Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1879-05-08
WHY WE WANT A. PIsoHIBIToRY

WHY WE WANT A. PIsoHIBIToRY
LAW.
We feel and know that the
first and principal object of gov
ernment is protection-protec-
ton to the lives, the earnings,
the peace and comfort of each
individual. It twas for this that
/ governments were Instituted. If
the safety Of the sober, the use
/ ful, the industrious and the help
less cannot be secured against
the assaults of the profigate and
vicious, then government is it
self an expensive sham and a
useless burden. Among the
abused ones that appeal to our
tenderest sympathies and AVA
ken our deepest compassion are
the neglected children of the
drunkard. We cannot be idle
spectators Of their oft forsaken
and pitiful condition; we have no
right to permit the numerous
Affections they are compelled to
endure; our manhood should
prompt us to rush to their res
cue. What we can l'ightfillly
do for their relief we are coward
iy as well as criminal for not do
nag. y child has no control
over the conduct Of It's parent,
yet how much Of the coloring
iof the whole long life Of that
child viii depend upon tie S, :
briefly CT drunkenness CT its IA
ther. We have laws to shield
children fromabuse but 4 license
flaw nullifes them al. The State
should be their guardian bat it
scoUrges them with fathers made
cruel and healtless i'll govern
ment dram-shops-its own pecu-
liar institutions. Alcohol is the
only substance in nature that
can extin9uish parental affection,
and this dehumanizing agent
men are legalized to peddle out
to such as have dependent little
ones in charge; what a horTid
perycrsion of law, what an cut
rage upon humanity. Oh, shame
ful legislators, do you not blush
for your deeds when you con-
template the results in the cold
and hunger, in the filth aid dis
ease, the lingering fortunes and
heart-piercing cries CT your ba-
by victims, think Of the millions
Of such III cur cities and villages
and suffering everywhere by the
lpresence Of rum. If the poor
drunkard cannot enter heaven
what chance is there for drunk
ard makers, especially for the
worst kind Of drunkard makers,
the trainers and sustainers Of our
license laws? We would not
say anything to lower the stand
ing of those thus guilty, nor
would we use the lash SO to speak
to drive you to the high exalted
principle inculcated in the teach
mgs Of good templaiism, but we
would refer you to some Of your
work in order to convince you
Of the error Of your way. Says
the eloquent DIR. Kitchel aAIuch
Of this work is concealed from
the public gaze as long as con
cealment is possible. Back Of
the visible ravagcs Of intemper-
ance and deeper than all these
there lies q field of devastation
which has never been fully ex-
plored and can never be more
than partially reported. 1t is
the wasted realms Of social af-
fiction, the violated sanctuary
Of domestic peace" 1t is here
that the higher and inner life Of
woman is manod and tortured,
her most cherished affections
crushed and bIighted. There
are private SORROWS that her most
intimate confidant must not
know, SO anxious is she to sus-
tain the good character of her
| husband, brother or son. But
from this inner world Of sup
pressed wretchedness there will
occasionally burst forth to the
, ear Of human pity piercing cry
of those who writhe under the
slow torrents of desolate heart
and dying hope. Yet all this
which meets the eye and pours
into the ear is but the overflow
of misery. 1t is merely what
, inadvertently escapes through
the chasm violently rent open
and tells sadly Of a sea of an
guish that is stifed forever in
its secret recess. The bursting
: hearts of mothers for their ruined
sons, of wives from whose lives
all Joy and tenderness has been
blotted out, of daughters shun-
ned, csushed and doomed to dis
} grace-couId we look on all
! these gTief-stricken females some
of whom have been well off, hap
; ply and respectable, now doomed
to brutality and want, each with
her own peculiar history of woe,
we should ask no further Wit
ness Of the heinous guilt of the
: rum traffic. or the Righteousness