American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-02-13

49, -
Some Of these foul mouthed apostles OF
intemperance have spit on the stove, and
the poisonous perfumes impregnate the
atmosphere of this Utopia as dark as the
heme of the lost, with the smoke from
the IN uths Of dozen saints and here
is the place that the topics of popular
reform are to be discussed by these de-
votees of the most filthy of all fashiona-
bic indulgcnees; like smoked bacon you
might write upon their foreheads, dead,
but mot buried.
Now, / am not complaining Of these
men expressing their opinion on the lis
eense question, but what do say, it does
not look we'll for a man to argue tens
peraRce and anti license with cigar or
,quid OF tobacco in his mouth As the
question now stands tobacco is the greater
aud whiskey the less evil | am conf
dent az right, when say, that 800,
has been expended for tobacco, in Butler
county, for every dollar that has been
expended for whiskey. More lille has
been destroyed, and more misery caused
by the hlthy weed than was ever caused
by the licensed bar. You may see boys
every day upon the streets of Butler, so
small, they have to put skates on to sec
into the butter crock, and yet these
smoked rats have a plugin their pockets
md cigar in their mouths.
| know poor woman that smokes her
twenty cents week Or SIC, 40 year
there are one thousand such women in
this county and they smoke $4,000 worth
Of tobacco every year-they all belong to
the church and are good missionary wo-
men. The School Drecters Of a certain
township thought the township too poor
to have six months school, yet 40 per
sons in that district consume twenty cents
each per week in tobacco, making S2S
per month, which is precisely the wages
given teacher; thus the amount of to-.
bacco used in the district would keep four
schools open the entire year, and create
fund to purchase a library.
Now, let us be reasonable; see no good
in man straining at glass of " Reber's
Rye" and swallowing plug of "Dog
Leg" You talk of clearing the forest,
cultiyating the swamp, &c; well it take S
money to do all this, and if you take the
money expended for tobacco in Bufler
county, it will build one mile of railroad
every year: and in eighteen years without
any other sacrifice or tax, you would have
the cars in Butler town, and by hat
time the whiskey drinkers will have
saved enough to put on the rolling stock
We may call it the Butler county wills
key and Tobacco Railroad, aad if no one
would be benefited by it, we feel conf.
dent no person would be the worse of this
economy; but the health and morals of
the community would be improved. l
never could have much confidence in
preacher that would stand up in the sa.
cred desk and tell his story with l quid
of tobacco in his mouth. | heard one
talk once about the millennium. | Just
thought, will such dirty tobacco splitter
as you, ever be permitted to see the glory
of that day? or will its brightness be OBJ
scured by your foul tobacco smoke? 1
once heard mother as she sat rock ing
ing her child in her arms, talk and La
.ment over the heather mothers offering
up their babes in sacrifice to idols, aud as
the black and poisonous smoke ascended
from her huge pipe, | thought thissmoke
represented the health, the education and
the life of that child, and how small the
difference between fhe sacrifice of the
heathcn and christian mother. Emma,
i hope you will not smoke when you get
to. be a mother.
joan.
E,b II 1897