Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1872-01-24
Extracts from q Temperance Speech
OfHOn. L. ID. Woodwork, at Can
Held, Dec. is, 1871.
THE POWER OF LAW.

10 De lOund upon the statute DOORS oil
any State in the Union. Especially
is the law of 1870 a good one, which
holds the rum seller responsible in
money for all the injury he inflicts, 20
far as money will compensate. and
makes his landlord liable with him as
a joint wrong dOer. Already its good
results are being felt in many por-
tons of our State, and it only wants
one or two good verdiets in our county
to greatly lessen the evils in our
midst. Of the criminal branch Of our
liquor law / am of the opinion that
there are two great defects in it, the
most important of which 1 sought to
have remedied while serving you in
the Legislature of our State. but in
which I failed. It makes punishment
and not restraint the primary object,
and it is too difficult of enforcement.
We want restraint of the business and
not punishment of the man who car
ries it on, except so far as punishment
may be necessary to enforce restraint.
AS I have taken occasion to say once
before to night in substance, it is not
mere effect but it is the evil that we
seek to Observation-Disclosures q dram
4 5l1OD VI d OlSllLlCIN VI q COlA DOA40AA
establishment is found brand it with
the mark of outlawry-the mark OF
Cain upon il so that it should be no
trespass to pull it down, no arson to
burn it.. The law should abate it as
a public nuisance upon the principle
that it is the duty of governments
it is that for which they were institu-
ted among men to protect the lives
and lawful property of its citizens,
and to promote as far as possible,
peace, welfare and prosperity. The
time is coming, now mark my words,
for I wish not to be misunderstood,
when the manufacture, the importa-
ton, and the sale under any and all
circumstances of intoxicating liquors,
except, perhaps, as the druggist i'm
portsiand sells arsenic, will be inter-
dlcted by law, and the Introduction
will be enforced. This is coming
lust as surely as God shall unlock the
mystic portals of life + the generation
that is to come after us. But this, in
nv Judgment, cannot be, as l have
already said, until the sentiment of
the people shall work it out as it is
being worked out by slow, yet resist
less processes. I base my prediction
upon the mathematical calculation
as the sentiment of forty years ago is
to the sentiment of to-day, so is the
present status to the position that is
vet to be achieved. Solve this proper
ton, and you have my prediction as
the result.
These, ladies and gentlemen, that 1
have thus impectly discussed, are, in
my humble Judgment, the main
weapons upon which we must rely,
in the warfare we are waging against
this giant sin and crime of u day.
1t is by the use of these means that
we may hope at no distant period to
see the noon tide glories of that grand
day that is coming when drunkenness
shall be known NO more, the aurora
of which is even now gliding the hill
tops in promise of the hoped for
morning.
THE LICENSE SYSTEM.
The great source however, from
which danger is to be apprehended at
this time, lies, I think, in the efforts
that are now being put forth In many
quarters to return to the license sys-'
tenn. This effort is being made by the
whisky brotherhood, aided by many
pretended or mistaken temperance
men, who, strange to say, advocate it
as ameans of ~lessening the evils of in
temperance. The consideration of this
subject Just at this time is of peculiar
Importance to the temperance people
of Ohio. You will -ecollect that the vo-
tiers of Ohio last election decided that
thereshould be held q convention soon,
in Ohio, for the purpose ofRmending
the constitution of our State. You
are, perhaps, aware that the whisky
men of our State who were active in
securing the vote for this convention,
cooperate with many supposed
friends of temperance, are even now
vigorously at work in many sections
of the State to secure the nomination
and election of members of that con-
Yention who will submit to the peo-
pie an amendment under which the
liquor traffic must be licensed. That
they are thus busily at work in many
sections Of the State, though perhaps
not in u own, the observer of the
movement of the whisky ring for the
past three months need not be told.
Their power is not to be despised,
they have talent, wealth, influence,
responsibility and upscrupulousness
upon their side, and men are weak !;
and so 1 say that we have cas- to
attach peculiar importanceito this sub
ject Just at this time. There are 9TH
er questions of immense Importance
to.be acted, upon by this convention, as
Tor instance, the legal control of rail
roaG corporations, the reform of the
judicial system and perhaps others,
but tbs interest we feel in these great
questions should not make IS Obliyi-
Gus of the vast Importance of the sub
we have now under consideration.
We should see to it, so far as is within
the reach of our utmost power, that
that convention is filled with men
who are sound in head and heart upon
the temperance question.
/ said a moment since, that many
p~rofessed and perhaps real friends of
temperance eo-operacy with whisky
men in the advocate of a return to the
license system. They do this because
they claim it to be a mean of reform.
What, prevent an evil by peFmittance
of it-by recognizing it to be lawful
and properly throwing around it
the sanction and protection of law ?
Yet this is the position of our license
system temperance friends.
Suppose that the Christian people
ofthis community uniting with Chris
tan people of other communities
should petition our law making pow
er to license murder and arson, and
the violation of all the other COM
mands of the decalogue and that they
should claim that they do so as a
means of extending the kingdom of
God among men. The absurdity
would out-beggar insanity itself, and
yet it would be scarcely a shade more
preposteFous than is the position to-
day assumed by the license system
temperance man.
But we are told that there Is less
drunkenness in those States where
the license system obtains than in
those States where it does not obtain.
Then by all means let us license muir
der and arson at once, in order that
we may lessen these crimes through
out our commonwealth. But j deny
the statement. 1t is not true, and sta
tistics prove that il is not true. Meth
er facts, logic, nor good sense justifes
the License system as a Temperance
measure but it il acunninglydeyised
scheme of the whisky ring intended
to perpetuate the evil. Icharge upon