Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1873-12-11
EAST. pITTsFoRp
Temperance Meeting.

Temperance Meeting.
AN ADDRESS BY RICHARD GRoGAN AT
THE OPERA HOUSE.
The Opera House was crowded to its
utmost capacity, last night, on the occa-
sion of temperance address by Mr..
Grogan. The meeting was opened by
the school children-a large number of
whom were present for that purpose
singing ''Haste to the Rescue" to the
tune of s'John Brown" The children,
owing to the unavoidable absence of Mr..
Mietzke, were led by Mr.. Meeker, and
acquitted themselves very creditably, as
they always do ON such occasions. Rev.
E. Mills then offered prayer, after which
the children sung can appeal for the
Drunkard." Then followed the address
Mr., Grogan said he was never deceived
in the stand taken by the people on the
question of temperance. 1t is the old
subject of sorrow, tears and woe. 1t is
not question of argument; it can't be
argued it is all one-sided. There is no
drinker or drunkard-maker in this au-
dience but will admit that there can
be no argument urged in favor of intem-
perance or against temperance. The
lecturer here gave some vivid pictures of
getting drunk, which the boys call glo-
ry, and then of citing sober again,
which was not quite so glorious.
Then he gave from his own eX-
perince glowing account of
the terrible struggles which rend mans
heart after he has resolved to reform
and stop drinking. No one who has not
passed through it can tell anything
about it the terrible sorrow and re-
morse, on awaking, the morning after
carOusal, and thinking of the suffering
family, and then to drown it would go
right out and get drunk again. The
speaker told of once starting for Califor
MIA, and getting as far as the BOwery, in
New York, where some comrades invit-
ed him in to drink. He drank there for
several days, until his wife learned of it
and visited the bar-roOm just as he was
on The point of drinking his twenty
fourth glass for that day. She remon-
strated with the rum-seller, but he put
her out. Then the husband rose, and
with the bottle struck the landlord a
fearful blow on the head. lie was ar
rested, but the judge allowed him to go
free, for on learning the circumstances,
said he, ~ would have done as you did,
myself" lie was in a bar-rOOm once,
when a fine, tall, Noble looking man
came in, and called for drink He dis
played a roll of bills, the landlord invit-
ed him inside, into what appeared to he
a reading room, bnt in reality a gamb-
ling der. He was invited to play euchre,
given drugged liquor, robbed and thrown
out on the street. Next morning he re-
turns and accuses them of stealing his
money and watch. They swear that he
! had never been inside their doors, and he
is arrested and cast in a cell for disturb
ing the peace. But our people say that
is in New York-that does not happen
in Vermont. All, but it does occur in
Vermont The speaker then referred to
the hotels and their threats to close
if not allowed to sell liquor. AS
soon as it came to that, the people came
down gracefully and allowed them to
go along, only ''you must be careful to
whom you SELL" He "would rather
stop all the hotels than ruin one young
man. He then illustrated this principle
of letting the hotels alone, by relating
an anecdote of a boy who had a pup,
which, for the purpose of making him a
good watch dog, he would invariably
set on everybody who came near. One
| night the father was out, and returning
in the dark, neither boy nor pnp knew
him. True to his teaching, the pup
rushed at him and seized him by the leg.
The father caught him by the tail and
pulled, but it caused so much pain that
he desisted. The boy then rushed up
to his father and exclaimed: "Stand it,
father, stand it, it'll he the making of q
splendid pup"
The speaker then gave some sad in
stances of runs doings in Massachu-
sets, and then, lest our people might
say, "that's in Massachusetts, we don't
have anything like it in Vermont" he
gave some equally sorrowful experiences
| from Vermont One in which a poor
soldier who had begged seven dollars,
was gold rum in a hotel until the beg
gar's money was spent, and then kicked
into the street. Another in which 8
father plead time and again with the
rumseller not to sell his son any rum
but received the insolent answer that he
would sell him as long as he had money
to pay for it. The man who would sci
liquor TO my son after repeated warn
ings, would do it at his peril, he shouldn'
do it and live. ..
| The speaker then referred to the ''le
alone" cry, in which the rum-sellers in
dulge All they want is to be let alone
That was the cry of the arch-traitors o
the South, and did we let them alone
Instead of imprisoning men to keel
| LuClu lIOil 1lHuOls lOl 10 beaNS Thy SNAA ~
alton from them. Applause. Let
starve intemperance out. If we would
MT drink men wouldn't sell. The hes
way is for every drinking man to sig
the pledge, and stick to it. There is
great deal in how it is done write
] for all time. Oh, that every man in thi
audience would refrain from touching
tasting or handling liquor, for all futur
time. What shall we do? What ca
: we do ? would say in the language Q
the Roman centurian who ordered hi
ensign planted firmly on the spot wher
the forum now stands: s'Plant you
, standard. :" This may be crisis in th
temperance battle, and we want heroi
r men and women to come out and pre-
sent an unbroken phalanx to the enemy
fApplause. There were several pledge