Sword and shield. (Clinton, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-05-22
cozQU1rr ON RUM REYENUES.

The PROFITS AND LOSSES RESULTING
THE PEOPLE FROM THE LIQUOR
TAAFFIOHew IT AFFECTS RENTS
AND STs-FOLLOwING EHE IL
cENsE ARGUMENT TO ITS LOGICAL
cCMcLUsIoNn RESULTS WHICH CANNOT
BE ESTIMATE IN MONEY.
The sfulloN aare extracts from a
speech recent dskl ;redsby u. S. Sen
ator A. H. CaSluitt, of Georgia
1T is not enough that these disinter-
ested souls, who are giving their days
and nights othe work ofredeeming the
world from the demon of intemperance,
must contend with the weakness and de-
PRAYED appetites of men. These saintlv
women, who with the tear and prayer Of
pity are doing the work of angels In up
lifting the drunkard from the mire, are
not to be left to contend alone with the
consuming rage that cries let me drink
and die The plea We make for the
broken hearts, the despairing house
hold, the worse than widowed wife and
worse than orphaned child, is silenced,
and made ridiculous by arithmetical
calculations. Does not our little town
derive $4,000 year from licenses on
our grog-shops? Will not your boasted
sobriety put down rents? Will not the
fine business talent now engaged in the
wholesale liquor trade take its flight
from among us and leave VI to take our
chances in filling its place? These are
pregnant inquiries. Sad it is, beyond
the powers of language to describe it,
that in this year of blessed Saviour
men protesting to believe in Him thrust
such icy shafts of groveling logic at us.
"Why does not the inexorable justice
of reason force these hucksters of men S
souls, to go on with their argument?
IF it is profitable and good thing for
society to make money by turning men
into brutea or devils throughth agency
of alcohol, why not by means Of other
popular dead-falls of Satan? Look at
the tens of thousands that high tax on
faro would empty into our exchequer.
License the gamblers den. Lift it in
to responsibility by protection, and do
not drive our young manhood and bud
ding youth away from its seductions by
placing it under the ban of public opin-
ion and the scourge of the law Aud
then will we see the race-course crowd
ed with our ingenious youth, betting
away its patrimony and learning that
the hot fever and rattling pulse of such
excitement is the essence of life. Will
not all this bring money to the munich
pal till? And last, but not least, why
honor the rum-seller, who, with callous
heart. reduces an immortal soul below
the rank Of the swine that perishes,
whose trophies are the broken hearts OF
women and children? | say, why give
him honor and rank beyond the Siren
that lures the unguarded, ingenious
youth to tmostdestruction? Take this
one further step. It's short one. The
step from the rum shop to the brothel.
And must we argue on this line, with
fathers and patriots, with men who be-
lieve in Christ and in his reign, with
proud Americans who boast Of their
civilization? Alas, that we must Yes,
let immortal souls wrestle awhile in the
mire, and sink out of sight, but take
care of youar rents. If they tell you
you speculate in human tears and groans,
in manly dyE gradation, answer the noble
men and angelic women who would al
most give TIL cir lives for the work of re.
demption when they reproach you, an
swer, / say, by showing the towns tax
list.
"This bank balance, let me tell the
economists, is not skillfully made up.
Strike from it what ought not to be in
cluded upon business principles do
not mean the tears and groans and agony
of spirit that are as just credit as ev-
er entered into an account--leaye out
that libel on Christian refinement, a
drunken man, the decay and annihila-
ton of intellectual powers and manly
grace; let all this go, for for one ca1-
not put the market price on them and
hand the quotations to our friends, the
renters. But this we can do, and have
perfect right to do, to show 4he debit
side of the account rendered by rum.
"Out of the $4,000 dollars income
from this traffic in souls, let us see what
should be the rebate. So many crimi-
nails per annum to be cared for; their
keep in jails; the loss of time ofjuries to
try, convict and hang them, should by
all fair rules be estimated and consid-
cred. What statistics will be bold
enough to assign the limits to these ex-
penditures and the losses from these
evils? Wewill not pursue the sickening
calculation.
Il leave this argument Of rents to