The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-11-22
For The Palladium.
WARSAW. KoscIUsKo, Co. IND,
18th Mo-, Is. 1873.


ings at Aurora, in Dearborn Co. At
this place there is the largest distillery
in the State, and also brewery. As
I rode into the town and saw ON my
right hshd-a series of large buildings
covering several acres of ground, din
81. black, and dismal in appearance,
with the curling smoke rising there
from, l could not but think of the
many poor victims throughout our
highly favored country, whose honors
were blasted by the product of that
immense engine Of destruction. l
could not but think with pity, mingled
with sadness, of those men who were
pursuing that accused business for the
purpose of making money. As thus
thought, l remembered wildly, the
expression of John Wesley, made
many years ago, viz; that he had never
known money to be made by the traffic
in drink, that did not prove fearful
curse to the family before it reached
the third generation. May the minds
of the proprietors of this immense
engine of destruction and ruin be
aroused and convicted of the evil they
are doing! While in that neighbor-
hood, l was shown breadth Of fifteen
hundred acres of corn, all of which
had been sold to this distillery, to be
made into whiskey. Think of 1900
acres of Gods grain, designed to feed
and bless manhood, being, by the hand
of man, for the sake of gain, turned
into channel which curses and blasts
the nobled impulses of man, and that
too, at time when there are thousands
in our country, who are to-day almost
starving for bread. Surely this is sin
full in the right Of Heaven, and when I
think Of the declaration vengeance is
mine; will repay saith the Lord" l
cannot but tremble and shudder for
my country.
We are told by some that these dis
tilleries are useful to the country, be-
cause they pay an immense revenue to
the Government. But let us not for
get to remember that while they do
this they are the greatest source of
pauperism, crime, insanity and suffer-
ing to our country. These evils far
more than counterbalance any good
they do by raising revenue. In fact,
for government to raise revenue in
this way, is just as absurd as it would
be, to bore five inch augur hole into
vessel, and to attempt to pump the
water out through goose-quill.
The abettors of this traffic assert,
that it encourages trade, and thereby
enriches the State. Never was there
Z more fatal delusion. Instead of in
creasing industry and wealth, it abso-
lutely operates most fearfully against
it. As an illustration of this, we are
told, there was spent last year in oul
State, almost twenty-five million dol.
lars in drink. The cost of the labor
to make this was almost two and a
half million Of dollars. Whereas, il
we had spent that twenty-five million
of dollars to manufacture, would have
given six times as much employment
to the laborer, and thereby would
have enriched the State six times
more, and that, too, leaving out of view
the evils resulting to society from this
drink. How absurd then is the idea
that the traffic in drink enriches the
State. If we want to give the trade o.
our State such an impetus as it has
never had before, let us Danish thu
distillery and grogshop, and in theil
stead establish machine and furniture
shops, boot and shoe manufactures
&c. Then shall we have six times al
much employment for our laborers
and thereby increase the populatio,
of our State to that extent. Would no
this give an immense impetus to tn,
business of our grocers, dry good
merchants, shoe shops, hardware mel
and others2
Notwithstanding the dominating in
I fiuence Of that immense distillery. "
succeeded in holding two large meet
ings at Aurora. At the close of tn
last meeting request was made, tina
all those present who were in favor Q
the present temperance law, and tn
thorough execution thereof, shout
rise to their feet. This was the sigma
for general movement. Not ten pei
sons in that large assembly failed
rise. This shows that even in tn
presence of the distillery, people ar
earnest to have the accused traffic pu
down. l7sis 81
r. From Aurora, went to Randolp
| County, holding one meeting at Hunts
vile and two in Winchester. Their,
too, l found the people alive to til
Importance of the question of temper
ance. g1.z.s
My next engagement was to atten
the annual meeting of the Indian
State Temperance Alliance at Indiar
apolis. The attendance was not vel
i large. / did not expect it would b
| for as had been travelling from or
point to another, l found many earne.
Temperance people who said that the
!. would be prevented from attendir
an account of the financial cmsi
However, those who did meet We
earnest, practical, and determined
their suggestions and purposes.
Among the resolutions there adOn