The daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1873-1877, 1874-04-16
WASHINGTON, April 10, 1874.

car, a lady attracted my attention by the |
richness of her attire; while admirine the
heavy purple silk, fine velvet, and rich
laces which composed 1t something ia her
face struck me as being familiar, and I
commenced turning over the pictures in
memory's gallery, to find where / had seen
it before. Then size spoke to the gentle
man attending her, and like fiash,it came
to me that the couple twere Dio Lewis
and his wife, whose photos l had seen,
years ago, in the album of friend. All
thought |, Mr.. Dio. crusading plays you,if
no one else. that is plain enough.
Of course, took half dozen more good
looks, just for admiration sakeyo know,
and here is what saw Dio tall, broad,
fair, with button rose, and large blue
eyes with perpetual upward roll in them
Mrs. Dio short, rather stout, dark and with
very plain features, except lovely, express
siye, brown eyes and both looking as if
the world treated them so its very best, in
deed
They were then on their way to Lincoln
Hall, where the ladies were to be electri6-
ed into conqueriug praying machines. and
anticipated, to judge by their conversation,
unqualified success. / had myself received
any number of invitations tc attend also
but having no drunkard of my own to be
interested in, | gave the rest my blessing
and went home, there to sew and mediate
on the uncertainty Of things in general,
and boys clothes with tendency to BREAK
out at knees and elbows in particular. AT
ter that some of my friends told me how
beautifully bio had spoken, and l answer
ed that / believed could do little some
thing in that line myself for the tender
consideration of fifty dollars a day; then
they said | was not interested enough in
my fellowmen aud dared them to bring
me nice, rich, good looking specimen and
see whether / wasn't.
However, they prayed and sang, and ex-
pected such fine excitement and the
saloon keepers gave instructions to their
minions, and kept any number of well
qualified hoses attached to the water pipes;
and then, all at once, people awoke to the
fact that that sort Of combustible would
not take fire here, and pathetically resigned
themselves to bear the disappointment as
best they could. The truth is that drunk
enness, whatever may be said to the con-
trary, is not prevailing vice here. In
my ten years Of residence have not seen
dozen drunken men in the streets; and
unless one seeks out thei lowest haunts,
where such things must be expected, one
eyes will very seldom be offended by such
sights Men engaged in brain labor, as
the majority of our citizens and visitors
are, cannot afford to blunt the sharpness of
their wits by excuses of that kind and if
lot of Jolly good fellow" get too much
OF the rosy while together, why, they don't
offend anyone else, and it is moreover, no
ones business. To hunt them down with
virtuous indignation would be on par with
the old maid who used telescope to see
the boys bathing, and then complained that
they shocked her modesty.
Now don't believe that | like, or ap-
prove of lntemperance. | believe that
everyone should be strictly temperate in
all things, in eating, drinking, living gener-
ally. Nothing is, to me, so sad as at the
same time so contemplate an object as an
intoxicated person; and if / loved a man
to distraction, one glimpse of him in that
state would radically cure me ; yet, am
also so jealous Of every liberty guaranteed
by the laws Of the land, that | would most
strenuously oppose any measure what
ever which tended to abridge any liberty
we now enjoy. And if we have the right
to dictate to others what they shall and
what they shall not drink, we have an
equal right to compel them to obstain from
articles of food or clothing, if we SO wish,
and where would the encroachments end ?
No. let first Of all the abominable treat
ing system be abolished, and mark the re-
suits. Under the present order of things
II SIX men enter saloon together, each
one will furnish drink for all around, and
before they leave each will unless at the
risk Of being thought mean, have bought
and consumed six drinks, where other
wise he would have taken aud paid for but
one. If every sensible man would adopt
the less social, but more just system of
taking only what he pays for himself, bum
mers wonld remain dry, and drunkenness
be diminished by nine tenths of its present
dimensions.
And then let earnest women lay the axe
to the root of the evil, by making the eve
nings at home SO pleasant to the big and
little boys, that they will not seek the sa-
loon as source of amusement. / know
people who hold up their hands in holy
horror to see others engaged in an inno-
cent game of cards. checkers, chess, etc.
Their boys must never touch such unholy
things, neUer. Well, the consequence is
that these same youngsters sneak off, and
seek the forbidden pleasure on the sly.
where they are initiated in drinking and all
manner Of wickedness, the existence of
winch they would not have known had
tney been permitted to have the pleasure
Incy craved at home under their parents
eyes 100 great rigor breeds excess and
on0e poy' or man finds more genial
warmth and brightness lin rum mill
than at home, he is on the high road to
rum in spite of all the prayers and pro-
hibitorv laws in craot;ox