Savannah morning news., 1885-11-28
LET TIE FIGHT BEGIN.
A Pastors Views on the Temperance
Question.


SAVANNAH, GA, Nov. 27.-Editor Morn
ing NeloS: Permit me short space in
your paper on the prohibition question.
Your reporter called on me yesterday for
my views on the subject, but was so en-
gagged at the time it was impossible for me
to converse with him. The views | could
not express then l desire to express
COW. l wish from the beginning of
the fight in Savannah to be known
as thorough prohibition man. We
recognize the fact that the struggle
here will be hard one, for this is one oil
the strongholds of liquor. but shall this
deter us from entering 1t? Yea, even if
we should be whipped. we would have
the satisfaction of knowing 1t was in a
good cause, and that we had DISCHARGED
our duty as citizens in having tried to
clear our city and county Of the lniqul-
tOus traffic.
But who says prohibition cannot carry
in Savannah? The liquor men, and so
they boasted in reference to Atlanta.
They no doubt think that they will only
have to fight the churches. but in this
they Will find themselves greatly mis-
taken. Many a man who does not belong
to the church, yea, many who themselves
are victims OF the cup, will be found TO
vote with US. | have had drinking
men to tell me they would gladly
vote 10 empty every drop of the
stuff into the sea. Only this week
| bad a man to call on me, who is al
most stranger to churches, and as the
tears rolled down his cheeks, he told me
he could get along very well, if he could
only let liquor alone; said mis- trouble was,
he so often met men who invited him into
one OF the saloons and drink with them,
and being OF a sociable disposition, he
could not refuse, and before he was aware
of 1t he had taken too much. Here, in
such case is a fefutation of the asser-
tion that if you vote whisky out of place
it will not diminish the amount of drink
ing, as those who drink will send off and
get it in kegs and jugs. Some, it is true,
will have it, If it is to be found. Some
would go TO hell for 1t, (and many, do 90
there on account of it, } but the great ma
jority of those who drink, do so
because it is all around them,
and because their sOciabilty
or their appetite leads them to it. This is
as much true of the colored as OF the
white man, and our colored friends know
it would be TO their interest to get il re-
temptation to them, and hence great num-
bers of them here will be found voting
the prohibition ticket. 1t is no time now
to talk about high license. High license
would be desirable if we could not have
anything better; but some of us think we
can have something much better, and
that is prohibition. Some of the dealers
tell us, II the business is stopped here,
they will move to Charleston, or Jackson
vile. While have nothing against any
of them personally but, on the other hand,
would do them any favor | cOuld),
ii they have to continue in
the business, we are ready to say good
bye TO them. They seem to forget, how
ever, they might soon have to move for
the same reason from Charleston and
Jacksonville. Why will not prohibition
carry in these cities, as it has Just done
in Atlanta? If they must continue to
deal in liquors, they will eventually have
to emigrate to another land; for | think il
likely that before the close of the Nine
teenth century the prohibition movement
will have swept this country, and, as
people, we will have been rid of the mon
ster demon, intemperance. May God
speed the day.
Let the necessary netitiOn for an cleo
tiOn start at once and the fight begin, and
let all who love God aud humanity rally
to the work of driving whisky from our
tair city. j, w. RoGAN.