The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1879-05-23
WHISKEY HADN'T KILLED HIM.
a MINNESOTA STATESMAN'S PLEA FOR
THE CUP THAT CHEERS AND
ALSO INEBRIATES.

In the Minnesota House of Represen-
tatives DIR. Riley recently opposed bill
which threatened the dram-ShOpS. The
report says that his speech so covered
the bill with ridicule as to endanger its
passage, but the danger was averted by
other speakers. DR. Riley. who II seems
Is small man, began 10y saying that the
bill would Kill an honorable and legiti-
mate industry He then
cited the miracle of Cana. and proceed
ed
''NOw let us consider 1yhiskev and alcohol
that good old American drink Haughter)
l was born in southern Illinois several wears
ago. My father before me was a diStiller and
almost the first thing that my eyes rested on
after / was born was still. Nv father
never sat down to dinner without a bottle of
WhiSRey on the table and we all drank it,
Ever since ] can remember have been i'm the
habit OF taking drink of wiiSkey. wine OF
beer every day. If / have skipped a day l
have forgotten It. (LauEhter.) They say
whiSkey kills men and hlOatS them. II hasn't
killed me, and ask any member Of the House
to say If he thinks ii has bl0ated me. (Grcat
lauChter.) ! don't look bloated. (Rcnewed
merTiment.) ] am q physician and have
no heSitancy in saying that whiskey is the
most vitaliZinC Of stimulautS. When a man
receives an injury the first thing q physician
does Is 10 give him a little whiskey for the
Perhaps 1t may be necessary to pass a law to
protect those miserable drunkardS who can
not protect themselves. but il Is not necessary
to restrain others of their liberty TO take a
drink when they want or need it. Temper
ance may be good thing, but il should not
be carried too far This bill reminds me of
the man who was i'm the habit Of getting
drunk every night. When he had got com
iortably full he would try To mount his horse,
eXclaiming as he did SO. God help me 90
o. Df a. 1s
and miscalculated his distance, falling on the
opposite side of the horse, when he added to
his prayer, But not quite 50 much - (CTTcat
laughtcr.) These CJd-and-humauity people
had better take care. They viii he helping
us TO much
''Why / have seen ladies at a tea-party.
perhaps not drunk, but certainly very Jolly.
from drinking tea. And Yet they come to
this Legislature with petitions signed 10y all
whom they could influence or bull-dOZg into
signing them-mcU. women and children To
the number of 10000. / haven't counted
them, and don't know how correct the
figures are but SuppOSiug there are that
number, what does it amount to- There
are 100000 people i'm Minnesota, and We are
pTOpOSingtO let these 10 600 override the other
900, ,O01. How long do You suppose this large
majority will permit this to 90 ono How
long viii they stand dictJtipU from the mi
HuTity y" Not very long / can tell YOU.
"Ihe PTOhihitioui-t- claim that drinking
tends 10 impOvcri~h the people. For Gods
sake. go YOU Etal-At tifl. LOOK LL sllr
Germans. Many of them take piece of
land which would scarcely support a hug
and ma Ee q fortune off it. ILauehter.) They
all drink beer. They take their wives and
their children to the beer garden and sit down
and drink their beer every Gay. and even the
baby in arms will stretch out to get q taste
of it. These people are 50 healthy i'm my
ueIghHOrhOCd that ! have actually not been
able To make living out of my German Caf-
SttuHut~. and / nave been obliged TO run Tor
the Legislature in order TO get money enough
to buy bread. lGTcat l8UEhter.)
''They say. too. it tends To the degencracy
OF the human race. How does ID happen that
in New England. where prOhibtorV laws are
in force. the race has So dcgencrated that
they don't seem to be able To raise any
children. There the families don't average
one child apiece. (LauEhter.) Look at the
Irish, who drink whi~key all the time. You'll
find seven children in every lTi~lmau
~hauty I'M the country. (Laughter) That's
the effect Of drinking whi>kcE. Look at the
Germans, who drink beer all the while. Nou'H
find large family of children in every Ger
mans house. Are they degenerate The
children of total abstinence people are con-
>taUtiy dying. From the vital statistics OF
Minnesota ] learn that over 2.O00 children
died last year under two years of age They
would net have died il they had been fed on
good. wholesome beer. l would advise
mOtheTs-aud have advised Them in MY
pr1cticc-tO give their sickly children plenty
of hccrand whiSkcy pap (great laugltcr)-
and | know ! nave saved many aH infants
life. Beer Is the best cure iu the word for
dyspepsia. I have cured women of the ter
rihlc disease Iy advising them To- drink three
glasses of beer every day and l say 60 you
mothers who are here that if YOU viii drink
beer and WhiSkCy. and feed your children on
whiSkey pap, You viii raise more children
and healthier children. (Grrat lauGhtcr.)
Referring to the vital statistics of the
State. | find that but six men died of iutrn-
perauce duTjU9thC last ycar-two OF dcIiTium
tUemeHS and four of something else which
they couldn't tell anything about. so called
it intcmperance. Eleven were killed 10y
horses during the same time. Why don {
Won abolish hOrScS-ucvcr use them or 90
near thcm2 Thirty-tiyr committed suicide.
knives, and drain all your lakes and rivers
for fear some poor fool VIII drown himself .
Some 1J2 died of heaTt-dis1aSe. | don't want
any heart i'm mine. Twenty ladies We're
Scalded to death You ought to prohibit the
Use of hot water for fear that more ladies viii
get into it and perish. daughter
England, away across the sea, has hreWed
beer for :, 600 years and will continue TO brew
it for 1000 more and to the fact that the
English people have drank beer all the time
| attribute their present gTeatucSS-the fact
that the sun never sets on her dOminIOnS.
BeeT-drinllerS are slow but sure. Look at
Germany-that great nation We couldHt Z
pay her for the money we have borrowed Of
her. Her great army, the finest in the world,
was raised on beer. In America while we
drink all kinds of liquor we are the greatest
nation in the world. If injury is done the
wine is not to blame, but the poor devils who
don't know enOuUht to take care of them
selves. 1t is good sense to give strong drink
unto him that Is ready to perish and wine TO
those that be of heavy heart daughter
and applausc.)