St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-11-30
ST. cJuhnsburp Galedunian.
GOV. 81. John on Temperance.



EN-Gov. St. John talked tn "A fair au
dience at Hope church Sunday after
noon, painting with considerable skill
the dire effects of alcoholic liquors on
the individual and on the state. He
showed in detail how difficult it was
for "A woman tn save drunken hus-
band from the wiles of the liquor seller.
She finds that her enemy has bought
from the city, from the state and from
the United States government the
right to destroy her husband, and is
powerless. Yet she herself cannot
buy the right to destroy the mans
saloon-that would be felony, she is
told The last Congress was asked to
appoint a commission to inquire INTO
the evils caused by the liquor traffic.
They refused to do this, but soon after
something was the matter of the cows
ont west, and these cows were of so
much importance that an investigating
commission was promptly appointed.
In reply to the argument that a large
revenue is derived from the liquor
business, the speaker said that Chris
tian men and women had no right to
get revenue from soul-destroylng
traffic. For every dollar, he cOntinu-
ed. of revenue derived from the Z 600
drunkard manufactures in this state,
the people pay S25 over the saloon
keepers counter. In 1880 Massachu-
sets paid out Sj,OOO,OOO for education
through its public schools and Sl4,-
600, 900 for the education got through
the saloons. Other figures of this sort
were quoted to show the large expense
of rum shops to the people. The
speaker then argued that those who
hoped to regulate the traffic, not de-
stroy it, were doing foolish work.
Men straighten Il crooked fruit-tree
because something good is expected
from it. but whoever regulated" a
thistle or IA thorn? In reply to the ar
gument that prohibition was impOssl-
BILE, the speaker pointed to Kansas,
whence all distilleries had been driven,
and where Intoxicating drinks were
hard to find, whether in hotels or pri-
vatc cellars.
Politicians here will tell you, ''Oh,
YES, we are in favor of temperance,
but this is not the year" Don't hear
to them. This is Gods year, and God
will never bless any vote cast fOl
license or for ii man that favors license
You have just passed through an eX-
citing election, and, bless you, do not
mean to talk politics now. Out west
nothing has been heard of but Butler
and anti-Bntler. Massachusetts wasn't
seen at all. When | reached Boston
the excitement was still high. Said Il
man to me. 1--WE are awful lad To
get rid of Butler. He's the very worst
man in the state told him | hadn't
come to talk about Butler, but
couldn't start any other talk. They
had forgotten all about the devils in
the sta'e that are worse than Butler
The speaker told of his disgust on find
ing column and IA half in a metro
politan paper describing the Sullivan
Slade prize fight, while only four lines
were given to Il sunday schoOl cOnven-
ton. What we want, he said, is ;
metropolitan Journal that will give ;
column and half to the Sunday -schoo
work and four lines of bitter cOndemna
ton to the prize fight. If we make
the people Christians, we shall bring
about prohibition.