Smyrna times., 1854-11-29
Prohibition The Mercantile Interest.


During the late campaign in this county, an
agent of the Prohibitory County Committee
called upon number of our prominent and swell
to do in this world" citizens, to solicit funds
to aid III defraying the necessary expenses of,
the Committee We were struck very forcibly
with one or two facts reported by the agent,
only one of which we propose to notice at pree-
emit While the humber class ofnechanics and
laborng men contr buted literally, in propor-,
ton to their means, merchants-with but
one or two eXccptions-refused to give dime
Most of them declared their intention to vote
"ior prOhibitory law" but positively refused
any "material add Now, have our lnerclIan MIS-.
storekeepers, shopkeepers, etc. never thought
how much Liquor Prohibition would advance
their interests above all others Have thew
never thought of the "bad debts :" on their
Ledgers-the few dollars here and there through
Liquor Drinking! Have they never thought
how much more dry goods, groceries, flour,
clothing and etc. would 90 into poor drunken
Joe's family if Joe could not get any more rum!
These are pertinent thoughts, and we hope.
our business men will ponder them well. -.
The friends Of prohibitory law have conten-
ded that every useful trade and every necessa.
ry branch of business would increase, wheney-
cr the law, prohibiting the sale of intoxicating
liquors, should be enforced. Ii an intemperate
man becomes sober, he will Immediately find
employment, and instead depending his money
for rum, he will spend it for bread, meat, cloth
ing, shoes furniture, &c, &c, and thus the ba-
ker, butcher, clothler, shOe-dealer, &c. will
have their trade increased. Take town with
five thousand inhabitants, ordinarily there will
be not less than hundred men who make free
use of strong drink They, with their families.
contribute but little, comparatively to the gen.
eral business prosperity OF the place. Let those
men,an all others depending upon them for sup
! port become temperate, and the business OF the
town would be increased from twelve and half
to twenty-five per cent, to say nothing of the
peace, health aud comfort that whould flow IN.
like river, upon every family. VIZ. aux
Take smaller town which has only four
grog shops Suppose their sales of liquor aver
age only five dollars each per day: this would
make an aggregate OF twenty dollars per day,
and $1,000 per year. All this money would be
saved for the business of the place, and every
business man, except the rumselIer, would feel
it at once.
The New Haven Advocate in a leading edi.
torial upon the operation of prohlbtory law
in Connecticut, says that sober industrious citi-
zens have been made out of persons hitherto
Incorporate and shlftless. Homes, long stran-
gers to the common enjOyments of life, are now
realzeng the rewards of temperance and fru-
gahty. Our steets are quiet; intemperance
with its disgusting effects, has disappeared to
such degree, as to make the change the re-
mark OF even the opponents of the law. Our
J. watch house has barely one inmate, to where
it previously had a dozen, and the record of
commitments to the county jail is rapidly lessen
ing "
But this is not all; our retail temperance
groceries find their business largely on the in
crease, since the law came into operation, and
are now receiving weekly payments on accounts
before considered worthless than the paper on
which they were entered.
: We were informed by store keeper few
days since that men were now trading with
D him who had owed him for two years, having
become Incorporate and left him for places
where rum could be procured in connection
e with groceries if indeed their money held out
n to buy the latter, after getting a supply ofthe
4 former, who since the first of August, had re-
t turned to his store, paying promptly for what
: they had got, and also making weekly pay
= rnents in liquidation of their old accounts and
that his trade had increased almost one halt du-
k ring the past two months. Here is the differ
). ence between the rum rule and prohibition,
If and here the difference between men when
c sober and when under the influence of intoxica-
: ton. We have asked others in the retail drv
IT grocery business, and we do not know of an
ii exception where the reply has not been, sour
is trade is better than before the law passed.
e The secret is easily told, men now spend their
c money to supply the wants of their families,
J. whereas before, if they had any. it went into
10 the till Ofthe liquor shop. ..r
l. An ex-dramseller was asked few days ago
- what had become ofhis customers, quite num-
" Der of whom might be found at most any hour
st in the day hanging about the shop. His reply
was " dem, s'pOse they've gone. to work.i
The expression rough, and heartless as it was,
e contained much of truth. "Gone to work - and
V why! The carcass is removed--the article
1t that called them to hover around his groggery
and there held them to spend their time to the
c neglect tall else, sunder the ban OF iron law.
Or and not being able to procure it, they find now
/ no occasion to laze away the hours Of either
re day or night, to the neglect EITHER families.
e, at shops, or to longer bestow their patronage
upon the one who, taking their advantage Of
their weakness, has done so much to debase and
destroy them.-LGncaster Express.
pc Mock MoDEsTY.-Some people certainly
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