The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1879-08-22
IsanasoL oS ALcomOl.

The following is from a plea of Col.
lngersol to a jury, involving the manu-
facture Of ardent spirits II should be
pasted in the hat Of every man in the
land who either tastes OF touches that
death dealing liquid
am aware that there Is prejudice
against every man engaged in the man
nfaeture Of alcohol. believe from the
time il issues from the coiled and poi
sonous worm in the distillery until it
empties into the hell Of death, dis.
hanor and crime, that it demeralizes
every one that touches it, from the
source 70 the end. do not believe
That anybody can contemplate the sub
iect without becoming preludiced against
the crime. All we have to do Is think
os the wrecks on either side Of the
stream Of death, Of the suicides, OF tlie
insanity, Of the poverty, Of the ignor-
ance, Of the destitution, Of the little
children tagging at the breasts of weep
ing and distracted wives asking for
bread, Of the men of genius il has
wrecked, the men struggling with i'm
aginary serpents produced by this dew
iliali thing; and when yon think Of the
iais, the almshouses, Of the asylums, of
tie prisons, and the acaiIolda on every
hand, | do not wonder that every man
is preiudiced against the damned stuff
called alcohol. Intcmperance cuts down
youth in its vigor, manhood in It's
strength and age III its weakness. Il
freaks the fathers heart, bereayes the
doting mother, extinguishes natural az
fiction, grasses eonjngal love, blots out
flial attachment, blights paternal hope,
and brings down mourning age in sor-
row to the grave. IL makes wives
widows, children orphans, fathers fiends,
and paupers Of them all. II feeds rheu-
matism, arouses gont, welcomes epidem.
les, invites cholera, imports pestiience
and embraces consumption. Il covers
The land with idleneas and crime. It
ellis your jails, your almshouses
and demands your assylums. II engen-
dera controversies, fosters quarrels and
cberishes riot. II crowds your peniten-
tiaries and furnishes victims for the
scaiold. IL is tho blood of tho gambler,
the element Of the burglar, the prop of
the highwayman and the support Of the
midnight incendiary. II countenances
the liar, respects the thief. esteems the
blasphemer. IL violates obligation, rev
erences fraud and honors infamy. II
deiames beneyolence, hates love, scorns
virtue and ISLANDERS innocence. fneites
the father 20 butcher his helpless or
spring. and the child 10 grind the par
ricidal ax. II burns up men, consumes
women, detests life, curses God and
hates Heaven. IL suborns witnesses,
nurses pcridy, detiles the jury hox aud
ataine The iulicial ermine Il hsihes
votes, disqualiiies the voter, eorrupts
elections. pollutes our institutions aud
eudangers government. it degradea
the citizen, dishonors the legislator and
disarms the patriot. II brings shame,
not honor; terror, not safety; despair not
hope; misery, not happiness; and with
the malevolence Of fiend, it calmly
surveys It's frightfui desolation, and un.
satiated with havoc, il kills peace, poi
sons felicity, ruins morals, blights con-
fidenee, slays reputation and wipes out
national honor; then curses the world
aud laughs at its ruin. It does that
and more-it murders the soul. II il
the sum Of all crimes; the mother of all
denominations. The devils best friend
and Gods worst enemy.