The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1871-12-27
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not only of our cities, but also The
country at large Late events are
suffieientto con vince any one who
will be convinced By evidences.
i The official robberies in New York,
the disgfacefnI maneuvering In
Massachusetts in order at once to
catch prohibitory legislation, the
notorious managenent by which
| she ignorahtaDd debased are drawn
into the support of this and that
eandldate or party clique, are close
! ~ and directly connected with the
sale of Intoxicating drinks.
Tie ruling power IN this city
fathers and governs and rewards
y immense army of voters By ap-
pointing liquor dealers to numer-
ous offices. by permitting a grog-
shop on every corner, and distribu
/ ting stolen money to those small
politicians who bay and sell votes
with whisky In Massachusetts.
where the efforts of temperance
men have been most persistent,
there Is no political party of con
siderable power, which dares to
take decided stand in opposition
/ to the unrestricted sale of intoxi-
| ing drinks. A law which means
| nothing, or an executive who does
nothing see ms TO be the most which
years Of struggle have gained for
temperance And if in other
States there is less Of open defeat,
il is because the friends of legal
| restriction have not dared to chaI-
lenge it. They know that the
grog shop has veto power more
potent than any mentioned in con
stitutions, and that no live law re
pres ne intemperauce has yet been
enforced to any large extent, and
for any but short p,rjod,
Illuminating as the situation is,
it il necessary t. realize it, That
a majority of voters are directly or
indirectly controlled by those who
fatten on the ruin of their fellow
men, j. past question, That in
diff renee u fraud and cOrruption
OF every sort turns largely on this
one pivot Of indulgence IN drink j
fact which we may not ignore. il
we wish TO institute radical re
form IN soejety and government
For 80 long a. the consent Of silence
is accorded by II hundred Thousand
dram drir kris, every official arch
thief and proti gate can atiord 10 be
defiant Protected in the. enjoy
ment Of their lust, why should
these guzZiing citizens disturb their
protectors 10 the Enjoyment Of
lheir-? TO ask the drun<ard who
stra'- from hi wife and children
to rebnke the officer wAo permit,
him 10 do ii, is 20 take rather
foolish view of human nature.
Are we, then. 10 walt for the re-
form of drinking habits in order to
stop the iniquity which rules in
high places? TO do that would be
TO wait for the river to flow by to
seal up the fountain. We cannot
hope either for temperance or for
reforms. while this com bination of
low Indulgence and high criminal
ty remains unshaken. 1t will not
be seriously threatened so long as
a hundred diverse purposes distract
the friends of order.
To make any reform movement
thoroughly and permanently success
tul, there must be, on the part of
Christian leaders, concentration of
purpose As affairs now are,
dozen reforms of varied importance
and pertaining to the most conpli-
Gated and distant interests, are
permitted to distract the action of
good men. Satan and his servants
are wiser than the children of light.
Let the action of either political
party be what it may on other
questions. the devil makes sure that
liquor shal be free. The common
place proverb, Zone thing at a
time and the Scripture injunc-
ton, to do with ones might, he
carries ont to the letter.
The followers Of Christ should
likewise be intent on carrying one
position at time The most i'm
portant thing first, and nothing
else until that is gained-this poli-
cy would, with Gods blessing, be
more efficacious than the most
strenuous Efforts divided among
many minor causes Such poIlcy
points 10 separation of local from
national politics, and a separation
of moral questions from partisan
tactics, Until Christian citizens
are willing to combine, irrespective
of the claims of party, for tho pur-
pose of destroying one evil at
time, we must submit to the rule of
the stronger, which, however it may
be gilded with a certain thinness
of good government, is neverthe.
less, the rule of rum.a SO. 7 saf
E A wite's love, is -tbef golden
chain which, unites herte her hus-