The midland journal., 1885-11-06
Temperance.
Tuesday And 80 Years Ago.

of the voters on Tuesday last, sterDly
rebukes the grumblings of misanthropes
who complain in lugubrious tones hat
the world is never growing better, and
sigh for the "good old days" that are
past. Election day passed at these
polls, unmarried by single incident
that would bring blush to the cheek
of gentleman. In fact the entire
voting mass who came up to the polls
on Tuesday last numbering 617, were a
band of gentlemen. Thirty years ago,
we have seen, at every corner of that
old brick hotel where the polls have
been held "from time immemorial," a
miserable wretch, often half a dozen,
spewing like hounds, leaving the gorge
of whiskey which had been
guzzled like slop. These were the
"good old days. where license from the
state regulated the sale of intoxicants.'
When this sumptuary law" appointed
an officer, the, Gland lord" to deter
mine how much was good for man to
drink which difficult question was al
ways determined by the weight of the
mes purse.
To vary the entertainment from the
vomiting acts of the drama, every half
hour in the afternoon, a cry was raised.
"A fight fight p and the eager
crowd rushed to see the latest excite
ment. A half dozen or more crazy
drunk wretches on the outskirts were
calling on the Almighty to dam. not
only the souls of every one in sight and
hearing, but their own souls as we'll. So
disgusting did this evil become, that
the Legislature was compelled to pass
special law, forbidding, the "sumptu-
ary' officers, the ''tavern keepers" .
'ioio "oio ho Sdioohs III GHose Soou
old days. to sell grog while the polls
were open. This partially prevented
the disorder and sceanes of brutishness,
but only partially. When six o'clock
struck the bar was unlocked, and the
break neck rush for swill was fearful.
The dribble which the suckers manag-
ed to get through the day by promising
every candidate and his friends to vote
for him, had whetted their appetites
to the furnishing point, and the old time
orgie began in earnest. The judges
were scarcely able to count the votes,
being half stifed with Tobacco smoke,
and threatened with drowning in the
sluice of whiskey and tobacco slobbers.
Instead We see now meeting of
we'll dressed courteous gentlemen, quiet
and orderly. Every one polite and civ
il toward his neighbor. And these are
the days of Local Option-Prohibitory
LAWN Cecil. With all the latter's
crudities and imperfections. the present
Local Option Law compares with any
license law that has ever been in force
in this county, as an angel of light
comnares with the spirits of darkness.
Shall we go back to the "good old
days" of beastly exhibitions at the
dctation of the rum seller (no never!)
or onward and upward toward the ideal
of perfection ? Eyes ever).
Let the temperance sentiment of the
county compel the legislature who we're
elected on last Tuesday, to amend and
purify the present Prohibitory liquor
law of the county, so that its evasion
will be nigh impossible, and its violat-
ion followed by certain and severe
punishment. Let the jackalls who
mouse round and get drunk ON contra
band whiskey, under whatever name,
be made parties to the punishment and
when one of them stands up before a
court of justice, or grand jury and
solemnly swears he does not know who
sold him the Intoxicating drink, be ad-
Judged guilty of perjury. Such state