The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1878-05-25
THE REFORM CLUB LAST NIGHT.
REMARKS ny MESsRs AYERS AND MCCARTNEY
4 LIGHT ATTENDANCE

MIR. ". L. wright, IN opening thc meet
ing, alluded to the absence Ct the president,
and also to sickness in Mr. W. +. McKcc's
family. Through the latter cause, the regu'
lar musical features OF The club
would have to be omitted, but he
relied upon the assistance Of those
present to make the meeting enter
tanning and agreeable, and called upon Mr..
5. D. Ayers to come forward, and give those
present the benefit Of talk.
In the meantime, Miss Fannie Barclay,
yielding to the solicitations Of the officers
Of the club, went to the organ and the
hymn, "All Hail our Jesus Name was sung
from the club slips by the audience.
Mr.. Ayers then came forward and remark
cd thu; he hardly knew what to say. He
had come there without the expectation Of
making a speech, and, consequently, what
he would have to say would be of scat
tcring and dcsultory nature. One of the
objections most often urged to the cause OF
temperance was, the speaker said that II
success should award its efforts, it would
materially curtail the revenues Of counties
and municipalities from license sources
and, therefore, increase the tax on real
property. Unfortunately, he said, there
were not many cases to cite in contradiction
of this line OF argument, for the cities
where the LIQUOR traffic was entirely pro-
hihited were few in number. But among
the latter he mstaNccd Portland, Me-, as
best illustrating the truth set forth by tenn
pcrancc peoplc-that decreased consump-
ton Of Liquor was inevitably followed by a
lcs>cning Of crime. At Portland no revenues
to the people had been derived from liquor
selling; yet the decrease in crime, pau
ncrism, and the manifold evils
that are the offspring Of intcmpcr-
ancr, had more than compensated for that
loss in pccuniary sense, overlooking en-.
tircly the advantage gained to the moral
condition of the community: while it was
fact, susceptible OF proof, that real property
in Portland was constantly increasing in
value In other cities-St, Louis. Chicago,
New York. Cincinnati-CiticS that derived
revenue from the sale of liquor, there had
been, during the same period, Il continued
and marked decrease in the property spoken
Of II is also worthy Of mention, that the
taxes are to-day lighter in Portland, in pro-
portion to It's population than in any of the
cities named, or in fact of any city of
equal size in the country. The speaker
referred to the condition of az
fairs in Portland as rci'uting the
objections to the temperance cause, men
toned in opening his remarks Mr.. Ayers
thea went on to say that in the course Of
his reading he came across, the other day,
an old temperance lccture-onc of the most
successful ever delivered 1t was founded
upon an old Mosaic law, or laws, rather
which are the fund rental bases OF all
laws and immutable in their character
the exact language OF which, he SID, he
was not able to recall, forgetting, doubtless
to seek the aid of The BULLETIN amhaS-
Sador, whose duty it is to have the scrip
lures always at his tongues end, as becomes
Il representative Of the only uly rclgi-
Gus paper in these parts. But Mr. A. gave
the substance As nearly as we can now
rrcoIcct, the texts Of passages referred to
are these:
If m oy gore man or woman. that they die, then
! the OK shall be surely stoned, and his flesh shall
not he eaten; hut the owner of the Of Shall be quit
But il the OK were wont to push with his horn In
times past. and II hath been testified to hi owner
and he hath not kept him in, hut tina, he hath kill
ed a man or Nwomsn the or shall be stoned and
hi- owner also shall he put to death
Mr. A. used the text to illustrate the like
ness Of the men who deal out the devil in
solution" TO the owner of the OK who know,
is dangerous character, and by giving il
license to roam at large cndangcrs the life
OF the individual. The parallel was strong.
" drawn and was effective with the audi.
cncc
lie Wa, followed by Mr. Mccartney, OF
Metropolis. the matter OF whose speech was
good, while the manner of its delivery was
excellent He referred to the majority o
tcmpcmnccoat as always having expert.
cncc, 10 relate Of the intnmicS into which
they had fallen, and of the blessings of their
rescue. In his case there was moth
, inc Of this. He had never fast
p 81 intoxicating liquor lie then re-
Icwcd in complimentary terms to
the character Of Mr. Ayers remarks, and
gave some interesting data concerning Cairo
dWing its period of intcmpcWnc' an'
while he was prosecuting attorney, iollowc,
by u history of the Temperance cause il
Pulaski, MaSSuc and Johnson counties. Iii
remarks were full Of in rest, and he con
ciudcd by an eloquent appeal to those wilt
| had not vet Joined to come forward an,