Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-09-26

are floating in the air that men want
To come among us with a deadly poison
to fire the brain of our best beloved
and destroy II peace and happiness.
we hear distant murmlirs that other
men would have them come if they
only pay into the county treasury
gold. Shame on you, brothers! For
paltry gold you would sell our husbands,
and boys. Shame on you, broth
ers, for a pittance you would give a
vested rights to break the heart
and rob helpless women and childeen.
1t you give the vile thing entrance it
will take anybody's husband, yours, my
sisters anyhody's son, yours, doting fa-
Their; anybody's parent, yours, my dear
boy. 1t will take them from you hale,
fond and true and send them hack to
you, bleared and blasphemous and
beastly, and we must live and toll, eat
and even sleep under the shadow of a
nameless fear. Only imagine even one
saloon in washington Springs and that
saloon paying 100000 license, if such
a thing were possible. Your sons
could not walk the streets or stroll in
the park or visit the home of a friend
but YOU are haunted with the thoughts
that hold your eye waking. Your
daughters if out of your sight are on
your hearts like a brooding anxiety.
Gentlemen, can you put the license so
high that my boy will not be ruined,
soul and body? Can you insure that
you can PIT the figures so high that my
neighbours husbands and sons will not
fall a victim to the seductive wiles of
strong drink. Can you tell me truly
that some poor woman who has made
every Sacrifice in coming to this coun-
try to help her husband earn a home,
and OH we women know how hardly
earned the most of these homes are,
can you promise me triily that if even
a high licensed saloon comes that poor
woman will not see her home turned
over into other hands, her happiness in
life wrecked, as heart-brokeh and sad
she leads her little ones to Il place of
refuge it ever so poor, while she seeks
some means for earning their bread,
while the father once SO kind and ten
der is a disgrace to those whom he
should protect. You need not gc but a
little over three miles from the Springs
for an instance. Not more than one
year ago a kind father left q sick child
to come to the Springs for medical aid.
The tempter found him in q weak hour
and-and that father crazed with drink
spent money for whisky while at the
Springs that should have bought bread,
and the invalid mother watched alone
all night with her sick child. No fancy
sketch, gentlemen, ! was the physician
to whom he applied for help. That
man, like many others | know, came to
this community as q place Of refuge
from the drink fiend-he is not living
here now or 1 would not have men
toned it. Oh, yes; you are right, "sa-
looms make business lively" Exceed
ingly lively for the neglected wife and
children, very lively times for wife and
little ones to find food and clothing.
Again / say, shame on the man who
would not only take the. bread and
home but honor, self respect and affec-
ton from families to build school
houses. If Jerauld county can't build
school houses without saloons, better
levy an extra tax on the women and
leave them their husbands. I for one
would rather pay one-tenth Of my earn
ings into the county treasury. | have
no doubtful the majority ofthe women
in Jerauld county would do the same,
if there was no other alternative.
1t would be better that cholera, diph-
iberia, black yomit and worst types of
small go(x be lingering under every
blade of. prairie grass or waited on ev-
cry breeze, lurking in the poisoned air,
climbing in at your window. seething
and reeking. in every drop Of water,
shifting the first born and every babe
in the cradle. =,
1t is a fundamental principle of our
Declaration of Independence that any
community has a right to prevent a
public nuisahce and to express by it's
suffrage whether or not such nuisance
shall exist among them. We. ask for
prohibition which shall say no. man
shall sell poison to another man. That
no man shall sell to:another that which
| will deprive his mind Of reason and
his heart of feeling. The republican
party has guaranteed protection to
sheep h%usbandry, and We wives and
mothers are just foolish enough to
think our husbands and sons are of as
much value as our sheep and lambs,
and if you will only throw your infu-
ence Tor home protection as surely as
| for sheep husbandry we will be better
| %contented. ~
d.. - +n your oC1 ~SnipDco brother