The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1876-04-15
HOME REFORMATION.
The Liquor Traffic.

revenue tins year alter al Tue coStS ol tHcsc
prosecutions are paid But for this knowledge
we must await the progress of events. Mean
while, there are some facts pertaining 10 the
liquor traffic which are already known and
which are certainly not unworthy Of considcra
lion. We propose to notice a few of them.
THE EXTENT OF THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.
This business has increased in the United
to an extent which should awaken an interest
in the mind OF every Citizen and lead to a can
did and thorough investigation Of the whole
subject We cannot afford to neglect this mat
ter and the sooner it is squarely met the better
it will be for all concerned.
1t is fact OF some importance that capital
Of serenity millions Of dollars is invested in the
manufacture Of Intoxicating liquors in this
country. There are forty thousand persons EN-
ployed in dstllerics, hrcweries, and Warehouses;.
In 1872 there were fee hundyTd and fire thousand
tioo haadre1 and sirty-tico persons wholesaing
and retailing Intoxicating li1uors. Less than
one-half af this number are employed as teach
ers in all the schools Of the United States Is it
not significant fact that the nation must en-
ploy more than twice as many persons to furnish
incbriatng drinks than It employs to educate
the children and youth of the land? Are the
throats of the American people more capacious
than their brains? Verify, it would seem SO
In the year 1870, We were paying s95,402, 726, to
to all our educational interests, while we paid
s7l5,51j 900 to the rum-sellers. What do these
figures mean? What must be the result OF
such process? And this enormous demand
for strong drinks is increasing faster than the
demand for education. Our people are now
paying annually not less than one billion dollarS
for alcoholic drinks. This is certainly large
sum to cSpend every year in single branch Of
trade.
VINO GETS THE BENEFIT,
Of this immense traffic? Most ussurcdly not
those who buy and use intoxicating liquors as
beverage. The effects Of alcoholic drinks upon
the human system are too evident to need any
discussion here.
1t cannot he denied that intcmpcrancc speed.
lily ncapacitatcs its victim for every kind Of
labor. Property wasted, money and time squan.
dered health ruined, and honor lost, are some
of the things received by the incbriatc for his
earnings paid to the liquor-vcnder. In almost
every case incbriaton Injuries the mental facul-
tics, destroys the moral scnsibllitcs and incites
10 the most bcastly inhuman and dabolical
dtCub IctOIuCu III tuC aHHaIs pl crime. Sixty
thousand OF our fellow citizens die annually
from It's effects. Are they benefited by the whs- |
NY traffic? If the wretchedness and niamy of
the drunkard's life-thc horrors OF derium-
cxcruciatinS suilcrngs indestribably worse
than any fortunes ever inflicted upon helpless
victims 10y the Spanish lnquistion
and mental anguish, bitter beyond the power of |
language to uttcr-if these arc benefits, then the |
thousands who pay their last dollar to the rum
seller are benefited. 1t is but plain truth,
that If every bartender was, instead Of being
such, licensed murderer and would do his
dirty work with the knife ard the pistol, the |
amount OF human happiness would be greatly |
Increased.
But how il it in regard TO
THE INEBKIATE's HOME?
Does this immense traffic, which only curses its
victim, make his home better and happier
oneY Where does imtcmperancc strengthen
and purify those affections, and that holy re-
gard for sacred rights which make the home
circle the only paradise on earth! II
Arc his wife and children better fed, clothed
and educated; and are they happier because the
husband and father comes back to them from
the dram shop IL q state OF beastly ntoYica.
ton? Let them tell their own sad tale Of woe
II would give me no pleasure to write it, neither
do you care to read it. Indeed, we have heard
the sickening recital until we are tired of it,
thoroughly Disguised with II. Besides ii has
been repeated until it is threadbarc long ago,
and, perhaps, destitute Of interest rs the tat
tered garments and miserable sQualor Of the
"retcheI sufferers men, lhere are the piriA-
'lohs anu WIohSs .. women l'; "nu chiiurch' now
an 9hch ao'oIpcu III poi'llce' BUSINESS, money
haklnE anu pressure oe expected 10 investigate
sueh ni ,i ninttcIs pst we may US wen not
Ioib.t tn'I tu'e otoiy VI ucS'nua,ioh uhu u'sucSs
- written III 'ca,s anu angulsh,.lh Diooo ana
In nv wv lic c ,i = countiy cAtcnt
me Just ana MerGu9 one VINO hcarS the raw
tne tIy Il ncithei oIihu 10 Tue suheiingS OF hu
manly, NOT uGni 10 inc CRIES OF inc helpess We
tiho oi t4's uealh'ueailhS franc. VIII only
edy tlat tnc Shame ara misery ei thc laniles oil
ln.c t men cIcrJ"hcre ueciarc Win sof'
.oNiH cihI haSiS 'E"t My TtceHc 40 OehGu from .
lnc lquo' u"iHc' put Una. u Is most "ltherihg
'u'fc upon every nome that IL touches
,,.., Is SOCIETY BENEFITED |,
oy W., oHa'ness' ~ seems ABSURD 10 make the
-hiuIl oUI we want tc ma out II we can What :
tlolI tItIc 10 uhuer the sun III Tue whisky
ray Is tGtlt 1855 immoralily' dishonesty
mel n ~, " anu murder tnah there
Wouu DC inc retailers OF aicohohc liquors
WeIc thsaEto III some honorable ana useiuI DC
'upatl9h, ana theit patrons free from the inJu' :
l. al n M mara Ia lnl