Fayette County herald. [volume] (Washington [Washington Court House], Fayette County, O. [Ohio]) 1860-1???, 1878-11-28
For the Herald.
what win Chech Intemperance

On Sunday evening last, large meet |
ing convened at City Hall, for the pur-
pose of promoting the temperance cause.
Rev. George Carpenter, OF the Presbyte-
rian Church, presided. The meeting was
addressed by Mr.. H. L. Hadley and Hon.
Mills Gardner. The speech of the latter
was elaborate, eloquent and convincing.
Its arguments were, in great measure,
addressed to parents. He argued that in
temperance could only be averted by dill
ligent watchfulness on the part of parents.
The boy must not be permitted to enter
either the saloon or the billiard ROOM
The last he regarded as a lure to youth,
and the highway to the dram shop.
In my opinion, temperance advocates
will be obliged to change their pro-
gramme. Legislation, in all forms, has
been tried; aud proved failure. Pro-
hibition will not do; license is the legal
endorsement of the greatest evil that can
af1ict society; local option is better than
license, but still the traffic can be carried
on at the will of the majority; praying is
only temporary expedient, and requires
a never-ending effort; the Murphy move
meIt, though it promised great results, is
already dying out and seventy-fve per
cent. of those who took the pledge have.
like the sow, returned to their wollowing
in the mire.
Now, what is to be done? The parents
cannot, or will not, keep their sons from
the saloon; if men will voluntarily be-
come druukards, and ruin themselves
and families; if thousands of persons will
engage in the traffic of ardent spirits and
thus contribute to vice and immortality
if our jails and penitentiaries, and luna
tic asylums and infirmaries are to be filled
by this infamous business; if all these
evils are togo on from year to year; il
the youth of the nation is be continually
debauched, some stronger measures than
any hitherto resorted to will have to be
tried.
believe that public sentiment is right,
but the people are powerless. The laws
are totally inadequate to bring about a
reform. The Constitution of the State
is radically deficient. It does not even
permit the traffic to be regulated" by
license, and the traffic itself is Iegalized.
would amend the Constitution by strik-
ing out all the present provisions in re-
gard to intemperance, and leave the leg
islature with full power to apply Il RENE
dy. This would give the advocates OF
temperance a fair chance ia this warfare
with the venders of intoxicating spirits
They would be able then to attack King
Alcohol with the most improved imple-
ments of warfare.
If had the power to legislate, would
make both the selling and drinking of in
toxicating liquors, as beverage, a crime
I would both tn1prison and gbip. Tht
eat-'o-nine-tails applied to the back of tn,
seller and drinker, if rigidly applied
would soon beat Out what cannot be coaxel
out. 1t might take an army to do titus
as it took an army to destroy slavery
That institution was invulnerable to mora
suasion and so is the liquor traffic. Fore
has become absolutely necessary. Parent
can regulate the conduct of their sons d
home, but they can notalways keep ther
out of the saloon.
1t may be argued, that if you destro
the dram shops the traffic will be trans
ferred to the drug stores. 1 would az
with them precisely as with the saloons
Can any one point out better remed
than the one we have suggested? Thirty
nine lashes on a saloon keepers back AN
half the number on Il drunkard's epideI
mis-, will cure the evil in such town a
Washington. w. H, P. DENNY