Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-05-24

large part of the country were absolutely
dependent upon slave labor; that cotton
rice, sugar. tobacco. could not be produced
by white labor, and that the blaoks
would not work without compulsion; thai
under emancipation, the four million
blacks would become an enormous mas,
OF ignorance. sloth, pauperism, deorada-
tlon and crime, their condition bejnO n
thousand times worse than it was under
slavery; they would be terror and mn
intolerable burden not only TO the sac.
tlon OF The country inhabited by them.
put to the whole Union. 1t was insisted
that the midnight sky in all the south
would DO constantly aglow with incendiary
hres plantations, cities villages would
be laid in ashes and the people murdered
the whole land would be drenched in blood
and desolsted. =, ''''''
All this and great deal more was
urged by 1.-The other side" II was
said that we bad no other means Of liouid.
atlng our indebtedness 10 other nations
but in the product OF slave labor; that the
whole nation would be bankrupt and
ruined without it. This view of thc
matter was stoutly maintained and firmly
believed by the most prominent business
men and professional men and by the men
OF industries OF every class. In short. II
was iully believed that slavery was really
the cornerstone of our liberties rs we'll NJ
of our prosperity.
Then again, the bishops, the doctors of
divinity, with all the lesser lights of tbeol.
ogy, church wardens, elders, deacons and
inc rest oil them, were fully of the opinion
that slavery was divine institution, that
IN old times it was established by God
himself. that the most famous man of
old Bible history was STAKEHOLDER, hon.
ored and beloved of God, who had never
at any time, uttered word against slav.
cry. Ihoy said God had expressly ordain
ed American slavery that African parans
might be brought to the knowledge Of
the truth as it is in Christ-in this New
World. Slavery they maintained TO be
right, financially, theologicalIy, CONNER
cially and economically. Here we have
in few words, 'the other side" of the
antl-slavery agitation. That question
certainly had two sides. How is it with
the prohibition agitation?
Here In our case: | state it as briefly aS
possible. The liquor traffic is tremen.
dous public and social mischief 1t lives only
by spreading broadcast in the community
poverty, .pauperism, suffering, ignorance
degradation, insanity, ,crime!and premature
death. Is there another side" to thato No.
there isn't nobody denies all that to be true
1t wastes the wages of labor, disinclines to
steady, patient industry, and by and by
renders industry of any kind impossible;
converting the sober worker, whether by
hand or head, into tramp and a yaoabond
1t creates no value, but it wastes and de.
stroys the values created by others; il sub
sists upon the earnings of others. earnino
nothing itself. 1t sends an infinite mis-,
cry into hundreds of thousands of
homes, which but for it would be-
comfortable, prosperous and happy. That's
our side of the question; is there another
side? The liquor traffic innicts more suf-
terins upon the people, year by year and
every year, than comes from war. pesti.
lence and famine, those three great scour-
ges OF mankind. The London Times said
that some months ago. and afterward Mr.,
Gladstone, the prime minister of England.
borrowed these words, adopted them
as his own, and repeated them before an
immense audience. That is one side Of
the question; has anyone ever suggested
that there is another side? Never.
John Wesley said more than one hund
red years ago: Liquor sellers are pois
oners general. They murder his msiestv',
subjects by wholesale. Neither does their
eye pity or spare; their gain is the blood
of the people" Lord Chesterfield in 1921,
in speech on the "Gin Bill" in the
House of Lords, called liquor dealers
"artists in human slaughter.' From John
Wesley's time to our dav, no one has
denied or doubted that all this ia true
Mr.. Senator Morrill,, of Maine. on the
loor of the United States Senate said
"The liqnor traffic is the gigantic crime
of crimes All this has been repeated Il
thousand times and more on the plat
form and in the press, but no man has
dared TO say it is not true. The LIQUOR
tralllc lnillcts more suffering upon the peo
! pie, and misery in thousand wavs, than
come from all other evils combined. That
is our ease; does anyone pretend that
there is another side to it? No one has
ever dared to do so.
The prohibition Of this trade is founded
I in The belief that there are virtue. intel
| igencc, piety, and patriotism enough
among the people to induce them TO com
/ bine in !order TO deliver the community
from the maligu influences OF this
devilish trade. | call it so because its
sole tendency is TO drive on. from among
the people every good thing and to sub
stitute everything that's bad. 1t converts
good citizens to had ouos; rood fathers
brothers, husband, sons, into bad one.
After all this terrible array of evils com
ing inevitably from the liquor traffic. w.
demand OF its friends to show the good tha,
comes of it, and they are dumb. No mar
can show good 10 the value of shilling
coming from the liquor traffic to nation
state or people. Why then, in heaven,
name, we ask, should society longer on
dure this dreadful scourse? WHY shouI,
it not be put into the list Of prohibited
industries with lotteries. gambling house.
brothels and obscene books and pictures
There are pictY, intelligence and virtu,
enough among the people to accomplish
this, if they can be brought to act unitoily
upon it. This we are striving to accom-
plish.
! We are endeayoring to procure for tn,
people, in all our states. an opportunity
to express their will in relation to /
at the ballot box, in the choice of law
makers and other officers and especial,
in demanding constitutional amendment.
forever prohibiting the manufacture anl
sale of intoxicating liquors. 1t is the I'm
doubted right of the people to do this i
they wish it, and no democrat Tor repub
lican Of intelligence or honor will saw
" The people shall not amend the consti
tuition; the people shall have the liquo
traffic in spite of their protests"
But the political parties Throughout
the nation are face TO face with this burn
ing question, and they cannot shirk it
When prohi btion came up in Maine il
1851, the democratic party was in an over
wholming majority in the state ,tand ha
been so for many years, but the leader
put the party squarely against the move
ment, and the temperan ce men abandone
it, and tho party went down like drown
: ing man, and nothing of it has ever cam
to the surface since, except bubble in th
shape of Governor Garcslon and he was
fusionist,
The old whig party shirked the ant
slavery question and expired of senil
q r,,,