davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08
THERE No ESCAPE FOR US-IT
MUST BE DONE.
When we have sought pers;s,en,l,

When we have sought persistently
to excite Austin and those who own
property or trade in Austin, and have
endeavored to fasten on the minds OF
the people proper apprehensions of the
incalculable Importance of a -oad to
Lampasas, few have listened; but
now, when Galveston speaks, when
we hear the clanking of iron rails,
when trains already thunder over forty
miles of the road, finished, equipped
and paid for, Austin begins to see
that the STATESMAN was prophetic aud
the dangers pronounced imminent be-
come even terrible. The whole trade
of the whole country northwest of us,
and lying at our very doors, is to be
swept away and gathered in by the
Island City; deserving, because it wins
by the vigor and enterprise of its peo-
pie the proudest name and position
claimed by any Southern mart. But
the prize is not lost. On the contrary,
Galveston, if Austin be true to itself,
will only develop and enrich and pop
ulase for Austin a wide district. The
rates of charges on the narrow gauge
will be one-half less per mile than on
the broad gauge from Bolton to Gal
weston, and Austin will sell at whole
sale at Galveston prices, and Bolton
can thus buy for less in Austin than
in Galveston, and the prices paid for
farm products will be the same ia both
cities. To the extent that Austin is
nearer Bolton than is Galveston, and
to the extent that freight and passen-
ger rates are less on a narrow gauge
than broad gauge, to that very extent
Austin will be preferred by Bolton,
and if Austin would be enriched and
aggrandized rather than impoverished
and destroyed, the narrow gauge to
Lampasas should be begun before the
charter lapses. Who will lead the
way and become the great benefactor
of the capital2
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

PRESIDENT GRANTS dispatch to
Packard is as brave an act as it is just
and polite. Not only must the Radi-
cal government of Louisiana be dis
solved by this cold recognition given
by Federal power, but Mr.. Hayes is re-
lieved of the awkward necessity of in
augurating for himself policy which
in the very beginning of his official
career would have alienated Morton
and his extreme adherents. Grant
goes out of office with the fame of
having dealt justly with South Caro-
lima and Louisiana, and of having
dared to remove dangerous obstruc-
tions from the pathway of his success
sOr,
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

Do NOT forget that the State tax in
Maine is only third of a cent on a
dollar of assessed valuation, or about
a sixth of one per cent. on real value.
And yet we are gravely told that the
expulsion of whisky from community
by law availed people nothing. The
people of Maine are intelligent, educa-
ted, moral and industrious. The Maine
liquor law was repeatedly denounced as
the synonym of extreme sumptuary leg
islation, but the recent session of the
Legislature in that State proved that
there could be still deeper depth or q
more dizzy height, according as people
look at 1t. The intensified liquor
law" as it Is called, will soon 60 into
effect. The penalties for selling any
intoxicating liquors, except cider made
by the seller in the State, are two
months in the countY Jail and fine OF
$1,000, the offender to stand committed
until the same is paid. The law treats
cider-vending by the glass just as it
treats the sale of rum and whisky; SC
dealers expect to sell it by the gallon
for home consumption instead, and il
any medicine man" can discover c
sure cure for stomachic grippe, Maine
is the State where a fortune awaits
him. But We only proposed to show
that experience in Maine has demon,
strated the wisdom of the restrictive,
repressive policy. The people approve
the results of prohibition, even as in
England statistics before parliamentary
committees show that the liberalIza.
tion of codes affecting the sale of in
toxicating liquors of all kinds has led
to the degeneracy of the English race,
to the multiplication of crimes, OF pau.
pers and of brutalizcd men and de-
based women.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

WoMAN's aid is imperatively demand
ed in this temperance movement; and
no influence is SO potent; it is felt
throughout all the ramifcations of So
ciety. To her, for the most part, is
entrusted the education of our chill
dreD, both at home and in our schools.
Prohibition aad the rights and interests
of woman are one and lnseparable.
Morally and socially woman can be
happy only as the eternal principles of
temperance prevail at home and in the
community. Every family preserved
from intemperance, every family edu-
Gated to virtue and useful knowledge,
every family exalted to useful labor
becomes a foundation, a unit OF
strength and safety to her own loved
ones at home, and will send up re,
deeming spirit and power through all
the circles of society in which those
loved ones move. How deeply, how
vitality Is woman concerned, then, in
this local option movement. If the IL
quor traffic could assert absolute sway,
it would speedily reduce woman here
to her degraded condition in heathen
lands. 1t has no sympathy with the
purity of her chancter, and seeks only
her debascment and enslavement. Let
our women, then, meet this foe of all
that they hold sacred, or regard as
dear, with q most determined and &C
tive and uncompromising opposition.
We are not afraid of Dur women taking
the stump, or crusading the streets,
but they are a power behind the
throne, far greater than the throne it
self. They can, without comprOmIs
ing that delicacy which is the glory oi
our Southern women, do immense ser
vice
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

4 New York letter says: "There
is another fight growing out of Sewing
Machine Singers VIII. Singer had
been married five or six times, and his
heirs are very numerous indeed. He
left fortune of some $14, 600, 900, and
of course the heirs are not all of one
mind as to the distribution of it. Some
of them are now raising a row in court
because they cannot get enough money
TO support them IN reckless extrava-
garce. Here is one young man OF
eighteen whose mother says he ought
to have at least $500 per month out of
the estate to enable hin to live up to
his position For each of his two sis
tiers the same allowance is claimed.
Another heir, a young married woman
named Foster, who has been getting
$500 per month, now wants $1,000.
She also wants to live up to her posi-
tion. l wonder If these people ever
think of the position of Singer and
his first wife, in their early married
life, when they travelled with shows
and hay-loft theatrical companies about
the country, and would have thought
$1,000 almost fortune"
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

returns to the internal revenue office, OF
money expended in the $50, 900 grog-
shops Of the nation for the year ending
June 1, 1871, stated the aggregate at
5000, 900, 900. In the year and half
succeeding, the Liquor Mems AdUOcdte
placed the figures much higher. OF
this amount, $500, 600, 900 is paid by
the laboring classes, and is the price
of poverty, disease, degradation, want
and suffering IN their families, and of
vice and crime throughout the nation.
But this is not half the bill o' costs !;
add to this estimate of the gov
erment officers the illicit traffic,
the crooked whisky which has
sent up no returns to the Bureau of
Statistics, but has done its work in
darkness to such an extent that for
years it controlled the price of liquor
in our markets. Add also the property
destroyed, the time of the millions of
drunkards (mOre than four-fifths from
the working class wasted in the sa
Icons and drinking places, and the con-
sequent intoxication; and subtract
from their earnings the sickness, the
injury and destruction of health and
physical fibre occasioned by it, among
the working men and their families,
and the annual robbery. of our laboring
population far exceeds q thousand mil
lions of dollars. Stop this enormous
waste of the fruits of labor. Give
back to the laboring men the ten thou
sand millions of dollars of which they
have been robbed in the last ten years
by that stupendous robber and destroy
er of the people, the liquor traffic, or
save that amount for them, for the next
ten years, and they will themselves be-
come capitalists. They will all have
homes of their owa for their families,
and become owners of large part of
the corporate wealth of the country.
Thus the great contest between capital
and LABOR will be happily adjusted.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08
PROHIBITION - WHAT 1T
MEANS.

1t is contended that prohibition
enters into mans inner nature and at
tempts to rcmo!d his passions and ap-
petite. This assertion is predicated
upon the idea that men are naturally
inclined to drink, and to drink to ex-
cess. This we do not believe to be
true, and If we can establish its falsity,
then this plausible objection to prohi-
bition falls to the ground. The appe-
tite for strong drink is acquired; man
in natural state does not need, or de
| sire, a stimulant. Some we admit, In
herIt the appetite for alcoholic drinks,
but 1t is no more necessary part of
mans nature than is consumption, or
any other hereditary disease. Thee
are the exceptions to the rule, and not
| the rule itself. Nature teaches total
abstinence from all that intoxicates.
So then these abnormal cases are to be
attributed to criminal or unfortunate
parentage. 1t is an assumption revolt
ing to reason and shocking to the soul,
to accuse what we call nature of
suicidal tendencies, of bringing its
most intelligent creatures into the
world with disposition to seek
their own destruction, when the
fact is, everything in and around us
shows that self-preservation is natures
first law; that the fullest physical,
mental, moral and social enjoyment is
foun1 in avoiding sedulous!y, every
thing that can intoxicate.
Gods first law Nas "prohibitory"-
"Thou shalt not eat Of the tree" The
decalogue given under awful demon
strations of Gods power on Sinai con-
tains nine distinct prohibitions. Our
own codes but rc-ensct these Mosaic
laws. Gods 'shalt not" man follows
up with penalty. If you kill, says
society, We will hang. II you steal, we
will imprison. II you use indecent or
| liO'hHI iiL SuH5SN gcu WIN OO AhCu.
II is therefore no new thing We are
urging. The prohibition OF the sale
of Intoxicating drinks is now the law
of the State of Texas. Ii its sale is
not prohibited why ask for ''license"
to sel!l You don't ask for permission
to raise corn or wheat or cotton or
stock, or to trade in land. Why ask
for permission to sell whisky2 Simply
because the sale of Intoxicating drinks
is prohibited by law, except in certain
cases. The aim of the prohibition
party is to reduce the number of ex-
ceptions. The code already recog-
nizes the principle of prohibition, the
right to prevent its sale except under
certain conditions and by certain per-
sons. We ask that these conditions
shall be more stringent, and that the
number of persons to whom this right
is given shall be lessened. We ask for
no new principle to be adopted-only
that the old principle, to which all
give their support, shall be carried
| farther,
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08
PARTISANSIIIP AND LOCAL
OPTION.

There is wide difference between
absolutely prohibitorY liquor laws and
the "local option" Law enforced In
Kentucky and now considered by the
people of Texas. Fourteen States
have prohibitory laws, and the politi-
cal status OF each of these, as given in
an "opinion" by Jere Black, is as fol-
lows: Maine, In 1851, by Democrats
Minnesota, in 1852, by Democrats
Rhode Island, in 1852, by Democrats /;
Massachusetts, in 1862, by Wings;
Vermont, IN 1852, by Wings; MIchi-
gan, in 1853, by Democrats; Connect
cut, in 1854, by Wings; Indiana, in
1858, by Wings; Delaware, in 1855, by
Americans; Iowa, in 1856, by Wings
and Republicans; Nebraska, in 1866,
by Democrats; New York, in 1856, by
Fusion; New Hampshire, in 1855, by
Americans; Illinois, in 1855, by Amer
leans.
BY the above table it will be seen
that five Democratic legislatures have
passed prohibitory laws, four Wing
Legislatures, and one by a fusion of
Wings and Republicans. The Ameri-
can party enacted the law in three
States. Massachusetts, having Wing
governor and Democratic and Free
soil legislature, is put down to the
credit of the Wings. The above ex-
hibit shows that prohibition belongs
to no special party in politics. Sturdy
old Delaware, the Gibraltar of Democ-
racy, stands to-day maintaining her
prohibitory law, while Maine, equally
true to her Republican sentiments,
does the same thing. In Rhode Island
liquor Democrats and Republicans
joined hands to defeat the prohibition
candidate, who had, OF the three can
didates for governor, the largest vote.
Herod and PLATE made friends that
day in order to cruelty prohibition.
New England, the Puritan land, is
more against than for local option.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

The completion of the road from
Houston to New Orleans, to be ef-
fected by Commodore Morgan, gives
Austin, as We have before stated, an
other and shorter railway route to the
sea and to the Crescent City. But, be-
yond this, if Morgan own the road
from Houston to New Orleans, he
would give 1t the greatest possible
quantity of freights and travel, and it
therefore happens that the necessity for
the extension of the Indiano!a and Cue
TO road to Austin becomes greater than
before. Every passenger and bale OF
freight whose course could be control
led by special rates from Cuero to New
Orleans would be sent through Austin
and Houston by Morgan, and it occurs
to US that the necessity for the exten.
sion of the Cuero road to the capital
becomes so manifest because of Nor
gan's recent investments and declared
purposes in New Orleans, that we
should devise some measure to promote
and hasten the consummation. The
route for this extension is already sur
yeyed to Gonzales. Does city govern,
ment have any duty to discharge beyond
that Of squeezing taxes and perquisites
and jury fees out Of the peoplel |;
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

MAJOR w. L. BRINGHURsT and Miss
Nettie Power Houston were married
Wednesday evening at the Governors
Mansion by Rev. DR.. Chaplin. The
family OF Governor Hubbard and the
attendants of the bride and groom
were the only witnesses of the I'M
pressivc ceremonial. There was sim
gular propriety IN having such q mar
rage celebrated in such place. The
daughter of Sam Houston, inheriting
certainly the most poetical attributes
of his genius, welded to Texas by q
thousand memories, could hardly be-
gin the new hfe without the benedic-
ton of the commonwealth which
Houston having protected and saved,
ever owes a roof-tree to his children.
Major Bringhurst is q Louisianisn of
fsultless lineage and admirable taste
and learning. Properly, the chief
magistrate of Tex6s, standing in loco
parantis and representing the State,
gave away the bnde and rendered q
feast worthy OF the youthful pair and
of the memorable social event.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

IT Is question whether the huge
obelisk given by the Egyptian govern
ment to England will be removed to
the Thames embankmcnt or broken up
for building purposes. The answer
should be prompt if the monument is
to be saved. Its hieroglyphics are in
only tolerable preservation, but they
are Of the best period. A leading
shipping firm of Alexandria offer 10
put it upon the Thames embankment
for $1,000 The obelisk IN the Place
de la Ccncorde, at Pans, cost eight
times that sum.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

A WASHINGTON letter that appears
in the Charleston NeWs and Courier
says that "the talk is that the Demo-
cratic party has been thrust into its
present position as much by the in
capacity of It's leaders as by the sharp
practice of the Republicans and in
order to rectify that pos .tion, it is in
dispenssble that stronger men must
| come to the 'front.' In palmer terms,
Mr.. Tilden AMI Hewitt must stand
aside, for men who have the nerve and
brain to meet the new order of things.
Who these coming men are, it is only
whispered as yet, but in the whisper
ing the names of Southerners like
Hill, of Georgia; Hampton, of South
Carolina; Lamar, of Mississippi, and
Bayard, of Delaware. are audibly
heard. When the clubs begin to
talk that way, it will not be long be-
fore the outsiders will be found join
ing in the chorus. These ideas, it
ought to be added, are not confined to
the aristocratic saloons OF the Fifth
Avenue, but are beginning to take deep
root in the less dainty region of Tam.
many Hall, where, after all, Mr. Tilden
never had but halt-hearted support
at the best. II is divulging nobody's
secret to say further, that this feeling
is understood to be encouraged by the
Southern politicians themselves, and
that letters received here almost every
day from Washington, under that in
spiration, are very emphatic as to the
necessity of getting rid of the pres
ent incapable Northern leadership
The reason is that the Southern De-
mocracy, ever since the war, have
looked to the Northern wing of the
party to get them out of their troubles,
but that the situation has gone on from
bad to worse, and that it is now high
time to try change of tactics" If
the STATESMAN has talked somewhat
after the fashion of these party leaders
at Washington, the facts stated divest
our conduct of any share of possible
criminality.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

Gen. Tchernaye1, who commanded
the Servian army, visited Paris not
long since. and was there interviewed.
He is forty-eight years of age, and is
represented as having marked features.
Thc misfoTtunes of Servia seemed to
have added twc.ty years 10 his age.
My hfe," said he. '.has been a strug-
gle for two principies-liberty and CIV
ilizltioD. have fought for liberty in
Russia; / held pen The was the edi-
tor of, a paper ]. but they broke it in my
hand. / then started for Servia, where
[ fought against barbarism." Being
asked whether be had the assent of the
Gar to take command of the Servisn
army, he replied in the negative, say
ing that that was entirely lis work. AL
though be feels discoura ged just now,
yet he does not despair OF the cause he
has espoused. "You may be sure, he
said, ''th.t the end has not come yet,
4nd that before long we will show Eu-
rope that the SclavUnic races do no.
allow themselves TO oe cast doHA by a
defeat; and that their hatred, still
alive, will allow them 40 rest until the
Turks have been driven from Europe y
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08
THE war against whisky has already

The war against whisky has already
lessened the quantity consumed in
Austin and made whisky-guzzting less
respectable than it was and lessened
the quantity sold and promoted sobrie-
ty. The community should go further
than the press, and, restricting and
suppressing and then licensing the
traffic as il does, il should now destroy
it. 1t dUes no good and only evil, and
is public aud private calamity. Even
as we would legislate against small pox
or cholera so should we against whisky.
We do tax it enormously but not eff
fectively, and with so many charms
and with such brilliant sheen is it in
vested that these extraordinary bur
dens imposed by government are una
vailing, and we must go further to ex-
terminate finally the greatest evil that
ever befel our race.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

WE have a stray copy of the stray
horse newspaper of Waco. Any ass
might edit it, and does we reckon. 1t
contains list of lost quadrupeds in
Texas and we commend it to horse
thieves. People will hardly take a
paper to see list of stolen horses. 1t
isn't interesting reading and thieves
are not ANXIOUS to diffuse information
of the sort given, and we are afraid
that this tasteful literary venture will
be failure.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

the number committed for the nom
payment of faes and costs is also CON
siderably increased. being 4275 against
1868 the year before. Aud vet the
earnings of the prisoners, though so
largely Increased in numbers, they say,
were LESS than those of 1867
On page 4SS, table forty, general
statistics of the town paupers, we learn
that the "whole number, including va.
grants of the towns poor supported"
was, in 1867, 81, 26l, while in 1868 tho
number was Of, 1878, SOC more un-
der license than under prohibition.
In the city of Boston, the chef of
police reports that for the last quarter
Of 1867, when the State was under
prohibltory law, the number of arrests
was 1880, dodgers 26i7-total 4147;
while in the corresponding quarter of
1868, under license, the number of ar
rests was 1896. dodgers 76l7-total
1922; or 9066 more under license
than prohibition.
So rapid was the increase Of crime
under the Ii ense law that Governor
Clatlin, in his message to the l. gisla-
ture, January, 1869, said: "The in
crease of drunkenness and crime dur
ing the last six months, as compared
with the same period of 1867, is very
marked and decisive as To the opSra-
tion of the law. The State prisons,
jails, and houses of correction are be-
ing rapidly filled, and will soon re-
quire enlarged accommodation il the
commitments continue to increase as
they have since the present law went
into force"
mus II Is ttrot tho l,qnnr traffic, un-
der license laws, fills our prisons and
increases pauperism. II license laws
continue, We shall forever have woe to
alleviate, crimes to punish, and vlc-
tins to pull from the burning gulf of
intemperance. The strong arm of law
alone can reach and suppress this
agency for the temptation and ruin of
men. Therefore, so to the polls ON
the seventeenth of this month, and
vote for the local option law.
HARD BRICK.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

THE local editor of the Brenham
Banner declines to accept office in a
corporation in which the results OF
elections gre determined by tramps,
roughs, ex-penitenttary convicts and
others who vote by virtue of the uni
versatility of suffrage. The excellent
editor seems to think that under such a
system the post of honor is the private
station.
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08


A New York letter, IN referring to
the manner III Which Mr.. Tilden re-
ceived the Louisiana decision, says ::
"If Mr.. Tilden feels any depression of
spirits he certainly manifests none.
This evening, when called upon, lie
seemed to be in bis accustomed good
humor. His face beamed with smiles,
just as it used to in the heat of the
canvass when some word of encourage
ment came to him from the rural dis
tricts. He entertained quiet little
dinner party In the Gramercy rask
mansion. When asked whether he had
heard the news from Washington he
answered, oh, yes. l bought new
mare this morning, and have been try
ing her in the park this afternoon; she
is a fine stopper, and l think l shall
prize her very highly Whenever the
reporter reverted to politics Mr.. Tilden
reverted to the new mare, whose quail
lications for carrying him through the
park grew more ana more valuable as
the reporters visit was prolonged. Mr..
Tilden said that politics did not trouble
his little dinner party. The guests
had not spoken of 1t. He could not
be made to say anything about the tri-
buual's decision"
The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1877-03-08

THE Brenham Banner is pleased to
say that in spite of the efforts of the
STATESMAN and John Ireland Guada-
lupe county defeated prohibition. The
STATESMAN made no effort to control
events in Guadalupe, and whatever the
result it was achieved by grossest ig-
norance, and the intelligence and de-
cency and good morals pf the county
were with Judge Ireland. But suf-
fraoe Is universal.