Muscatine and throughout the land
in driving him from his last strong hold,
and thereby dry up tina: great fountain of
iniquitythat isoverAowing our land and car
rying miseryand death to everycommunity.
We believe the time has come for us
to change our course Of action, instead Of
acting on the defensive, we must carry
the war into the heart of the enemies
camp. We must not let single rumsel-
ler pursue his nefarious business and shell
Ter himself under the civil arm in the
shape Of license! We must wipe from
our statute book that burning disgrace of
the nineteenth century, which enables
those degraded beings in human shape to
obtain license to commit unmolested
highway robbery, murder, arson, in short
every crime in the human catalogue
Why is it that there should be such wide
difference Of opinion with regard to the
manufacture and sale Of intoxicating drink
in a legal point Of view when they all
agree as to the evils.
We as community associate together
and institute governments and establish
laws to insure right and justice, to each
individual member Of community. Why
then we ask again; should government
instituted for 50 srise, so just, and SO good
a purpose, so far depart from the princi-
pie upon which it was instituted as to sell
for TIE paltry sum Of few dollars, to
those scourges Of humanity, in human
shape, the privilege of numbering sons,
husbands and fathers, and of filling our
prisons, poor houses, and lunatic asyluns,
and load rs with taxes. Why for few
pieces Of silver, should government Ii
cense those moral hyenas to go forth and
prey upon every interest Of society and
destroy the verybeings that were created
in the image Of God. We believe that
moral suasion is incapable Of abolishing
the evil from our midst. We must have
wholesome laws, that will compel those
that manufacture and sell ardent spirits to
become responsible for its effects in COM
munity both moral and physical. Instead
Of enacting laws, making the government
party in this infamous traffic, its whole
energies ought to be turned to punish
those destroyers Of the public peace, not
withstanding the difficulty that has been
experienced heretofore in the enactment
Of efficient laws. We believe that law
can be so framed as not only to steer clear
Of that endless labyrinth litigation, but
insure its complete success. The day
has come when we should treat the rum
seller as we do the thief or the midnight
assassin. Make him responsible for his
acts. fhe will sell his poison make him
responsible for the consequences. If the
husband, father, or brother, spends his
time in the rum shop, make the rumseller
accountable to his family for the loss. II
crime has been committed under the in
fluence Of liquor hold the rumseller guilty
n alder and abettor, and punish him ac-
cordingly.
We expect the aid Of all in procuring
the passage Of such law. If we can
show that every man is direct loser by
the traffic. The golden rule Of the age is
profit and loss.
We will attempt 10 offer few facts on
The subject that will show that every mem
Der Of community is at least Interested
The State Temperance Society Of New
York in its animal reports of several
years, state that three fourths Of the crime,
pauperism and insanity could be directly
traced to intemperance and large part OF
the remaining as a remote cause. The
same result has been shown in the police
and Temperance reports, wherever they
have been made.
Let any one take our own County Com
missioners reports from year to year, and
they show the same result. The total
amount Of expenditures of Dcs Moines
County for the year lS47 was 1894 no.
For pauperism alone 1851 "a, Gin this is
inciude0 tue purchase Ol IaTW, iof TIE
county poor Of 1910 SOY For criminal
expenses about $l40O more, making in
oil $455l "a, over half of the entire ex.
penses Of the county. Thus taking lo47
as an average year. we find that this coun.
II with about 5000 inhabitants, is taxed
IS much to pay for the evil effects Of the
traffic in intoxicating drinks, as for their
School and Road taxes, and other incident
q expenses. Why should the citizens Of
Des Moines county consent to pay about
200 apiece for every voter to support the
rumseller in our midst? : The city Of
Burlington has issued some IL or more
licenses for the sale Of intoxicating drinks
for which she receives bonus Of about
800 apiece, and for which the tax payers
Of the county have to pay about $4,000
per year to take care Of the pauperism and
crime that it creates. The people are
told by the trafiickers that they have the
right to sell as much, and to whom they
please, and il is no ones business. What
tax payer Of Des Moines county, none o.
your business, what amount Of taxes you