The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1881-09-03
Prohibition Gaining.

!
Men who believed that slavery was
wrong considered it unwise to agitate
it, and as to the thought that it would
ever be abolished it scarcely inferred
! the mind of the most fanatical. But
it has been abolished for almost
wenty years, and to-day you can
scarcely find, throughout the South.
man who advocates the institution, or
that will hardly admit that he ever
did fully indorse it. We make men,
ton of this fact to show how soon
the American mind can undergo
radical change respecting a great and
grave issue. Only few years ago
there were the fewest number of
papers devoted to the temperance
cause and they were puny and sickly
for want of support, and as for the
secular press in general it seldom ever
touched it. Now you will find special
temperance organs published in al
most every State of the Union, and
almost every paper i'll the land has its
temperance column. The public mind
is rapidly changing. The question is
assuming a national aspect. 1t is just
becoming the question of the day.
While the cause in general is so
rapidly gaining in public favor and
patronage, prohibition is taking the
lead. Men are beginning to see that
our only hope of deliverance from the
fearful curse of intemperamce is to
Danish the monster Alcohol from the
| land.
Moral suasiOn is good in its place,
and temperance orders accomplish
much for both individuals and COM
munities, but the great evil lies be-
yOnd the reach of either Of these.
The whisky interest has identified
itself with the mOneyed interest of
! the country. 1t has become princi-
pal factor III our corporate authority
and power. 1t enters largely into
these in almost every town, city,
county and State. To meet the great
evil and check its fearful ravages we
must 90 to the fountain head. The
forces in favor of universal prohibit
ton are not vet sufficient to strike the
cohdemning blow. We must work
up. Do what we can for the present
and ego forward" We are on the
side of truth and justice, and we are
bonnd to succeed. Throughout Ten
nessee and Arkansas we should make
good use of our Charter privileges
Let every school house in the two
States be charted whether in or out of
corporations. Having succeeded thus
far Gn TENNESSEE then let us dissolve
every town and city corporation in
our power, and let the anti-liquOr
charters take precedence and hold the
fort. In this way we can almost sub
jugate the monster throughout the
State. Enough, at least, can be done
to convince the most incredulOus that
we would do much better without
whisky than with 1t. This will serve
to strengthen and establish the prin-
ciples of prohibition and thus prepare
the way for its complete success. We
cannot expect to accomplish so great
work in a day. The abolition of
slavery was small matter compared
to the destruction of the liquor traffic
and it was the work of years. If we
bequeath to our succeeding genera
ton a country free from the tyranny
of king alcohol we shall have done
well. But our hopes of success are
frightening every day. just now
there seems to be an univer-
sal uprising in the hearts of all good
men to forever annihilate the terrible
curse. No cause has ever so rapidly
gained upon the public favor. Five
years ago you could scarcely find a
man VINO was favorably disposed to
prohibition. There were many strong
temperance men then, but they were
not prohibitiOnists. Now almost every
temperance man is an avOwed prOhi-
bitionist and there are many who
take their drains and some who are
engaged in the traffic who Will give
their influence to the cause. Let us
be encouraged but not try to make
haste. We must have time; we need
organization, thorough organization,
and we must have it in order to sue
coed. Our forces should be enrolled.
We should know our strength before
we 90 to battle. We should take no
risks. Everything should be reduced
to a certainty.
The cause was defeated in North
Carolina because of premature effort. !
Let us take warning from their ex-
ample and 'make ready before we
fire" Prohibition clubs must be |
formed in every Observation-Disclosures |
into county alliances, and all unite in
to State alliance, thus forming a
grand bulwark of power. Temperance
men of every order should come to-.
gether in common council and work |
together, until these forces Outnum-
Der the forces of the enemy. This
having been accomplished, there can
be no d9feat-success will DO sure.
Teach your children that alcohol is
a ficnd. Take them to the penitentia-
ry, almshouse and mOrgue, show them
the victims and explain how the ruin
was caused. Go with them into the
confines of homes over whose thresh-