Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes Co., O. [Ohio]) 1870-1895, 1874-03-26
From the Toledo Blade J
n A 3 B Y.

lFrom the Toledo Biade.J
n A = B Y.
The Temperance Movement
Strikes the Cross Roads
What Effect it Had Upon
Bascom.
CoNFEDRIr X ROADS (Which is in the
State Nv Kentucky, Feb. %, 1874
When opened my Northern papers
and red NV the prayin movement by the
wimmin NV Ohio and Injiana, l sed to
myself, "The Cross Roads is bound to
ketch it." There amt no trouble agoin
but wat it lites onto to the Cross Roads.
Misforchoon has marked the Cross
Roads for its own.
And last Monday Bascom got a postal
card on wich it wuz statid that on the
Friday followin delegashen Nv ladies
from New Boston, manufaktrin vii
lage started by lot NV Yankees over
about ten miles from here, where they
don't sell no spirits, wood visit the
Cross-Roads and try the efficacy Nv
prayer onto Bascom to see eff they Good
not convert him to stop his sole-des-
troyin', demoralyzin bizness. Ez Bas-
com red the postal card (or rather ez 1
red it for him) he was pickter to look
upon. His knees knockt together and
his face turned CHASTITY pale, and his
hand trembled so that it wuz with diff
Guilty that he Good raise glass NV likker
to his lips.
'My sole-destroyin bisness!" said he ;
Hmy bizness sole-destroyin! Good
Heavens, wat next"
aMy time is about up, 1 guess" re-
marked Deekin Pogram. "I have seen
strange things in my life, but when !
am not allowed to take my regler drinks
it is time wuz agein hence"
"The idee," sed Issaker Gavitt, "that
sellin liquor or drinkin it is demorali-
zin. 1 hev drunk likker all my life,
and"
At this pint Issaker's wife came in,
and wantid Issaker to go and get some
rice, and then 60 home and split some
wood. Issaker wantid to know wat she
come there for, and the unreasonable
woman bustid into tears, and sed she
couldn't split wood, with no shoes and
three inches of snow on the ground,
and that there wuzn't a thing in the
house for the sick baby to eat, and ct
Issaker wood spend half the time at
work that he did loafin at Bascom's, and
half the money on his children that he
did for llkker, and
Issaker didn't allow her to finish her
harangue. He took her
by the shoulder and showed her out the
door, and swore that he didn't know
how it wuz in Ohio and Injeany, but
he'd be id if in Kentucky woman
keep in her proper spear. He
wuzn't goin to allow no woman to
dictate to him wat he shood do with his
time or his money, nuther.
8 Captain McPelter remarked that eff
his wife ever jined in sich demonstra-
shun she'd wish she hadn't. His wife
tried to stop him from taking another
drink wunst, after he felt his oats and
he'd throwd cradle with six months
baby cut ov the door, and the black
eyes she got wuz warnin to her never
to interfere with his peregatives ne
more.
Poor Bascom wuz cast down. He sed
Amerikin liberty wuz gone, when a
passel NV wimmin got to goin about in
terferin with a mans bizness. But he
shood adopt vigorous measures. He'd
never surrender-never.
Friday come and Bascom wuz ready
for EN-. Evry wun Nv our persuasion
in the Corners he'd ordered his wife to
keep strikly in doors, and on no akkount
to vencher out door in the day. Bas-
com asked us all to stay with him and
see him thro it. To wich we all agreed.
Them ez wuz married and kept house,
went home to fix up ther doors and nail
boards over the broken glass NV the
winders, so that ther wimmin shoodn't
see outside. It's no small natter to close
up all the heles in the houses at the
Corners.
Well, at IL O'Clock a percession NV
women did make their appearance at
the lower end NV the village, and they
moved up slowly to'ards Bascom's. G.
w. wuz ez pale ez sheet.
aWat shel I do?" asked he.
&C. w." sed 1, "there is but one thing
700 kin do. Rally your friends about
yoo, and make head again this unholy
The regular frequenters of
the place are fritend and are not here.
Bring em here! Bring EN- here to-
Swing out placard witch shel
read:
"Likker free to all doorin the con-
NV this fanatikle campane!
-Ho! all We that thirst! Come and
lrink, without money, and without
price,"
''This, G. w., will fetch em in, and ez
ong ez the likker is free they will stay
in, and give yoo their moral support
5hel write the placard?"
G.. w. wavered. He cast one glance
1t his kegs, and sighed hesitatingly. 1
last one glance at them kegs, and wuz
that SO good an apportooni-
" shood not be lost. $50
aHap sed 1, "the foe! they come
hey come! To hesitate now is to be
lost. The head NV the invadin column
hez turned the corner. Shal / write ?''
"Yes!" sed Bascom, Dustin into
.eers: "write. Eff they shet me up Pm
and eff you have free drinks Pm
1ustid. But I'd ruther take the free
thinks part of it,"
"Certainly," sed Issaker Gavitt, sooth-
ngly; "free drinks, by all means. AZ
.er all, Bascom, it amounts to the same
hing. It's free drinks anyhow, for
Tou hev to charge EN- to us: don't yoo ?"
And so I writ the placard and histed
It up at the door. The result was mali
,al. In less than ten minits the glad
nooze had reached every house in the
village, and there wuz gathered togeth-
sr in Bascom's sich solid mass NV lib
srty-lovin men ez had never been seen
together at the Cross Roads.