The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1874-12-04

frontier. The inevitable saloon is con-
SpicuOuS on the utmost verge Of civil
zation. What hope therefore would
tnere De OF success; could the Devil be
o1tWitted, could we steal a march. upon
crime, and, in spite s0f the embArrass-
ing provisions Of homestead legislation,
secure SUCH = settlement of the public
land as would give us sufficient strength
20 Keep the enemy at bay?. The attempt
mas been made, and now, after the lapse
OF tnreo years. the result is before the
world. We are, c0nfessedly, not all
SAINTS; neither would it be safe to af-
nrm that wisdom will die with us, but
we are not cursed with saloons; neither
III Worthington, nor Hersey, nor Bige-
low; nor is there 4 place for the sale Of
hqu0r in any part of the county. There
are no gambling bells, nor billiard ia
Dies, nor any known place where youth
or men can be inveigled and damned.-
RMS is our honest JOY and cause of re-
9oicing. For this triumph of; peace and
we ought to bless God, and,
on this third anniversary of our Ma
tlonal Festival, we will enter into his
gates with thanksgiving and into his
courts With praise.
No one will question the legitimacy
nor the business of these principles as
the basis of a social or civil organiza-
ton, but the question arises, Will they
endure ? Can their ascendancy be per-
petuated? Where are the impregnable
barriers that are effectually to resist the
liquid fires of damnatiOn that roll over
all the land? We must candidly con-
fess that we have nothing on which to
rely but publieisentimellt, nurtured by
faith and prayer, 1t our people prove
recreant to theft vows; or if they shall
fail to transmit to their children an a.
biding cOllstancy III their own solemn
convic ions, our distinguishing trait
will be swept out OF existance. T..ere
is good reason to hope that no such dis
aster awaits us.-If do not greatly err
the temperance sentiment of the COM
munity is stronger to-day than ever be-
fore. Very bad men do not remain
long where there are no swearing nor
drinking centers. They soon become
thoroughly disgusted and leave. From
this cause, we have, in quite a number
OF instances, been already most happily
relieved. Ourpevple have now the con
vincimg testimony that come from Il
benetficent experince:-tlle peace and
quietness Of the community; the alb
sence of crime; the safety of those who
would, elsewhere, lie betrayed by appe-
tite; the Responsiveness OF justice in
the absence of criminal procedure; the
healtllful state OF public mOrals-nO
profanity, no sad scenes OF violence or
bl0Od-all c0rrOborating the fact that
drunkenness is the one prolific source
of crime and casualty, and that, if this
can but he removed nine tenths of all
the woes that afflict society will disap.
pear.
REPUTATION.
Another ground of my confidence in
the stability of our ''peculiar institu.
tion'' is the fair reputation we have &C.
quired abroad. 1t is not for ourselves
alone we have been able to achieve Sc
great and benefcent 4 result. There
is select public, widely distrib uted
who have awaited the result with inter.
ested attention. This is the reserve
force Oh whose timely presence we
may assuredly rely if, in this unsangui.
merry struggle, we ourselves stand well
to our guns. When we first staked of
our position and stationed our pickets
good men doubted as to our success,
and many a baleful prophet predicted
our speedy discontinue, now, by the
blessing Of divine providence, the fears
OF the good have been dissipated anG
false prophets have been put to shame
we can now: III consequence, more con
tidently invite the favorable attention
| OF those who concur with us in the es
| innate we place upon SObriety, inCelli
gence and moral worth. The village
| OF WorthingtOn and the National Colo
ny are widely and favorably known
If the leading minds among ourselve:
will work up vigorously toward theil
own ideal, there is no such word as fail
We must foster our religious institu
tiOns; we must uphold the churches il
it were on no other ground than mere
public considerations. Edifices dedi
Gated to religious worship are the sa
cred ornaments of the town and vii
have 4 determining effect, a Thousand
miles away, upon the best class of th0s>
who are thinking of the west. W.
must carry out the educational pro
gramme. The salubrity of our climate
the comeliness of our young village
with the added charm of our twin lakes
the perfect safety to morals resulting
from the exclusion of the rum traffic
and the presence of an intelligent ant
virtuous community, point out the pre-
eminent fitness of the locality as an ed
vocational centre. This will further
tend to influence a most valuable anC
desirable class of emigrants.
DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRY.
In addition to all this, and of very
grave moment at this juncture, is thu
necessity Of diversifying our industry
1t has been a serious mistake that, dur
ing the few years of the existence of the
settlement, the resources of our people
have been so exclusively devoted to TIM
raising Of grain. 1t seelns singular now
III the light Of two grasshopper vista
tiOns in two successive years, that W.
did not see the wisdom of devoting III
least part of our time and substance
to utilizing, on a somewhat extensive
scale, the illimitable abundance of ma
tive grass. lAttention is now being
turned in this direction. Wool grow
ing, the dairy, the cheese factory, the
herd, these in a few years will largely
contribute to improve the condition OF
tile people by relieving them of Il too ex
elusive dependence OIL the growth o.
cereals.
CHRISTOPHER VISITATION.
I have spoK6n only incidentally of tht