The Emporia news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1859-1881, 1873-05-30
TEMPERANCE VS.. LICENSED WHISKY.

MIR. Z. 2. Bancroft has quite a
lengthy article in your last weeks
paper, the first of which he devotes
to self-defense and claims that the
ministers of Emporia and vicinity
have villifed and mIsrepresented
him. In behalf of the ministers
deny the charge of viIlification, also
claim that he utterly fails to prove
it. AS to disappearing him, why
did he render himself liable to it, by
stating at such time that he be-
liered the majority of the ministers
favored license. We doubt whether
in spirit the Gentleman was mis-
represented, for no doubt he very
much desired 10 have the majority
in favor of it, and that "the wish
was father of the thought" But
this matter is so trihing that we will
waste no more time upon it.
We wish chiefly TO notice his at
tack upon the present plan" as he
terms it, and its advocates, because
so many saloons have been opened
in defiance of them, and so much
'1iquid poison" and "vIle stuff has
been sold, etc. Now, grant the fail
ure of them, yet what caused that
failure? Did the ''plan" cause it, or
the few who labored to support it /?
No; but such men as Mr.. L. p. Is.
who when the tug of war comes
hide behind the curtain and even
aid the enemy by renting their
rooms to persons who sell the "vile
stuff" the ''liquid poison" and there
by prove themselves open enemies
to the cause of prohibition and true
friends OF the vendors of "the
vile stuff" Oh, ye wolves in
Sleeps clothing, ye are the men
and such as Ye who tried to kill the
plan and now strive to conceal your
hypocracy by charging the plan and
the true friends of the plan with
failure" indifference, ETC., when
you yourselves have stood aloof, or
stood opposed TO them in every en-
deayor. Ye are the men who come
up now and cry at the top of your
voices throughout the country,
Qualification, misrepresentation"
Mr.. d. knows, as every other per-
son, that the plan was not at fault,
and we can say that most of those
who heartily approved the plan are
not at fault, and that they have been
and are still doing what they can
to execute the plan, but when we
have to fight, in addition to the
rummies, such men as the one the
clergYmen of Emporia and vicinity
have so grossly vilified and mis-
represented, "the men foremost in
every good work." then the task is
uneqal, the progress slow. These
men foremost in every good work"
have their influence in society, in
the court room, and arm in arm and
shoulder to shoulder with their ten
ant comrades they will no doubt try
to thwart the future designs of
those whom they have been oppos-
ing.
Mr.. b. is known to be in favor of
what he calls stringent license
law sin order to restrict, curb, con-
fine and if possible destroy this
great evil" and this curbing confin-
ing and destroying process will be
effected, he tells us, by our having
instead of "the vilest possible dens,
those of different character and
fewer of them" Now what differ
ance is there or can there be In the
character of places that sell what
Mr.. D. calls "the vile stuff" and
-4iquid poison" and where the
'hellish work" is per formed. Yet
Mr.. 3. intimates that he and his
friends viii effect all this by license.
Oh the holy regenerating power of
license! Perhaps its responsibility
will come from one OF them being
carried on in Mr.. BIS fine building.
But license is to reduce the num-
Der, also. Grant it, though it may
not follow. Now, I ask any candid
person whether fewer saloons can
not do as much harm as many.
Cannot one do as much harm
in the city of Emporia as a
thousand2 Certainly it can; it can
sell as much "vile stuff as all COM
bined and curse and kill as many
and even more because it is made
and fashionable resort.
But Mr.. B. may say we will license
only respectable men to sell. A re-
spectacle man engage in the SHELL
ish work. of selling that "Vile stuR''