St. Landry democrat., 1881-01-15
More Whisky.

being in favor of free whisky ant
plenty of it, The Echo's article be.
trays thorough acquaintance with the
effects of whisky that we had no idea il
possessed. AS for us we know little
about tour motto has always been t.
let whisky alone, and it weuld not hurt
us. An English Nubleman, whose car.
rage had been smashed to pieces, and
his life endangered by a bad driver
adve' tised for another one. Three-an
Englishman, Scotclman and IrisIlman
presented themselves. He asked the
first how near he could drive to prec-
ipice without tumbiing over he nam ed
the distance; which was very near. The
Scotchman could go little closer but
the Irishman said: "Be jasus, your hon
or, | always keep as far as possible from
such places" just such a driver was
wanted, and he got the situation. So it
is with whisky; keep away from it.
There is Just as much sense in abusing
the precipice that you imprudently
tumble over, as the whisky you wilfully
drink to drunkenness. Not having that
intimate acquaintance with whisky that
the Echo has, we can not cope with it
in discussing the effects of the liquid
The Echo says it docs let whisky alone
that it has strychnine in it, Well, we
do like ours straight. without strycl,nine
or anything else in it ; and if the Echo
got its vOlumnious experience of the
effects Of whisky by drinking it mixed
with strychnine, we don't blame it for
letting it alonc-that would be our adj
vice. We judge from the tone Of the
Echo's article that it event back" on
our national drink, when it discovered
or thought it discovered that none vas
made without strychniue in 1.-THE
Echo says:
We challenge any man, and any news
paper, to refer Us tn any first dis
tillery, distilling over 100 bbls. Of wills
key annually, for market, for ordinary
drinking purposes, in which, strychunr
il not used in its manufacture. 1t is no
t"rinus, that by the addition of IL certain
quantity Of strycllnint, a busIlel of corn
or rye will yield il mucl, larger per cent.
OF whisky than can br extracted from il
without stryclinine. Twenty years ago
there was lcss Of'tie deadly poison used
Ill dlstilIerles than at present, yet more.
than twenty years ago one of the first
and most respectable iistillers in Ken
lucky rel used to liStill two barrels of
pure corn whisky for one nf his init
mate friends, who related the incident
to us, on the ground that he conld not do
it wit lout stopping his diStiIlery for sew
eral days, and scaIding out CIV. nv inch
OF it used in the manufacture of whisky,
in order to be sure there would he no
strycl,nlne in 1t, and that no man would
2&ax'llllng to pay him enough for two
barrels of whisky Ia cover the enormous
'xpense which would he Incurred by
.nch II stonrage an | cleaning 0f his dis I
tilery. He said at the same time that
every dlstIllcr used strychuine, and we
remember to have seen tho
same notorious fact recently reported
III the testimony in an important suit, |
which we cannot now refer to by name.
The Democrat will not hazard its repu-
tation tor intelligence by denying that,
after il leaves the distillery, wliiskey il
''doctorsd" in successive hands by the |
deadliest drugs, until pine top' "bns,-
head" "rot gut" "ligltning," "rifle."
"tangle- foot" etc, are the appropriate
names for it as found in ordinary drink
ing saloons all over the country. IF.
therefore, whisky can truly be called
harmless, SO can strychnina, and prus-
SIC acid and arsenic, be called harmless.
And since that time the Echo has
given up the use of whisky and soured
on it. Well we pay a little higher for
our whisky, which is distilled in guam
titles of less than 100 barrels year, aud
we drink very little Of it, just little
for the "stomach's. sake" now and then
we don't swill it like hog. But, the
drugs put in whisky are not whisky.
Suppose we abolish strychnine, arsenic,
prussic acid, etc, then whisky could
not be adulterated with them. Should
honey be abolished because bad men
adnlterate it with glucose Z Should all
the good things thar God has given US
be abolished because bad men and fools
abuse them The Echo concludes with
this Evarts-like sentence
What we mean, and what temperance
ectnrers mean, is that the use of intoxi-
eating liquor az beverage certainly
'allses poverty, disease, disgrace, misery
mi crime; and that therefore, in the
interest ut society, and Of humanity,
lie public unrestricted sale of this Dhy-
Ncai, mental and moral poison, as n
beverage, should he abolished and We
IRE qnite willing to leave it to pul,lic
opinion e, decide which method of arr
resting this gigantic evil il "0nixOtic."
hat of the temperance lecturers and
newspapers. which invokes the aid nf
Wholesome. Legislation, or that of the ST.
LANDRY DEMOCRAE-viz nnsparing
of drunkenness, exhibition
Vt drnnkalds to children. to disgust the
after; and cultivating sound minds aud
'onnd stonmchs.
Now all this piling mp OF words means
l0thing more or less than what we have
ways insisted on: let whisky alone.
tw0nld like to see some Of the Eclo's
Ainiesome legislation" No law has
IT been made, or ever will be made
o prevent the making or drinking of
liquors. Temperance must
ONE from within. You might just
9 well try to make people religions
y law. When men will not he con-
rolled by the laws of God and by the
lain dictates of common sense in this |,
latter. they will hardly be controlled ,
y the Echo's " wholesome legislation" !
Vhere is that legislation to come from I Z
here are the laws against concealed
'eapons. gambling, etc fare they ex- v
,utedf 1t lie the nriyilepe of a fr.o IL