American telegraph. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1851-1851, 1851-08-22
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10 dhs Editors Of ate AMERICAN TcleqropA!c tIfsr
t11ESTLEmEsa Inimy opinion, newspaper con-
troYersles are Of very little benefit except some
.lines INES TO crafty the vanity of those who engage
IN them, and it is for this reason Rtiat nave
ieit, and still feel, reluctant to make myself
haoie TO this charge, by answering the numef-
GUS gentlemen who have thought it incumbent
on tnem TO SNAKE at6tge atE the comm anica ton
Whshi penned in explanation, not in J" dajeHce,n %
y tne vote OF the majority Of the, Council on the
III FLa4u0or 0 5tt may be permitted to remark
az tne outset, that # the success Of the temper
ance cause IN this city were to be measured by
one '''S'aoer OF the knights Of the quill, 2, who
are ever readyt6 sound the alarm in ne pu5kic
Papers, at the slightest approach of danger, then
indeed the citadel would be safe, and this bill,
with ITS penalty Of "labor in the workhouse.a
n wouid be worse than useless The warming
voice OF the bird that saved Rome NAV vet be
tparaileieda by these modern guardians upon the
Watehrtowers of temperance whenever the
crisls SIS arrives, But they are now, certainly,
making false alarm, " and crying before thew
are hurt" In the few lines which yotr did me TIA
honor to publish in your paper, had no more
| idea OF attacking the cause of temperance than
those gentlemen Of the Council had, who voted
iors the lndetinite postponement Of Mr. Brenfs
Dill said then, and say now that the man
who cannot and does not distinguish between
opposition to such bill as that, and disposition
TO- the cause Of temperance, is either fool, O
knave, or q fanatic. If this three-cornered
cap should ift any Of the gentlemen concerned,
they are welcome to wear, it, l have nothing
to say, and wish to say nothing, against those
who compose the different tempefance associa-
tions of this city. They have their share of
that pharisaical, and, II you please, fanaticaI
spirit which, on account Of the fraify Of hu-
man nature, insinuates itself into the best of
causes ever devised by the wisdom or the charity
Of man. But this applies only to a few OF. the
members, while the vast majority Of the adv0-
Gates Of the cause of temperance are men
whose motives are as pure as their objscto is
holy. Thus much by way Of defining my posi-
tion1 on this question, and of repehing q charge
rather limited than made by some Of this sCor-
poral's Guard" Of the temperance army IN
Washington. III iii II" I'll Stolp!1l
AS to the bill which was proposed ais the pan
acea for the evils complained of, am still of
opinion that it was not fit to be adopted by any
legislative body and 1 am sure, had it been
proposed to the vote of the Council in its oriq;-
nal shape, as offered, by its framer, 1t would
not have received the vote of one-ffth Of tie
members Of the Council. nLetme call your st-
tention to one of the provisions in the first SEC
JhOn, to hich made o slight allnsion in my
last letter. No grocer in the city could procure
Q license for the sale of liquor until he u first
produced q certificate, under oath, signed by Siz
resident freeholders IN tie sqstare, recommending
the opening Of such store as necessary and
desirable for the public good and convenience"
&c. This provision amounted to the absolute
denial of the license, as it was impossible to
| comply with such provision on two thirds of
| the squares Of the city. When Mr. Brent,s at
tention was called to the fact, he said ahe had
purposely made it so !" and, when the vote was
taken upon amending this clause, he stuck to
his bill, and voted solitary and alone in favor
of retaining the whole of these provisions Wa
Ei The idea of making q man swear that his
business Is t'necessdry and desirable for the
public good" (another of its deformities, seems
to me to be simply preposterous. And SO all
the members Of the Council thought, except the
gentleman who offered this compendium of
his views" for their adoption, But we do not
wish to go further into the discussion of this
bill, more particularly as Mr.. Brent has com
menced to give to the public that s' light
which he seems to think. g is 30 much wanted
on this subject" With all respect to his ability
as q writer, and his skill as q logician, yet may
we be permitted to say that should he succeed,
through the medium Of his personal cards,"
in making his fellow-citizens believe that his
bill, such Il sods when IL came from his hands,
is the one which ought to have been adopted by
his felow-members of the Council, then indeed
will he have gained triumph which we would
not suppose was in the compass Of euen his
powers to achieve. 1agree with him that @your
intelligent patrons and citizens interested will
be able to judge" by seeing the old law and the
proposed law in juxtaposition; such as he has
placed them in his 90 Personal Card No 90
This is all the a"light' an intelligent people
want upon the subject. No argument, however
able or ingenious, could change the opinion of
any man who has made up his mind by a pc
rusal and comparison of the two laws To the
intelligence TO which he has appealed, I would
be willing to submit this issue, with the utmost
confidence and without word of comment In
the meantimeI shall look with interest on his
post-mortcm examination of this defunct bill
| #. ...e..s .... ALPHA.