The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1873-07-04
GOOD TEMPuR's. GlllNI.



stature, you will be called upon at tn
August election 10 express, by you
votes, whether you are in favor Of tip
ping houses, dram drinking. and thei
attendant evils, or against them. Tn
legislature has given you the right, b.
your vote, to abate these evils, or sane
tion and perpetuate them. A more i'm
portant question you were never callet
upon to determine. There are no politi
cal elements so called, involved in thi,
question. 1t is a question, however, thai
does vitality affect every social, CONNER
cial and moral interest of society, henc,
no one can afford TO be Indifferent of III,
results.
We will assume, in the discussion oi
this whiskey question, that man, and
therefore, civil society, has "inalienablt
rights,' and among these are the right
of life, liberty and the pursuit of hap
pines or, in brief-society has a right
to live. In the light of these selfevidenl
truths, we make the following solemn in
dictments. against the retail of whiskey
/. We charge that all persons engaged
in such business are a total loss to the
productive forces Of society. There ar,
no returns to the several industrial ele
ments Of civil government for all the
money and patronage the whiskey busi
ness absorbs. Il can never be shown
wherein one single business, calling OF
profession, which is productive of any
good, has ever been or can ever be bene
fitted by the retail of ardent spirits. But
If this were all, then the law might tol
crate the evil, on the ground of charity
and license those only to retail whiskey
and thereby derive a support, who wert
physically incapable Of pursuing a pro
ductive calling. Such however, is far
from true.
2. II is further charged that the re-
tail of ardent spirits infict a positive in
jury upon every productive and legiti
mate business. Now for the proof
Make witness of your merchant. He
testifes that his annual losses amount tC
a given per cent. on sales made to young
men and others, of Incorporate habits,
which loss is traceable to intemperance,
and intemperance is but the fruitage Of
the law that licenses tippling shops. The
merchant then virtually pays out a Ger
tain per cent. of his sales to support tn,
whiskey trade. Every merchant knows
these are facts, and everybody know,
that society has no right to inflict such
an evil upon one Of its own vital element,
Of prosperity. Is not this the unpleas
ant experience Of every merchant in Lin
coin county? Let them not accept q
burden they have no right to bear, and
sustain law that compels them to suffer
a perpetual loss. The same or similar
loss is sustained by your family physi
clan ; by the lawyer, the farmer, the me.
chanic, and every other vocation. And
that no advantage in the argument may
be taken Of the whiskey trade, we will
introduce the bar-keeper himself an in
terested witness This we cheerfully do,
for truth can afford to be generous. Is
he liable to losses in running his busi-
nessi Has he full confidence in the
prOmptness Of his customers to pay of
their accounts 7 Or would he very great
ly prefer 10 do cash business-and whyi
Does he ever refuse credit-and why /!
Have the habits formed over his glasses
deprived his best customers Of their abil-
ity to payi Or does he question their
moral integrity Does he believe his
customers to have been benefttedl If
so, why does he feel in his heart, the
more frequently his customer patroniles
his bar, growing unwillingness to trust
him for his drinksl
The fact is patent Tipping houses
are liable to losses similar to those of
productive employments, but the marked
difference between them lies in this The
retailer of whiskey has redoced his Gus
toner from sOlvency to insolvency, from
credit to discrodit, from ability to inabil-
ity to pay, and this inability, brought
about by the whiskey business, extends
over 10 the farmer, the merchant, and
every other legitimate calling, so that
they are made TO lose a certain per cent.
At the hands Of the whisky trade. Let
there be no law then, tolerating a busi-
ness that necessarily inaicts an injury
upon every other, and the worst Of all
injuries upon its own customers
But what words can paint the injuries
inflicted upon the manly heart Of faith
n. as he beholds his son drawn into
'kese haunts Of vioei-or what tongue
AN tell dl Of loving mothers grief, as
he Is compelled TO hear. in silent despair,
II the waywardness Of her child. and the
lie Of wretchedness 10 which the sin Of
must lead him : Must all
he sweet peace and solaee of human life
e wrung from parental hearts. under
he false plea Of human rightsl
The retail Of whisky inffacls every
aw of God, and every right and int .rest
q ,..at W uF