The Hillsdale standard. [volume] (Hillsdale, Mich.) 1851-1909, 1853-10-25
A SPEECH OF BARNUM'S

A SPEECH OF BARNUMs
The noted American Shnwman, besides be-
ing considerable" in the line of Exhibitions, is
fright smart speaker on the stump. Capt.
tai hits of his, in Temperance speeches, have
been going the rounds OF tho papers for year
or two past. But till now, we have ne or been
able to lind one of his speeches reported in full.
In late number of the Milwaukee Sentinel,
however, we find an extended report of his
pointed and humorous address at Racine; (he
being engaged now in Wisconsin for the Maine
Law;) which we copy as the next best thing to
hearing the renowned speaker himself;
He began by saying that he was always glad
to see large audience, but had no doubt that
many had c,me from motives OF curiosity, and
not because they felt, or thought they possess
ed any particular interest in the cause. But one
thing he wished to say to such persons and
that was that in imagining that they were not
interested in this cause they were most huge
ly mistaken. Very many seemed 10 suppose
that tho cause was well enough for those who
had an interest nit, that it was of no conse-
quence to them. This was not so. There
vas no man, woman or child in the United
States, who had not been, either directly or
indirectly, sufferer by the liquor traffic. He
did not know as he had any particular interest
the men in Racine nigh, go and get drunk till
they killed themselves, and ne did not know
as it would affect him very much. But still
he was interested il it. and there was no ma !,
woman or child in t o country who was not rs
much interested as he was. Ii was ono Of tho
pecularities of the traffic that it's evil was uni
versal-it affected the whole community and
evory body had 10 suffer by il Ifthey wero
temperance mon, and did not injure Them
selves by it, yet they had to suffer by its des-
troying their relatives and friends. They al
so had to suffer by being obliged to pay tho
expenses of rumselling They were obliged
to support the paupcr and pay for tho crimi-
nal prosecution that were caused by it
The dollar and cent view WAS certainly tho
lowest standard by which moral question
could he judged. But Judging it by this one
he reasons were most conclusive IN favor of
a olshiur tho lraitc altogether. Ii had been
cstina ed that $l50, 100000 were expended
every year in this couniry for liquor. The os-
timote was to low, he bad no doubt, and if the
alue of he time of all tho persons engaged in
it the value of all the grain and other mate
rials rs td in il, tho value of all tho buildings
occupied 10y it and tho cost uf all the time and
paupcrism caused 10y il, wero included, the
amount offs annual cost would be swcllod far
beyond 5l50,0O0, 900. But supp ,sing it to bo
fixed al that sum: ihen if the Sl50,000000 of
this year should be taken AID pu, at interest,
and the same next year. and so on for thirty
years-ht the end of that time, the principal and
interest would amount to enough TO buy all the
land, and all the personal property in the Uni
tod States! Just think of that! Swallowing
down the whole country once in thirty years
or at the rate ofabout one State year!
Another pecuiarity of the traffic was, that
al hn. Of lar h..or
and warm generous feelings. wero the best
men who became its victims. Take close
fsted miserly streight-jaeket of fellow. and
he would be to near TO got drunk! Laugh
ter. Ifthat class Of men were tho only ones
destroyed by it ho doubted whether he would
have bcen good enough Christian to have
come out hero to try and save them. He
would have left that task to better men than
he was. But when tho evil preys on our no.
blest men, and bears most heavily upon the
most innocent class Of community, the women
aud children, he thought it time for all to make
common cause against it;-for every man and
woman and evcry child to join in trying to a.
bolish il forever.
And what the objections against doing it n
way: What reasons were given for contnu-
ing to drink liquor? Wbyl they say that God
made it, and therefore they must drink it! To
drink il moderately because God made it! He
thought those who used this argument wouldn't
be willing to follow it to its legitimate conclu-
sion. He thought God had mado good many
things that they wouldn't like to take into their
stomachs. For instance, he would take them
down to New York, and ask them 10 eat paving
stones, and the argument was just as good in
favor of eating them, as of drinking LIQUOR
tLaughtsr So il was just as good favor Of
eating any of the poisons God has made But
they were in fact mistaken. God never made
alcohol! 1t was an artificial production, and
existed no where in nature. They might search
all through the vegetable, mineral and animal
Kingdoms, and they could not find it. Ii was
produced by men, and it was produced from
the death and decay of the materials out Of
which it was made. II was the product of rot
tenness,-the fever that was left afIer the death
and destruction of tho material; aud God never
made IL at all Ho made grapes, but they might
cat oil tho grapes in the world without getting
intoxicated. He made grain, but there was no
alcohol in grain, II could only be produced by
fermcuting or distilling. God made theso ma
terials which were nutritious and healthy in
the condition in which He made them, and they
were only converted into alcoholic poison, by
artificial rottiDg process employed by men.
Another reason they give for drinking, is be-
cause they recommend it! But no thought tho
Doctors recommended great many things for
rick persons, that healthy ones wouldn't like TO
take. There was scarcely any poison in the
world, but what tho doctors recommended in
some diseases or other, yet this was not very
good reason Why healthy people should 60 TO
eating and drinking poison. He thought If
this kind OF reasoning was 10 prevail, that pro-
yiaion stores would be abolished and drug stores