Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-09-28
commenced with the beginning of the

nation. The great fever of civil war
took precedence for a time but when
that was finished the temperance agita-
ton came back and to-day there is not
a state. a village, or a hamlet, which
does not discuss it. The man who hopes
to laugh it out is crazy. This social
fever tells you and me that there is some
poison that the system is trying to exp j.
The question now is one of remedies.
You have got to settle this question and
it can be settled until il is settled
right and in accordance with the laws
of ethics and the laws of God. Neither
man or woman ever gained ANYTHING
by stepping down from the plane of
right to compromise with wrong. Here
the speaker entered into a review of the
settlement of the slavery question in
proof of his previous statements. Con-
tinuing be said: The question can not
be settled by what our likes or dislikes
may be but by the facts. This is not a
personal fight. 1t could never degen-
crate to that. 1t is not the saloon keep
or that W. are after but that system of
government which developes saloon
keepers. The speaker had the utmost
contempt for the fellows sitting on the
fence crying good Lord or good devil
as the case might be. However, the
fence is getting SO sharp thai we will
get half of them before long. He had
no sympathy with men who on vital
questions are trying to straddle the
fence. Mud singing would not do any
good as no sensible man ever threw mud
when - could get rocks. Mud might
dirty q CLOVIS clothes but rocks broke
heads. He would have the temperance
men SIEVE the liquor traffic as the Welch
woman said she would the devil when
she XII i him. Bury him face down ST
that If e ever come to life the more he
dug til. deeper down he would get.
Herr l~espeaker branched off to clergy
men fo. a moment saying he e gave
a minister anything, he did not believe
in it, Lrt he did hire him and pay him
for doirr his work just as he would hire
any Other workman. If they did not
do their work well he would discharge
them and get another. 1t was a con-
tract which should be paid as well as
any other; some men were, however,
trying to beat their way into heaven on
the coat-tails of half starved ministers.
He thought revivals a good thing.
When a practicing attorney he had
known reyivals to sweep through atown
and could then collect debts that before
were not worth ter cents on the dollar.
So he thought reyivals were a good
thing even from a business point of
view. The minister and the school
teacher give value received for their
money. The saloon keeper tolls not
neither does he spin but gets more
money for what he has invested than
any other man.
If it is a good thing to make a drunk
ard a drunkard must be a good thing
after he is made, but will a saloon keep
err come forward and say | did that,
that is my work, one of my finished
specimens. Why won't they go forward
and show themselves. They should not
be allowed to plead the baby act. The
saloon has been admitted by the govern
ment on the same plan as other bust
ness. What has it done. All the saloon
has to meet is its own accursed record.
1t must be judged by its own acts. We
would go for other business the same
way if it had done what the liquor traf-
fc had done. The liquor traffic stands
to-day as the South stood in 1861. The
question is how shall we get rid of it.
AS it was born of society, society has a
right to regulate it, has a right to res
train it. If it reaches out to kill society
society has a right to kill it. The row
eminent has n right to protect itself
against its enemies. The government
took men some years ago and stood
them up to be shot at. The government
must have this right or it is a failure.
If the government has the right how
shall it reach this traffic.
The temperance menin this state have
gone to the politicians and said we want
you to give the people a chance to amend
the constitution and the politicians said
it shall not be done. The people said
we waiU a chance to pass upon this
question and the political demagogues
said you shan't do it. They said the
people ave no intelligence. The party
that i sponsible is the party in power.
But tn other party would never have
given anything, they never intended
to do 5, The Democratic party to-day
stands y the grog-shops. The other
party on the fence trying to get the
vote av ny from the Democrats but they
never cceeded in doing it.
The Tine had come when past issues
must be forgotten, there must be no
north, no south, no east, no west, we
must stand for good government, for
home, for life and liberty. The position
from this day forward, of the speaker,
was, to support no party which would
moi put a plank in its platform, state or
national, against the liquor traffic. The
time had come in this country when we
must stand on live issues. The temper
ance issue must be pushed to the front
or others will take the place.
The time is not very far distant when
you would not any sooner license a man
to sell liquorto your boy than you would
license him to steal chickens. The ques-
ton is whittier you will come in now or
wait and come in afterwards and say
Betsey and l killed her. (Applause.)
Sufferers from Chronic Disease.
No matter what its ~form-should be
interested to know that DIR. Fishblatt
will be at the Wright House Tuesday
October 10th. and may be consulted by
Thorn Ha ic thu founder ~ tbraa ,rraaf