The Portland daily press., 1872-04-10

There are many intelligent and respectable
people who have always favored the policy Of
licensing grog shops. Their argument is that
the traffic cannot be entirely suppressed-that
more or less of these places will exist upon the
sly and therefore it is better to have them open
and above board, and kept in respectable
way They say that SO long as the business is
SO immensely profitable, paying at least one
thousand per cent. and SO long as we have un-
scrupulous men among us who care nothing for
the Generalization of society-so long it will be
impossible entirely to extinguish the liquor
trade. ~ ts 1e es
And besides, they say, if we make the rum
sellers pay heavily for their license, as they can
very well afford to do, and as they would be
glad to do, they will aid the authorities in
hunting up their unlicensed brethren and in
bringing them to justice. 1 have often had
this argument presented to me by most excel
lent and intelligent people. The only question,
as itseems to me, that right thinking men
should consider, is this: "Are the grog shops
great public evil?" That they are SO, no man
will be bold enough to deny They are an evil
SO great, that it is not possible to estimate the
extent of it fully and they have no redeeming
quality. This being so, license granted to the
business by law, is stupendous wickedness
Rev Albert Barnes, the eminent scholar and
divine of Philadelphia-lately gone to his re-
ward-in famous sermon preached by him
and published extensively in this country and
Europe, characterized the licensed LIQUOR shop
as throne of iniquity established by law.
The liquor trade is a huge wickedness and it
seems TO me that no good man ought to acqui-
esce in Its continuance among us, on any terms
whatever - ~
Many years ago an eminent Portland mer-
chant was on one Of our wharves, near a ship of
his fitting for sea, when two sailors of his began
lighting each other in the most brutal manner
An excited and tender hearted by-stander ex-
claimed to the shipowner: Mr. Blank, are YOU
going to stand here and see those men tear each
other to pieces" "No!'' said Mr.. Blank, and
turned quietly away and walked up the wharf!
1t is to be hoped now, that we shall see no more
Mr. Blanks in this battle against the grog shops.
Great numbers of our most respectable and In
huencial people have hitherto stood quietly by,
apparently uninterested spectators of the dead
ly warfare waged by the grog shops against So
ciety, andlhave done nothing, by voice, influence
or vote, to help the defence 3fa3 9f g.t.t5
Now that the war is once more set in array
between the old adversary in the shape of a
liquor seller" and the general welfare and pros
perity OF the community and the happiness of
the people, we earnestly hope that every true
man will help, not standing idly by, permitting
few earnest men to fight an unequal battle.
That the great majority of our people are OPP
posed to grog shops, have no doubt; let them
show it now, by active and practical sympathy
with the great movement now going on against
them @ H0a l-alE1 ~ p =
wish to warn our friends againt cunning
device of the adversary in thesshape of liquor
seller" that has just been started-that is the
petition to have the city agency closed. So
long as great numbers of our people labor under
the silly and mischievous delusion that grog
is good as medicine, we must have some place
provided where it can be had for such purposes.
tors will cease alcoholizing their patients, as
they have ceased bleeding in scarlet fever and
as they no longer exclude fever patients from
water and fresh air. The fashion of whiskey-
izing and beerizing the sick, must have its day
and its way and while it lasts, there must be
some place provided where the Strengthening
medicines can be had ~ d."