St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1873-10-10
What are You Going to Do about TIP

ST. Johm~pury. VI, Friday. Oct. 10, 1873.
What are You Going to Do about 1t
The matter of liquor selling and Ii
quor drinking has come to such pass
in our place that the citizen who ha,
the welfare of our town at heart -mot
to say that of humanity no longer
hold an equivocal position. We woul'
not intimate that this village is II sinner
above all others in this regard it i,
not. On the contrary we believe il i,
as free from the vice and crime of liquor
drinking and selling as any other plac,
of its size in New England. But ON
town can show a shocking record %
bright hopes blasted, strong intellect.
ruined and abundant wealth squander-
ed, all attributable directly to liquor
drinking.
Most of our readers are already ia
miliar with the history of the past week
in our place: how IL husband and father,
after going home intoxicated MANY
nights, finally on Friday evening, seized
an ax, and with terrible imprecations,
demolished the furniture-sm smashing
mirrors. sofa, chairs. and even the cook
ing Stovc-.while his at1Iighted wife fled
for her life to Il ncighbor's, taking with
her the only other occupant of the
house, an invalid daughter who had
been for many weeks i'll of Il fever. 1t
does not help the ease to know that this
family is intelligent and cultivated,
and that in fleeing from the demon who
should he, and who had sworn to he,
their protector, one life ut least was put
i'll jeopardy.
If this WAS the only case that had
occurred in our town for the last TWEEN
ty years, it should he enough to calls,
every man to set his face and exert hi,
influence against this Demon Intcmpcr-
ancr. But this is only one of many
We know of another instance scarcely
less dreadful: of IL handwriting man
and Il kind husband and father, whr
sober, but when in liquor IL very demon
When intoxicated he too is II fell de
stroycr,' and any thing that belongs ia
his wife he takes especial delight in de
molishing. He tears up her clothing,
chops her sewing machine to pieces
with IN aX. and the food which his hard
earnings had bought when sober, he
takes out into the yard and tramplcS in
the dirt. When their last child was
born, this father was away on one of
his periodical drunken orgies. and the
ncighh"rS found the wife and mother in
IL dcplorable condition.
This is Il sample of what liquor drink
ing is doing here and not only here,
but all over our land.
We might add other cases which must
he in every ones mind.-0f active and
competent business men; of intelligent
and promising professional men, who
have squandcrcd their substance, de
stroycd their intellect and ruined both
body and soul with liquor. We might
add that trio of boys under sixteen.
lcu ny IL son Oh II 'lbllllilclil tlllIcH-
were found on one side of the grounds
during our late Fair, intent over bot
tie of whiskcy.
But enough of this. The question
which We have put at the head of this
article must come directly home to the
minds and conScicuccS of many persons.
Every man has duty in this matter.
Shall the acculScd traffic i'll Intoxicating
of evils and crimes which it brings thus
he encouraged, 81 shall there hc such Il
sentiment infused through the commu-
nifty as shall sustain the officers of the
this hoIIid business!