Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1873-02-21
Home Correspondence.
FROM JESUP,

ED. BULLETIN:-Permit me, through
the columns of your valuable paper, to
express my thanks to the good citizens
of this town for the agreeable surprise of
which l was the grateful recipient, on
Friday evening last
Be assured, fellow citizens, | accept
with gratitude this demonstration of
sympathy on your part, not only rs Il
proof of your confidence in the integrity
of the motives which impclled me to the
fearless performance of my duty rs an
officer, in cndcav oing to enforce the oh.
Scrvancc of the laws of our State, so nee
essary to temperance and the good NOR
ais of this community; but I also accept
it as guarantee of your future sympa-
thy and support in hccontinued enforce
ment of those temperance laws which
seem to have been but dead letter upon
our statute books for some time past
Permit me also to say, while rejoice,
that the friends of temperance, the law
abiding citizens of this community, are
becoming aroused to the necessity of
united and continued effort for the sup
preston Of this monster rice which
"waikcth about as a rearing lion seeking
whom it may devour;" whether it be
habitcd in sleeps clothing, and appear
'as an angel of light" under cover Of
food and medicine; or whether rs a
whited sepuchur. under cover of "milder
stimulants;" or shows his hideous form
in the gambling saloon, under cover Of a
billiard table, whose snares are so stealth
lily laid and are supplied with such allur-
ing bats that the inexperienced feet of
our precious youth are even now almost
irretrievably entahged, and the "deceitfnl
SIREN is surely and swiftly Turing them
on to awful destruction
l also deeply regret to acknowledge
that many otherwise good meaning citi
zens men who but for blindness inflicted
by their god, alcohol, would be blessings
to the community in which they live, are
now the true. the real supporters and
sustaincrs of these sinks of iniquity,
these fountains Of vice and crime, which
are the Scoarge of our community
| appeal to you, my misguided friends,
to your sympathy and responsibility as
husbands and fathers, and to your inter
est rs citizens of our community, to cease
this unhappy warfare against the best
interest of humanity. Cease the support
and encouragement you afford these hell
deserving vendors Of alcoholic liquors by
your Gas you call iD moderate drinking.
At yonr door lies the sin of actually
keeping alive, supporting and causing to
exist, these ccsspools of iniquty The
rum sellers know but for the support
made sure, to them, by your patronage
in purchasing their vile compound, they
could not continue their business and
would be forced to abandon it, The
poor, besotied iuebriate, the Gas compared
to yourselyes) casual customer of the
graduated drunkard class, is but Il mite
in the support they expect and receive
from yourselves, even though it be the
hard earnings of his poor wife, left dis
cOnsOlate at home weeping and praying
for morsel of bread to sustain her little
ones
1t is often said that there is but one
event the inla bitants of our world are
certain of, and that is death; and let me
add, the next most certain event is, that
moderate drinkers become drunkards.-
No man ever became drunkard but it
was impcrceptible to himself His neigh
bors all knew it before he WAS aware of
being in danger Therefore, let me say
unto you, "Touch not, taste not, handle
not the unclean thing"
JAS. b. BARNES.