Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-03-02
Matt. II. Carpenters Temperance
Speech Reviewsd-Moral, Christian
and Political Temperance.

| I'M. Sof EN- - VI years nav
thought of saying word about pro-
hibiting the sale of Intoxicating
drinks. Reading the speech of Matt.
FL. Carpenter on the subject has
been reminder and to some extent
an occasion.
Nowhere in his speech does Mr.
Carpenter deny the right of prohibit.
DRY Legislation, but confines himself
TO the policy. Throwing upon chris.
tianity the duty of keeping pure the
morals of the state, he seems to ig>
more all relationship of the citizen to
drunkenness, and insists only upon
that of the christian. Can it be til at
be would throw a public grievance
upon mere fraction of the body pe~
little, or does he mean to exhort US
Individually to become christians, in
order, TO inaugurate the rational rec
former from his stand point. But
is not the citizen as much Interest,"
ed in public morals as the christian?
ls it true that the christian is the
only guardian of public morals f? Is
it not true, rather, that the state is
the conseryator of public morals,
while the church is simply the incul>
Gator thereof? Is our statute of
frauds no record of evidence that the
state is the conservator of morality?
Does she not punish bigamy, arson,
rape, murder, pursuant to the conser.
walton of public morality 4? Can
Judge Mills, or Dixon license prae-
titioner at the bar, unless he be
man f"good moral character" Mr..
Carpenter gives the state but d.
minutive civic domain, when he says,
"The state has it's jurisdiction-to
levy taxes, to preserve the peace, to
build highways" Aside from pun-
ishing all the crimes and misdemean
ors which are continually springing
from insane drunkenness, and wick,
ed passions, with paternal regard
for the reformation of the offender
the state guards the development
of her future hopes by providing for
and giving character to the educa>
ton of the rising generation. Why
does she require the teachers OF our
public schools to be persons of "good
moral character"
This may be calculated ito pre-
serpe the peace" but is certainly re,
mote from "levying taxes" or "build-
highways" The state, then, being
manifestly the chief guardian of pub
lie morality, the citizen necessarily
finds him self in close relation to that
morality. TO be understood rath,
er than TO be critical, we will say
that the aggregate sovereignty of her
citizens in this country constitutes
the sovereignty of the state, that
of the majority of her citizens, the
dctlve sovereignty of the state,-that,
of the minority of her citizens the
passive sovereignty of the state, and
herein we find no escape for the
citizen from any of the subjects in>
volving public morality, and from
that of the liquor traffic certainly
least Of all. The citizen who open
ly supports or silently acquiesces
in licensing the sale of intoxicating
drinks upon the streets, is brought
into the closest possible connection
with the results upon public morals
that may follow. In regard to any
other subject, candid minds would
own that the citizen, representing
an integral element of the active SOW,
ereignty of the state, is just as re-
sponsible, morally, for all the crimes
and miseries that follow in the train
Of drunkenness as the dram seller
himself. Indeed, the same kind of
reasoning which. when applied
to other subjects, is recognized
as logical makes the citizen who
thus prostitutes his sovereignty for
consideration the only responsible
party in the case. And herein, the
licensing of dram selling, in this
country, differs very much from the
same thingin European, or differently
constituted governments. When
monarchy or oligarchy licensespublic
drunkenness and debauchery, for a
special revenue, it does not involve
the whole community as the express
sion of public sentiment, but the
same action here by the active sov-
ereignty involves also the passive
sovereignty, dragging the monority
into share an unwilling manifestation
of public opinion.
Public opinion, too, in this country
constitutes responsibility; so that,
the citizen, who, by his vote, author.
ICES the sale of Intoxicating drinks,
and consequently all the attendant
evils, clothes the traffic with all the
responsibility inherent in the SOW
ereignty of government, ..as well as
the defiant corroborative endorse
ment ofpublic opinion.
Can the burden, then, of this re-
form be logically, or, forensically
shifted on to the shoulders of the
christian
| And is it practical to talk about
substituting the preacher" or "the
prayer meeting" for the "sheriff" to
abolish this evil. when the HIGHEST