The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1885-01-22
JACKSON STANDARD: JACKSON, OHIO, THURSDAY JANU

spnnSibie Tor his unhappy condition
than the man who has been struck
down by the knife of an assassin
Now. all this is ;h. >heer"st nonsense
If it be a crime TO sell, it is crime to
buy, and the seller and buyer are alike
guilty. The fact is it is neither
crime to sell nor crime to buy. and
both buyer and seller may be wholly
innocent of any offense against either
the law Of God or man. Wine, beer
and whisky are no more to blame for
drunkenness than bread and beef and
fish are for gluttony, Or powder and
lead for murder. The fault is not in
the inanimate object, but in the man
himself-in heart bent on self-indu =
gence, wickedness and crime-and
this devilish propensity to do wrong
needs something more than the moral
and social forces to restrain it and keep
it within the bounds Of decency and
order. These forces should be supple
mented by the terrors of the penal
law, and society should arrest and
punish the drunkard for the crime of
drunkenness, instead Of waiting until
he has had time to commit another
and possibly more grave offense.
We waste entirely too much SYM
pathy on the drunkard. We speak Of
him as if he were not at all response
bic for his condition; as If somebody
else had fastened the curse upon him;
as if the only ofense against society
was that committed by the maker and
seller of Intoxicating drinks. We say
Of the drunkard in an apologetic way.
"Oh he is a good mana very clever
fellow-but unfortunately he drinks"
He'd be great man if he didn't
drink" "He's an excellent kind-heart-
ed gentleman, but alas, he's in the
habit Of getting drunk" Now, it
would be just as proper and as truth
full to say Of some others-"Oh, he's
a good mana very clever fellow in
deed, but unfortunately he steals" or
''he'd be very honest worthy man if
he didn't swindle everybody he deals
with" or shed be a great and good
man if he hadn't the unfortunate hab=
it of killing folks"
We 60 so far in our efforts to justi-
fly the drunkard and to make him ap-
pear as the innocent victim Of the
rum seller, that reformed drunkard
is picked up by society and made a
hero Of, and petted and ccmplimented
as if. in resolving to become a decent
man, instead Of an indecent brute, he
had done some marvellous feat which
put him far above the ordinary level
of men. The fact is no one is entitled
to any special credit for ceasing to be
brute and seeking to be man. He
should never have allowed himself
to become brute, and he should not
be permitted when he becomes a man,
to shoulder the responsibility for his
wrong doing onto somebody else.
Public sentiment should be awak-
ened to the necessity of cutting off
the demand FOR strong drink: when
this is done the supply will cease. 1t
should begin with the drunkard, and
be as prompt and inexorable in pun
ishing the crime Of drunkenness as it
is in dealing with theft, burglary and
murder. Drunkards are the sport and
plaything of their moods-violent and
unreasonable in their joys, their RACES
and their passions of whatsoever kind
ready to murder you in a paroxysm OF
anger, arising from no apparent cause
at times as hard-hearted as fends-
ready to trample upon wives and chill.
dren, and slay even their best friends
A whimsy moves them as readily anG
powerfully as substantial favor or {
personal injury. If it were possible
for man to see himself when in
state Of beastly intoxication once, ht
would probably, if he had any rea
manhood left in him, forever there
after refrain from drinking.
The disgusting matter Of his con
versation-the offensive manner of i
the impudent forwardness of hi
conduct-the pitiable imbecility o1
his intellect-the certainty that The
flthiest traits of his character, anG
the meanest habits of his life will OBJ
trude themselves-his readiness tc
divul ge secrets which in his sober mo.
ments could not be drawn from hin
by rack and screw-his helplessness
physically, and yet his ridiculous con.
Geption of his marvellous struggle-his
boastfulness Of personal qualities o1
| hlC1 I1C 10 UflC iliOoU oUfIOu5iY l6Ch-
ing-his assurance that his own in
decent conduct must be unexception.
able, and that anything said to him in
way Of admonition, must be prompted
by the vilest motives, and hence
should be resented by the fercest pun
ishment, all-all, would so shock and
disgust him, that if at all sensitive he
would die with shame, and if not SEN
sitive, and yet sensible, he would wish
only to live that he might wash out
the disgrace Of being found in a con-
dition so loathsome.
The man who drinks to excess is
invariably terror to his children, a
source Of perpetual discomfort to his
wife, an enemy Of his own best inter-
ests, an annoyance to his neighbors,
and nuisance to society. Drunken
Of insanity and imbecility, and should
be looked after by those who have the
public good in charge more than
either, and as much as both.
I hope to ses the time when public
sentiment will demand the erection Of
d uiuukdiuS pIlSOu Ill every CouHty
Of the State, and then, | trust every
man who gets drunk, let his birth or
standing be what it may, will find GER
tain and Immediate lodgment there.
Ii drunkards were treated in this
summary and practical way, young
| men would no more drink than they
would rob or kill, and drunkenness it.
self would become as rare as burglary
or arson. So long as public sentiment
pats the drunkard softly on the back,
and says, "Oh, you are good fellow
you can't help it; the liquor seller is
altogether to blame" drunkenness
will continue, just as stealing would
increase if the people were to say to
the thief, "Qh, you are good fellow
you couldn't help 1.-THE man who