Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-09-25

To license the traffic in strong
drink is Tor the Government to be
come q partner in wrong doing.
Look at the history of regulating
the system. For upwards Of three
hundred years the sale of strong
drink has been regulated by law.
Men have been
Licensed to make the strong man weak,
Licensed to lay the wise man low,
Licensed the wife's fond heart to break,
And make her childrens tears to flow;
Licensed to do his neighbor harm,
Licensed to kindle hate and strife,
Licensed to nerve the robbers arm,
Licensed to whet the murderer's knife,
Licensed when peace and quiet dwell
To bring disease and want and woe,
Licensed to make this world hell,
And fit men for a hell below.
To license and regulate wrong is
not more absurd than Infamous. 1t
is foul compromise with iniquity,
an Internal adulteration which lifts
up and legalizss wrong, and pulls
down the right. draping of the
three-mouthed dragon of the pit in
the habiliments of an angel of light
to stand and smile at the door cells
of destruction. The principle would
unite the worlds of bliss and woe,
and place angels on the same foot
ing with devils There is no rec.
ognition of such principle 10 the
government of God Here all is
prohibition which relates to wrong.
Knavery, lying, perjury, seduction
and murder are met with the stern
mandate "thou shalt not" By no
civilized Government in the world
is this principle recognized. save
in the liquor traffic and that which
the traffic principally supports, viz,
prostitution. What if the Govern
ment, be it Grit or Conservative, or
known by any other name. should
legaliZs the crimes now punishable
with death, &C., fer the purpose of
restraining them, that it should So.
lect and EN- power goodly number
of mon possessed of certificate of
moral character to perpetrate these
deeds so "a TO make its perfor.
nance moral, legal, and respectable;
that it should select men to rob, to
steal to gamble, to counterfeit, to
burn buildings. and commit murder.
Why, the most common Intelligence
would revolt at the damning wick
edness, and treat such legislatures
as madmen and knaves. Yet the
License system is the creature CT
the state aud stands before the
world to-day the fountain head of
eight-tenths of the crimes that en-
danger the peace of society, and
blacken the character of earth's 10.
habitants. Men are collected to en-.
gage 10 the traffic and Government
sell them the cursed indulgence.
As servant of the people, an
officer of state he scatters firebrands
and death throughout the land,
blights hopes as bright as bliss, de-
stroys happiness the hottest and
purest, and sweeps like an over.
hanging storm across the pathway
of man till all that is innocent in
childhood. noble in manhood. and
venerable in age is Frustrated aud
crushed and oil this of licensing
wrong. The policy is wrong in mo-
tive, impolitic in principle, a3ortive
in operation, aud cruel 10 its conse-
quences For on: part we have no
desire 10 see the Government
leagued in this unholy alliance
against the rights and interests of
society. No desire that it should
license mon TO make felons and
mnrderers, aud then take the reve-
rue of the country to pay officers
to imprison and hang them. Gov
ernment has given US the measure
of prohibition and the people will
be accessory to all the evils accru-
ing from the traffic unless they do
all they are able to sweep it away.