North Iowa times. [volume] (McGregor, Iowa) 1867-current, 1867-03-27

whether drug or liquid. speak only of
the facts of History. These we cannot
change or controvert. Look at few of
the types which people the earth: The
African has his hasheesh-an intoxicating
tea made of wild hemp-the Frenchman
his absiRthe "a distillat:on from anise-
seed, which is now reported to be prohib-
tied in France, Italy and parts of Gcrma-
ny-the Chinese his opium, which the pre-
tensiously pious English government forced
upon him at the point of the bayonet at q
time when the poor Cinnamon saw their
people were being destroyed by its too
liberal use-the German his beer; the
Englishman his ale; the Irishman his
potter; the Scotchman his usquebaugh
and the American his whisky; and thus
has it been since man was created.
Well, like many other things that
seem to come to us with natural appeal
for favor, we have embraced customs
which in the abstract we admit are not for
our good but which in practice we are too
weak to resist There is no man with
brains in his head who will insist upon
the general benefits Of liquor-drinking.
There are rare instances in which spirits
may be of use-possibly a necessity. In
the case of poisonous bite from ia
rantula or a snake, the vegetable poison
will counteract the effect of the animal one !;
in cases of extreme prostration powerful
stimulus is found in Brandy; in cases of
consumption Jamaica Rum or good whis-
ky is said to be help to breathe out few
more days of life; but, this all being ad-
mitted, the assumption only proves that
before man should touch the disorganiz-
ing fluid he should prepare his person
with snake-bite, a febrile prostration or
a respectable consumption. Why use a
medicine before it is required? People
do not call on doctors for emetics or To-
tons until the case begins to produce
alarm, nor should they argue the proprie-
ty of using narcotics-Liquor in a general
sense is a narcotic-at times when the
body is in full health. In newspapers of
very late date have seen notices of the
opinions of learned physicians and divines
insisting upon the nutritious qualities of
liquor. Not having the honor to be nm
NJ. d. or d. D., it might be consistent
with modesty on my part to avoid differ
ing with them, but how can help it? /
grant you that liquor or opium is life-pre-
serving, but it is not until life is in pro-
cess of decay that either of them are of
benefit. Drink until your stomach has
lost the power of digestion, use the RENE
dy for the bite of rattlesnake till your
system has become reservoir of poison
and then your remedy may be valuable.
Place yourself in a fix for the rejection OF
food such as the stomach in its healthy
state requires, and then you can find nu-
triment(?) dullness and insanity in spirits
A man can 81 feel well" on opium longer
than on ham and eggs, because he is le-
duced in one case to stupidity, while ele-
waited, in the other, to active, laboring life.
Liquor or opium-as the clearinghouse
lady said of her tainted meat-will "go
farther than wholesome food! Chloroform,
administered in reasonable quantities,
would relieve n man Of the cravings OF
| appetite longer than potatoes and beef, or
turnips and pork. But this idea is not
worth talking about. There is no rirtue an
the use Of liquor ,chen IN health. 1t is not
natural to the taste, nor is it required by
the physical organism. If those who hear
me regard these opinions assumed for the
occasion beg them to change their views.
| have seen too many instances of sadness
in persons and in families to permit CON-
mendation of that living death which per-
vades American society. affect no can
dor when l admit in this public manner
that have used more of the social curse
than was good for me. There are few men
in this room who can say less. The deal
or in liquor is generally pleasant, agree
able, liberal man: He gets up early to
obige his friends: his friends are those
who mortgage their homes to make home
for him. We all know this is SO, and
there is little use in being offended about
it. beg nobodv's pardon. Years ago
read the Penny Magazine of London which
lane, aBeer Street" and the various Gus
places Of drinking resort that infested the
capitol Of Great Britain. The idiotic look
OF the first, the stupid appearance of the
second, and the semi-insanity of the oc-
cupants OF the other places of public de-
bauch-if this is too coarse a word the
considerate will pardon me-those pictures
have never quilted me. l am no apologist
for liquor-selling. Many dollars of mine
and Of yours have gone to build the halls.
to furnish the parlors, to purchase car
rlages, to dress the wives and daughters,
to aid in tie erection Of splendid tomb
stones of those who-to say the best of
thein-are, or were, only the absorbents of
society. They are of no value except as
collectors of careless ten cent pieces for
the purpose of building houses out of
others. Personally they are means, often
times, of the kindest social material. It
is fact-and this fact is one which influ-
ences more than all others-that those who
sell liquor are more generous toward pub
lie enterprises than the strict and rigid op-
ponents of spirituous indulgence It
must be remembered that there is an under
current of selfshness in their acts, which
is not at all commendable.
Selfshness is not eradicable from the
heart of man, and liquor dealers are not
singular in plying their vocation for profit:
all others do similar things. The editor,
supposed by all to be the most conscien-
tious of mortals, often puffs man or con-
Germ that merits no merit-but 1t pans.
The Doctor speaks gently, and sympathiz-
ingly of persons who are nothing but hyp-
notwithstanding in the world the
matter with them-it pays. The Lawyer
takes up the defense of criminal who
ought to have been born in a penitentiary,
because 1T pays. The Merchant sells goods
to mean man and trusts him because he
has property and will probably pay, while
yirtsous, Industrious poverty may go
bread-less. The Divine dwells lightly on
the special faults of those practitioners who
are the pillars of the church, because it
would not pay to ventlate them. This
being true Of the leading professions, why
may not the liquor dealer indulge in par
allel mode Of advancing his interest? You
cannot expect more disinterested henevo-
lence from him than you can from those
who elect themselves the chosen guardians
of public good. In fact, and say it not
toinjure the feelings ofthe rigidly ri hteous,
but only as scriptural truth, the God of
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not act
without motives similar to those who are
made in his image. The Biblical scholars
II am not one of that class-will remem-
Der a passage which reads: "And God