The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1872-1881, 1873-08-08


The battle IL over. A majority Of the
votes cast on Monday last gave victory
10 the cause of intemperance. But such
a vietoryl Is Il one that will add lustre
and glory 10 the name Of proud old Lin
colnf Is IL one Of which any human
soul can feel a pure emotion Of satisfac-
toni Is Il a victory that pressages the
incoming Of Joy and gladness to homes
made dessolate by drunkennessS Docs
il proclaim mans emancipation from the
dominion Of sin and degradationS Or Is
il not rather the victory Of iniquity,
whereby the chains are newly forged
with which to bind our children and
neighbors children, in slavery more
cruel than earthly despots ever
knew But the responsibility Of Mon
days conflict is not upon you. As you
witness the poor inebriate staggering
around the door Of legalized tipping
shops, poisoning the very air with his
stupid oaths, the sweet consciousness will
be yours, that you are no partner to the
crime; that by your vote you did all
that the law enabled you to do TO dry up
this fountain of corruption and remove
the cause Of drunkenness. As you may
read Of crime after crime, Of every hue
and color, resulting from legalized dram
shops, and as criminals are incarcerated
in prisons for deeds done under the mad
dening influence Of whisky, the infinite
pleasure will be yours, to realize in your
very heart, that you are innocent of
this great transgression; no stain Of all
this terrible guilt attaches to you. For,
had we cast our vote in favor Of whisky,
or claimed to stand on neutral ground,
and our own child should lose his life by
the hand Of violence, nerved to the deed
by legalized whisky, we could never rid
our conscience Of the conviction, that We
shared in the guilt of his shed blood ?
How others may feel is not ours to af-
frm-they and their God may settle
that.
The battle of Monday is over; but its
results are not overl Nor will we, who
participated in that engagement, ever
witness on earth, all of the results Of that
days work. The stone cast into the
stream, passes in an instant beneath its
surface and soon rests quietly upon its
unseen bottom, but above it there are innu-
merable widening circles Of waves, en-
larging and advancing onward until they
exhaust themselves upon either shore.
So was the vote Of Monday last in Lin
coin. The actors of that day, one by
one, will sink beneath the cold waters of
deaths dark river, and rest quietly in
the unseen, but above them and around
the deeds of Monday, there will appear
visible and innumerable widening waves
of moral good or evil, whose increasing
circles shall find no limit, until they
bear their mighty results to the Eternal
Shores.
You then, by your vote against whis-
ky, have formally separated yourselves
from all the crime and degradation and
guilt that may flow from legalized whis-
shops, in the county Of Lincoln-never-
theless you are to be taxed and re-taxed
and taxed again, to pay the expenses of
prisoners and criminals, made such by
the whisky vote of last Monday. JUS
tice, could she reign contemporaneous
with whisky, would modify this levy
somewhat, and require of every man ac-
cording as his works had been. But
those who voted for whisky have gener-
ously relieved you of all the moral bur
den connected with the whisky traffic.
They have assumed the moral response
bility of running whisky houses and set
Ting all moral accounts their God and
country may bring against them. They
have bravely said "let the blood, caused
10 be shed by whisky, be upon us and
upon our children" forever. Surely
, this is responsibility enough. And is
not this terrible responsibility some Of
. the fruits of their victory last Monday
May such victory never be yours. For
t the honest effort you made, to abolish the
; retail of whisky in Lincoln county, you
have the approval of your conscience
r and your God. Your name stands upon
) the records Of your country against crime,
, and in favor of peace, prosperity, virtue,
morality and good will among men. Oh
! that record you can never be ashamed.
= A nobler, better, truer vote for the ele
. walton of your fellow-men and the glory
: Of God, you never cast. You have done
: well.
! You have only made one effort, and
that a feeble one; yet we almost sue
ceededl Had we known our OWL
. strength, we could have triunphed ever
nowl But the little effort we have made
only demonstrates the absolute certainty
Of success in the future.
Be it known then, to all whom it may
concern, that our banner yet waves above
, unbroken columns of brave hearts thai
never intend to surrender. Our plea
; the plea of mans right to live uncurssC
by the dominion of whisky, shall b
> heard by the people of Lincoln, whit
= and colored and on the first Monday o