The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-11-11
[Frem che Prohibi,iop Era.l
The Responsibility Of Society.

hluee dlu iiquOfo Ntfc W oc huu u
their pure aud unadulterel staIe
aud when deiiriam tremens was
disease comparatively unknown
That lime has passea 10y. Now ev-
ery kind of liquor and wine IL mos
inhumahly mIxed, poisoned, weak.
ened and cooked over, antIl II is tat
more like the original srtiele thar
IS u statue like Ii living. human be-
ing. There is a Iesemblance-nne al
made in imitation of tbs other, but
they are net alike. As one is dcs.
titute Of life and it's powers, 30 ID
The other destitute vi good 9uali-
ties. Fortunate woald IL be for man.
kind If il we're destitute of qualities
OF any kind. But, alas /! II has the
power OF deadhnrss-It stIngs with
lie cnvenomcd fangs of the fatal
serpent.
The true qualities of these vile
compounds are known only TO those
who stagger and reel through our
streets, and leave the sidewalks fl-
thy with the nauseating contents Of
their stomuchs.
OF the evils entailcd upon man.
kind by the use of alcoholic drinks,
have most munrriul evidence
They burn and destroy the stom-
ach dethrone reason ; lead to pow
erty and wretebedness, disease and
death. And Yet, in this enlightsn-
ed, Christian age, the murderers of
Uur fathers, brothers and sons-the
very men who hold the poisoned
rhsiice 20 their lips. ars recognized
Us leaders in society, and haze hon>
ors thrust upon them because of their
weallh-wealth winch wal wrung
from dying wretehes who had lost
control OF their actions through the
poisonous effects Of the maddcnlng
drink.
The cause of n~ine>tenths of the
crime in our midst is intemperdnce.
The centuries OF civilization thro'
which the people of Europe and A
merica have passed, would have
driven the spirit of murder out OF
their systems ere this, had not the
humanizing influences been count
eracied 6y the fend of Rum. 1t
as though the world will new
or renounce allegiance to Its iniern-
al gods. There are SO many doors
open, and 30 mary hearts also, 10
the devil, that the oBtlaw is no SOON
err rOuted By one community than
he Is received by another.
AT one time the incendiary fiend
sweeps through the laid, lighting
the lurid heavens with bis torch
At another we have a refga of rail-
road horrors, w3er train a!tcr iraIR
Of human beiags Is hnrleG into red
and again we have the reign
Of murder.
These things sweep IN waves a
the earth. filing the world
with their Special devilment, and
leaving ii IN almost speeohless
wonder.
The red wave on which the in
frrnal furIes now sweep is intemper-
From every section-east,
west, north, and south-the sicken>
ing announcement Of hOrrid murG-
is daily flashed over the wires
Men may moralize On the preva.
lence of it IN our midst, and protest
that hanging is too good for the
perpetrators, but the mere choking
to death of Jumps of clay, and the
stopping of the biooG-pumps called
hearts, IN which the devil has taxi
Judgment, is poor satisfaction
1t may please n class of people who
would like 10 see men swinging in
the air like dogs, but will i. bring
back life to the murdered men p
Will it terriiy the 6end OF murder
When juries bring in the verdict
that rum is the .1SSaSSin-wheI. judy
sentence rum to dcath-ahd
when sheriffs sea TO the execution of
the assassin, then will murderers be
and the world have cause
TO rejolce.
Who is responsible for these ira
gedies that fill us with horror each
day ? The entire community Is re
sponsible. BY the exercise of the
power in IFS hands 1t could rend 10
atoms the very foundation of crime,
and forever bury under its crumb-
ling ruins lis principal propagation
IL MAJ be satisfactory to public
morbidncss to be Mortified over MS
sassinatIops. and then 70 TO see the
assassin chUked TO death on the gal
lows, but while the same public toll
crates the school for murder. and
permits the bar~room TO dispense
madness, the gallows. though II
we're multiplied a hundred fold,
will not ln%timidate. He who be-
comes possessed OF the fieni OF M
temperance fears neither gallows
nor prison. All human feeling and
all remembrance of humsn law and
its vengeance. arc cb.iterated from
his burning BRAIN, and the spirit oil
murder alone fills his soul. Why
then, talk of tho gallows and the
prison-uf the public safety and the
general veal, when the basis of all
is guarded by the law and
winked at by the community? Why
throttle the murderer, who has
been trained TO murJer by the com.
munity he has outraged 2 Why en-
courage glit.orIng bells where
fends feed their victims on Ere un-
Ill humanity is burned ont Of their
souls, and marder is implanted IN
its stead
The very men who frame your
laws-the men who execute both
your laws and criminals-your puff
pits and your benches. and the et.-
iire machinery OF civilization. are
all, more or less, dependent on the
Internal traffic of this great murder
tiend
The leaders of society deal ont death
to whole families and horror 10