The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1874-05-28
WHOLE NO. 141O.

! have made, and which | intend to make,
1 assure you it is not from egotism, for
/ take no peculiar pride myself in having
/ been addicted to the use of ardent spir-
| its. But there is another reason why l
feel permitted to refer to myself, and
that is, because that while have consld-
cred that l was only moderate drlnker,
it has been published all over the lana
! that was drunkard.
Fellow-citizens, there was some truth
in this, and there was vast deal of error
in it, too. / was addicted to drinking
occasionally as a stimulus, as L supposed,
to strengthen my nerves laughter and
as a heightener of social joys. But, MIR.
Chairman differently from other men,
had most unfortunate difficulty with
myself, and that was, l had a wonderful
facility, whenever 1 drank, of letting
everybody know it. Laughter. Ny
sprees were not frequent. but they were
long and they were loud. Laughter
The grand prairies of Illinois did not
furnish area enough for one of my for
ward movements. Laughter. That
was not only the case; but whatever L
| have done for the last seventeen years
whether l had to make speech to
political meeting; whether l spoke
against the Nebraska bill upon the floor
of this House; whether, as Governor, L
/ WTOG6 d uleSSdS0i VI PION1"
nation, or prorogued a secession Legs
lature the universal charge of the oppo-
sition party was, that all these acts were
done under the influence of whisky.
! Laughter. Now, fellow-citizens, / have
! concluded to put a stop to this matter.
The editors and reporters of newspapers
are an. honorable class of gentlemen
whom l respect; but | want those libel
lous scribblers who have made so many
misrepresentation as to my course of
conduct, to understand that from this
time henceforward their vocation in that
respect is gone laughter and applause],
and they may now publish their ibels
until the hand that writes them shall
fall withered and palsied; but l never
intend that they shall have any license
or authority to publish me as a drunkard
again. even if l have to abstain, as / will
abstain, from the mildest glass of claret
that ever the fair hand of the fairest la
dy in this land should present to me.
! Applause.
There is the evil of the thing-this
Misrepresentation, this liability to mis-
representation. Why, sir, after l had
made these speeches, some sharp article
of abuse would be published in the pa
per, and some Friendly Indian" of mine
| laughter would mark around it with
black lines and send it to me for my
! Christian contemplation and supreme
delight. Laughter. l will stop it. L
have promised God; have promised my
country; have promised that proud
Commonwealth which for twenty-five
consecutive years has honored me with
all her public position in the Legisla-
ture, as Governor, as member of both
Houses of Congress; have promised all
who love me, and have promised Katie
and the children loud applausel that 1
will never toucI taste, nor handle the
unclean thing applause and by the
blessing of God and my own unfaltering
purpose, [ intend to fight it out on this
line to the last day in the evening of my
life [Applause.] If all you, gentlemen,
would do the same thing, you would lose
nothing in mind, body, or estate. APP
plause.
Fellow-citizens 1t may seem strange,
but I would, as l feel now, as soon drink
fire from hell as whisky, for it is hell and
| damnation, too. 1t destroys the health
and mars the beauty of the body; it can
bow down to earth the most giant intel
leCt, and make it weak as that of child
1t demoralizes and it annihilates the
immortal soul. 1t m a kes man
forget his children or the wife of his
bosom, and treat them with harsh un-
kindness and barbarity, and even muir
der them. Unaffected by intemperance,
he would peril his life for that wife of
! his love- He would dive into the oceans
depths face the cannon's mouth, or peril
! his life amid the flames of the burning
dwelling to snatch from death his darling
| babe.
do not suppose at all that am su-
perior to anybody else in intellect. 1
certainly have no special claims to con-
sideration from birth or fortune. But
| L, i o1o IL
/ that God has endowed me with nobility
of soul, with warm and generous impul-
ses-a heart as unfathomable in its af-
fections as the ocean, and as broad as
the area af humanity; and | appeal to
! you, Mr.. Chairman, from our slight ac-
quaintance if you do not think l have
enough of the ardent about me, without
ardent spirits. Laughter.
Mr.. Wilson-Yes, you have,
Mr.. Yates-I would say to the young
man, that grandeur of human character
does not consist of transcendant genius
alone. 1t does not belong alone to the
statesman beneath whose eloquenee list
ening Senators sit enraptured; it does
not belong alone to the warrior who
bears his proud, unconquered banner
over every field; but it does consist in
force of character, in force of soul, feel
in, thought and purpose, Cesar was a
NSttn lldil WASI AS SdOIlitCeQ the llOer-
ties of Rome by suffering Mark Antony
to put the crown upon his head Wash
ington would not have been great if he
had yielded to the temptations of. his
willing army and accepted q crown at
the expense of the liberties of his coun-
try. The reformed drunkard accom-
plishes a more heroic achievement than
did the Spartan band at Thermopyl@,
because he conquers himself That man
is only great who seeks right and truth
and justice, and adheres to them with
strong, vigorous and perpetual purpose.
AS to the effects upon the nation, Mr..
Jefferson said, many years ago:
"The habit of using alcoholic liquors
by men in office has created more injury
to.the public service, and more trouble
and will just as surely consign them to
drunkard's graves.
We make drunkards through granting
licenses to sell acoholic liquors indis-
criminately for drink. Physicians them
selves drink stimulants daily, and pre-
scribe them to their patients, yea, to
nursing women and to sucking babes
And, as though this were not enough, we
oonsecrate the fermented Intoxicating
stuff, and use it in holy sacramentsl
Great God forgive us our sins We
bring the tempter into Thy holy house,
and ask thy blessing there! Is this con-
sistent? Is not pure water better rep
resentative of His atoning blood than
Intoxicating alcoholic Then why not use
its And must poor, weak sickly women
and children be drugged into drunken
ness by dissipated or ignorant doctors