The Brookhaven leader., 1883-08-23
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC.

will tell you my idea of the liquor
traffic very briefly God forgive me, ]
do not speak of it boastingly, for my
sin is ever before me; seven years of my
life were dark blank. / know what
the burning appetite for stimulant is;
know all about it, and have sat by the
diving bedside of drunkards: / have held
their hands in mine; have tried to lead
them at the last gasp to the Savior who
never turned any away that came to
Him; and vet, in the light of my own
experience and the experience of others
that | have received through my obser-
walton, could say: "Father in Heaven,
if it be Thy will that man shall suffer,
whatever seemeth good in Thy sight of
temporal evil, impose it on me; let the
bread of atfliction be given to me to eat;
take from me the friends of my old age;
let the hut of poverty be my dwelling
place. let the wasting hand of disease
be laid upon me; let me walk in the
whirlwind, live in the storm; let the
passing away of my welfare be like the
flowing of stream and the shouts of
nv enemies like rain on the waters;
when | speak good let evil come on me
do all this, but save me, merciful
God, save me from the bed of drunk
ard! And yet. as shall answer to Thee
in the day of judgment. | had rather be
the veriest sot that ever reeled through
the streets than / would be the man who
sold him his liquor for month [Ap-
plause.
| think it is the most awful business
that man can possibly engage in.
There is no good in it. How much ben
eft is it to town that man shall start
a saloon? | wish Mr.. Bowen. when he
gives the next grand entertainment,
would invite some of the liquOr-sellers
of Connecticut to come here and show
the benefits of their business to this peo-
pie. Let them bring Il few specimens
of their work. They can't do it. The
raw material is always worth more than
the manufa :tured article: always.
As boy said 81 know So-and-so'
saloon is finished" "How do you
know it?' % saw fellow coming out
of it drunk A liquor-seller was very
angry with a boy who, when he saw
drunken man had fallen down in front
of saloon, said: Mister, your sign
has fell down"
There was in Connecticut, think,
man samed Solomon Camp, who put
up sign IS Camps Tavern The
painter forgot to put the dot in after the
initial s, and everybody read it
"Scamp's Tavern 1t nearly broke
up his business; he had to have a dot
put in; but that didn't do, as the letters
were too close together, and he had to
have a new sign painted with wider
spacing and the dot in. Let them show
the benefits that are derived from the sale
of intoxicating liquor in this country.
| hate it because we have no redress.
There is not a mother here that has any
redress. There is not wife here that has
any redress. AwOman went into grOg-
shop-and | give you facts that | can
prove-to plead with the liquor-seller
not to give her husband any more Ii
quor. He took tumbler of dirty water
and threw its contents in her face. She
told her boy, and he thrashed that liquor
seller so he was ON his back several
days. Then the liquor-seller prosecuted
the boy for assault and battery and got
the damages. They tried to prosecute
him for throwing water in the woman's
face. They failed, because she was in
truding on his premises. There is not
liquor-seller that can't sell your hus-
band drink, and you may plead with
him if you will. You talk about moral
suasion. Make it your own case. A
young man once said to me: II believe
in moral suasion. l believe we have no
right to attack these men," l told him
little fact that occurred, and L asked
him: " Suppose that was your mother
that was kicked out of the rum-shop
when she came to plead with Mr. Leon
ard not to give her boy drink, and when
he made her little boy nine or ten years
old drunk and sent him home out of
spite because she tried to prevent his
selling liquor to her boy, what would
you do ?" He said Il would shoot him
as would a woodchuck." said; II
would not. believe in the simple way.
l believe in the annihilatiOn of the traf
tic in Intoxicating liquor; and the sooner
we get rid of it the better. From
John B. Coughs Foarth-ot-Juty Speech
at Woodst0ck, Conn.