The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-01-02
Local Option.
Nashville Correspondence

EDITOR CITIZEN :-Anti-vice meet
ings have been held in our city
well attended too-looking to the
suppression of the liquor traffic un
der the rule of what is known as
the local option law AS the re
suit, an address of prominent citi-
zens, accompanied with a circular
for the petitioners, has been sent to
each county in the State. This,
with the one sent out by the tenn
perance society, will roll up to the
Legislature soon to meet a strong
voice Prohibition has been dis
cussed. That would be defeated.
Moral instincts will not now rise
higher than option. That would
ameliorate, not cure. Some of the
lesser towns can and will vote 1t.
Nashville will not. Such, l believe,
is the ties imony OF the honorable
gentlemen subscribing the address
and of the meeting itself. Liquor
men have been abused This re
mark is general. The time for
brute force is past. No Grecian
gymnastics necessary now. Clear
the arena and let US have moral sua-
sion. If men can be persuaded that
both its sale and use is a moral evil
-subjectively lnjurious-they will
the more readily acknowledge the
wrong and turn away from it.
Many a man has been sent to the
dogs and to the devil by a pseudo
philanthropy. If it is cowardly 10
mistreat prisoner, it is vile to be
unkind to the man of beastly appe-
tite. The dignified stalwart moral
man always helps the lowly. The
man who struts ana swels in self
esteem and heartlessly turns from
his fellow-man who would be re
deemed, ought to be relocated to
and supplied with the lacking paws
in the geological garden. He is
beast, but not Of high order. The
evil of drinking and selling liquor
would he hard to magnify, but l am
convinced that the "cold water"
party has often suffered by the CO.
piousness of that orator whose pate
was still the care of an anxious
mother. Better let the opening on
the head close up first and there
will be no danger of widening the
breach by the growth of ideas. /
hope "local option" will pass. 1t is
better for the men now engaged in
that business, and far better for the
whole country.
You have seen through the activ-
tiles of Talmage OF Brooklyn some
thing of New York by "gas light"
He has seen the scints of vice of
that city, and now comes TO the
front to tell the people where they
are living. His tabernacle is too
small. He has photographed the
''lusts of the flesh" from the lowest
brothel to the most respectable
milling hell of the Shylocks on
Wall Street. Some of our religious
journals seem to think him too ag
gressive. Sorry they are listen
pered. Mr. Talmage has discre-
ton, moral courage, iron, steel and
religion, in his composition. No
use for man to be envious. Mr..
Talmage is letting down the pom
derous weight of the central truth
of the gospel-Christ and Him cru
cified-upon the hearts of the peo-
pie. Some sensation in it. But it
is kind, loving. 1t saves men.
That is the end of its mis- sion. Mr..
Talmage has many imitators, but no
equal; lin his lie. he has many
satellites, but no sun. While he is
heading the file OF popular pull pit
orators, would it not be well-for the
press of the continent to push the
work2 | mean, l say, his lOork
more than his theology. Perhaps
next to Paul, Luther and Mulanc-
thon have set the world the most
worthy Example. They did not gar
bic up principles for advanced
thought" but leaving rational the
ology out of the question, they de-
clared Christ as able to save with
out priest or sacrament.
Dec. 18th. TRAVIS RUFUs.