Muscatine weekly journal. [volume] (Muscatine, Iowa) 185?-1890, 1859-08-19
'|rosITIvELY NO CREDIT. - The
following article from the Wisconsin,
Chief which has been handed us for


Chief, which has been handed us for
publication, possesses more than ordi-
nary merit, and We commend it to the
careful perusal of our readers. We
could wish that no one would fail to
profit by the instructive admonition. it
draws from that furniture of the bar
room which it brings SO conspicuously
to view. Alas! that any should be so
lost to reason and reflection by the
Supplying influence of rum as to hear
in its solemn voice Of warning and ex-
postulation nothing but dull and
meaningless sound :-EDIToR JOURNAL.
Positively no credit 20
True as the gospel, every time put
up behind a grog-shop bar--a whole
volume Of truth in single sentence.
What possessed these men to so ad
vertise we do not know but they never
advertised greater truth. The dis
reputable course of both dealer and sci
Ter, is placarded in large letters. They
stare the customer in the face. They
leer like grinning devils over the shout
ders of the seller. They dance infer
nal glee among the decanters, where
devils are confined. They peer down
under the counter among the kegs and
casks. They shout the truth exultant-
ly in the ears of him whose hands drip
blood, drop by drop into the till. They
vail, and shrek, and sob, when the
miserable serf of the bottle pours the
consuming poison in his veins.
Positively no credit"
Not q whit but on the contrary, a
disgrace. No credit to a man to be a
curse to the community he lives in, and
for II oney ruin his own neighbors. No
credit to man to be shameless, and
continue in the business which is de-
plored by humanity and denounced by
God. No credit to get bread by the
robbery of women and children. No
credit to be lerer in society and
breathe out death from his den of pollu-
ton. No credit to live and die vile,
lazy vagabond, and fatten on that which
he never earned. No credit for a man
to stand at the hoodgates of vice and
crime, and let in upon neighborhood,
influences more than internal in their
deliberate atrocity. Look over your
bottles, sir, and if there is shame left,
and sense Of meapness and guilt, re-
fleet that it is "POSITIVELY NO
CREDIT to sell rum.
Positively no credit !"
Look at the words, drinkers They
glare upon you as the door swings open,
and mark every step made towards the
counter. "I'll take some brandy
Positively no credit % Look ur
while the compound is gurgling into
the glass, and face that truth TELLING
placard. Ha shame left yet-a sens,
Of manhood degraded, and o. self re.
spect lost. That hot flush reddens ever
over the logwood c,ioring of many
years tipping. Gos wife at home, Ell
Children whose pure young hearts idol.
ize you as the perfection Of all things
Got mother? Perhaps she is dead
and in some place in your soul, the no.
memory Of her is slumbering. Were
wife, children, and mother, standing
by you, would you herd among drunk
ards, in a stenching grog-shop, ant
drink the drunkard's drink? Fo
shame! No credit to thus betray you
own household and disgrace yourself.
This placard stares at all alike.
speaks the same language to the gen
teel tippler and the shabby sot. Wall
in, respectable sir, and under the blaz,
of that artillery, call for your dram
The path under your feet has BEEF
trodden by all the poor wretches VIII
have d. linked and died. You stanC
where they stood-lean upon the sam
bulwark between you and degradation
The words you use, have been used b
the hosts which have crowded the sam
spot. Lift the reeking glass and dro1
your lips, yet sacred with your chill
dren's kisses, upon the rim where tn
most polluted have pressed before you
Now lift your elbow and complete tn
outrage upon nature. Wipe the filth.
dregs from your mouth, and then be
fore you turn to 60 out, look up owe
the counter, and there, arranged by tn
rumseller's hand, is the blistering re
cord: "Positively no credit!!''
MONEY. The desire to be rich is no
an evil Of itself. 1t is nonsense for
man to stand up and disclaim the desir
for wealth, and urge upon the worl
the idea that it should be poor. None,
is neither an evil CT good of itself
it has not a moral character. 1t i
simply an agent, and whether it be goo,
or evil depends upon the manner il
which it is used. It is like a sword
Whether sword be in the hands Of
Benedict Arnold, bathed in his coun
try's blood, or in the hands of a Wash
ington, welded for justice and liberty
it is sword only, and has not char
acter. Whether it be an instrumen
for good or evil, depends upon the char
acter of him who holds the hilt, an,
not the sword itself. So it is will
money. 1t is an agent it is gigan
tic motive power that thunders arounc
the worll. If the devil stands engineer
it thunders on, freighted with untol,
mischief, scattering oppression an,
cruelty and wrong. But if it is guidec
BY the spirit Of love and truth, it is lik,
thu cur eho1d;oo I;.L4 81