The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1885-11-12
What Rum Is poing for tha nnuntru.

"H@' NUN Is LONG IOr the Country.
Take up the daily paper and
read the reports of he outlines
Standings, shOotings, riots. assaults
wite-beatings and all the other in
fractions OF peace and good order.
and ninety per cent. Of the sum to,
tai will be found to be occasioned
directly by rum.
Go through your poor houses and
will find that ninety per cent. of the
inmates were brought there directly
by rum.
Go through your jails and peni-
tentiaries and you will find that
ninety per cent. of the criminals
were made SO directly by rum.
Look over the list Of executions
for murder and you will find that
ninety per cent. of the food for the
gallows was furnished directly by
rum.
Make inquiry as to the cause of
separation of husbands and wives
and domestic troubles generally.
and you will find that ninety per
cent. of it may be charged directly
to rum.
Scan the corruption in govern
ment matters, the eases Of mal-ad-
ministration, corruption in elections
and all that is undermining purity
in government, and YOU will find
that ninety per cent of it is charge
able directly to, rum.
In brief, sum up all there is of
brutality, violence, begeary, crime
and corruption, and you will find
that more than ninety per cent. of
the awful aggregate may be charged
directly to rum.
Rum is the one agency that is
undermining humanity, it is the one
influence that makes the work of
the church OF no avail; it is the one
agency that kills the good effect of
education; it is one of the weapons
which the devil yields that is ire
sistible; the one agency that stands
in opposition TO everything that is
good and fosters everything that is
evil. 1t is death to the family. to
business, TO society, to governments,
and to the school and the church.
1t tears down faster than all the
agencies for good can build up.
There Is crime and pauperism
just in proportion as there are Ii
quor shops. There is corruption in
politics exactly in proportion to the
amount of rum consumed. The
cities, with their miles of rum shops.
are plundered and tax ridden, and
the only salvation for the states
containing them is the country.
which is free from the demoralizino
influence. Where rum is, votes can
bespurchased, and rum purchased
vote was never yet cast for good
object. Boss Tweed got the sup
port that enabled him to wreck
New York from the rum districts,
and the rum shops and the rum
drinkers were the invincible apen-
cles he used. Rum rules Chicago.
and the same may be said of every
city in the country. The 500 sa-
looms 10 Toledo Weld a more DOW
eriul influence in politics than all
the other agencies com blned, and
the result is written upon the tax
receipts of the workers Of this city.
With these CHASTITY facts staring
every decent man in the face, we
are asked to let rum alone. IL is
1t is with rum as it is with slavery,
it is one thing that must not be
touched. It's right to 90 on de
bauching men and demoralizing the
world must not be questioned. It's
right 10 kill men, to wreck boys and
ruin girls must not be touched.
There is not family in the Uni
ted States that has not this danger
constantly lowering over it. There
are millions Of dollars invested in a
business the profits Of which depend
upon the number of boys that can
be ruined annually. The vast finan
cial structure is based upon the
ruin Of men. The more drunkards
this interest can make, the greater
its profits, and az there is no limit
to human cupidity, so there is no
limit 20 its efforts in this direction.
ms internal interest has control
of party organization, it holds
sword over trade, and it controls
the press. The Blade is the only
secular paper of general circulation
that has ever dared to attack it. 1t
has entwined itself into all interests
50 that to day it practically rules
the couutry,in face of an overwhelm-
ing majority of the people against it.
Why is it not crushed out? Be
cause there has never been any
union against and it has never
met any organized opposition.
Politicians are afraid of il and
juggle with it, the people at large
refuse TO recognize the power it has
for evil, and all, except those who
have been bitten by the snake, ar
feet TO consider it no snake, and
laugh at those who would betterthe
condition Of humanity by killing
it out. The time is coming when
this question will demand and have
recognition. The problem of to-
day is how TO pulverize the rum
power.-Toledo Blade.