The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1871-02-03
Gerrit Smith on the Dram
Shop Power.

IL enO A'OIt"efh INDEPENDENT VIC
find 9 letter from Gerritt Smith,
which was read st the recent New
York Anti-Dram-Shop Convention,
from which we make S few extracts
as follows:
81 did not go into the recent cleo
ton, expecting u large vote for our
new party. remembered that our
similar party in 1858, got bu: littl5
more than I've thousand votes. l
remembered that, for no small part,
l had gone, always in vain, from
one temperance CONVENTION to ano-
thor, 70 persuade their members to
pledge themselves never more TO
vote dram-shop tickets. ! remein-
bsred that the great body of temp
erance mer had always, st this vi
tai, testing point, shown themselves
to be but sham temperance men
willing, indeed, - talk and write,
preach and pray to any extent a.
against the dram shop, but not will
ling to vote against II; not willing
TO quit their parties 10 overthrow
1t. So, too, was 1t with the great
body of the Abolitionists. They
were willing 10 do anything, nay
everything, against slavery, save
that they would Lot quit their par
ties. Rather than that, they stuff
ercd slavery togo out in blood and
break up the nation. Remembers
ing all this infatuated attachment
to party, how could expect a coz
siderable, much less q large vote a.
galnst tho dram-shop at the cleo
ton.
X X y x \ * *
IL was amongst those who pre-
dicted the breaking up of our Ms
ton by slavery. l did this IN as
well as out of Congress. Ny pre-
dicton vas on the ground that
there was not sufficient virtue in
the nation to vote slavery TO a
peaceful death, instead of suffering
it to go on to a bloody death. /
am also amongst those who predict
that this rapid multiplication Of
dram shops, if the temperance men
shall continue to vote for it as they
now do, by voting with the great
political parties, will result IN the
ruin of our country. Indeed, there
Is but TOO much reason TO fear that
it is already ruiued-that it is past
recovery from its d~rsm-shop cor
rup:Ion and debasement. Our cit
les, whether from the multlplica-
ton of railroads or from other eau
ses, are increasing in population
far more rapidly than are the rural
districts. They give tone, both mo-
raj and political, TO the country /;
and this is a dram-shop tone, be-
cause our cities are clusters of dram
shops. Our cities rule the country,
and the dram shops rule the cities.
The demagogues OF both the great
PARTIES ad9pl tho typo of their polls
tics and nominations to the choice
and n of the great dram shop
or bottom stratum of voters. The
dram-shop is our master and the
great body of the temperance men
persist in so voting, as 10 perpetu-
ate this mastery. the liquor leagne
is a chain which binds us all. II Gun
be broken only at the ballot box /;
and right there 1T Is that the temp
rance men SO vote as 10 make i.
stronger. We have taken away
from these sham temperance men
all pretense that we are seeking the
enactment of n sumptuary law or
any other lllegItimate exercise of
the powers of Government. We
simply insist that the Government.
being bound to protect person and
property, is therefore enpha:iealiy
bound to relieve these of the peril
of the dram shop, that peril being
their other perils. We believe if
Government Will put u stop to the
practice of dram selling, that this,
together with a faithful exercise of
moral influence, will suffice to break;
up our n%ntional lntemperance ; at
the same time, we do not disclaim
the right TO wicld onr political pow
er against any of the allies OF the
dram shop.
"Let us not despair that tho next
hour after tho present very dark
one for temperance shall be Irradi
ateJ with the flashes of Gods Splr-
it, and shall witness honest consist
ency on tho part Of the now shame
less, inconsistent members OF temp
erance societies, and what is more,
shall witness tho churches putting
away their CHE far greatest) stum-
bling blocks out of the path often
peranee. You remember that i'm
meciately after the eloquent Fred
eTIck Douglass had presented to his
audience one of his gloomIest pic
lures of the state and prospects of
the Anti-slavery cause, that wond-
erfuI woman, Sojourner Truth, then
broke out upon him with the in4ui-
ry, Frederick ! Is God dead p
No, friends of temperance, God is
not dead Though temperance men
and churches and Doctors of DIV
inily are dead to the claims OF tenn
perance; He is not.
And what lift is Gods purpose
10 leave our naticn to perish and
and destroy itself. because of its
failure to put down the dram-shop4
We nevertheless can save ourselves.
Our individual success consists not
in our being able 20 persuade the
majority to go with us, but IN our
going right ourselves. To go right
in this case, it is to vote for anti
dram-shop candidates. To expect
to find such candidates on the tick
cts of the great political parties, Is
an absurdity, and generally but q
lying p%retouse. IT is only The An
tr-dram shop party which nomin-
ates such candidates. The ether
r., A.