The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-02-07
The Praying and Howiing Crusade
Against Liquor Dealers Out West.

In Persia and other Oriental countries the
religious sect called Dervises have q fashion
of squatting themselves before the house of q
person they intend to extort something from,
and by keeping up a continual and dismal
bowling finally force their victim to comply
with their demands. The scheme was once
tried by one of the howlers before the resi-
dence of the British Ambassador at the Per-
sian Court, and so annoying did the fellow be.
Come that the Minister appealed to the au-
thorities to have the nuisance abated. But it
was out of the power Of the authorities to ex-
tend relief, inasmuch as the bowler was a
devotee in the Mahometan faith, was only
performing one of the rites Of the Church,
and the complainant was nothing but foreign
infidel. Finding there was no other method
of getting rid of the annoyance the Ambassa-
dor finally ordered stone wall to be built
around the religious shrieker, but it had not
reached higher than his head when the fanatic
leaped out and vanished from the premises,
leaving his object of extortion unaccom-
plished.
This Oriental practice of bringing the force
of religious fanaticism to play against an al
legged evil is now being exhibited in the West
ern and in some parts of the Eastern section
of this country. 1t consists Of raid or
shrieking crusade against liquor dealers and
drug stores where spirits are dispensed for
any purpose, not excepting medicinal The
performances consist in parties of ladies visit
ing the liquor saloons and laying down the
law and the gospel of the sin of selling the
ardent. In some cases where they come
across hardened sinner they erect canvas
sheds and shanties, and keep up their howl
ings and exhortations until the poor
dealer hardly knows which is best for
him to do, knock his tormentors on
the head, knock in the heads Of his liquor
casks or beat his own brains out in pure des-
peration. In one instance an incorrigible
laborer in the vineyard of Bacchus was visited
by q select company of these Buckeye
dervises, who Immediately commenced opera
tons by praying for the offending dealer in the
Objectionable. So long as they kept on pray
ing they experienced little difficulty, but
when they raised their voices in singing it
seemed more like a congregation of sneezers
than hymn-singing one The rascally saloon
keeper had deliberately sprinkled red pepper
on the floor and on the hot stove, and when the
choristers began singing a hymn it sounded
something like this
When can l''at.chew ~. read my title clear rat-
To ("at.chew i',M"chew I,nsions in the skies
II .toto
cnew chew "chew p .'chewpj
And wipe (''a-a.a-cbewl" ''at-chew'O my weeping
(iati chew" .'chewPD eyes.
General chorus
"Atcheww "at-chewp' ''at-chewr 'a-a-cheww
''chewi" "ChOw-wew!"
SpOken-"Oh, by poor doze a'd eyespD
Of course the poor crusaders had to beat
retreat; and they did so, vowing that they
would not be sneezed at or be compelled to
sneeze by all the myrmidons of King Alcohol
in Moscow.
In another case the temperance enthusiasts
encountered contumelious gin-butcher, who
turned them out of his saloon into the street
But they determined not to "give it up So"
and declared they would yet pray him out of
his boots and his rattlesnake whiskey too.
The next day it rained and the weather was
unsuitable for outside demonstrations. But,
nothing daunted, these fearless champions
of temperance or dead-shot exterminators
of vile poisons rugged up a house on
wagon body, q sort Of peripatetic
temperance machine, and went to the
saloon, and if that wretched whiskey Millerte
did not hear his case argued in fine style it
was not because these indignant women had no
tongues. But still finding him obstinate and
unyielding they went at him at night with
Drummond lights, so that the features of
those who visited his saloon could be dis
cerned and their names duly recorded in the
book of the unsanctifed. If they find there
is no virtue in prayer in his case, or
conclude that he is past praying for, they are
determined to give him foretaste Of what he
may expect hereafter by Illuminating his
wicked pathway in this world. When last
heard from this obdurate liquor dealer was
hunting up few cases Of smallpox to place
on his premises and it will be curious to see
what effect this piece of strategy will have
upon his tormentors.
In other instances the law has had to inter-
vene to prevent these Ohio temperance enthu-
siasts from carrying their hostilities against
the common enemy to excess and thereby
inAict permanent damage upon legitimate
business like that of the druggist or apothe-
cary. But they seem to be determined
band of propagandists, and when they set
themselves down before liquor saloon with
the intention Of praying or bowling the
vender of the villanous stuff into compliance
with their demands they are not likely, in
imitation of Jem Baggs, the wandering
minstrel, to ''move off for anything under q
shilling"
Political CONSISTENCY IN THE SOUTH. 1t
is not always easy to understand the logic of
politicians in the South. We find the Jack
hat 10