The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-05-22
antsYiIIe.

AS | promised in my last to tell
your readers how local option is
working and what it is doing. L have
concluded to devote this letter prin-
cipally to that subject. AS you know,
we have travelled oyer goodly por-
ten of the United States, and we
must say that in all our travels we
never came across town of this size
where there was as much whiskey
sold and drank as there was here be-
fore the invincibles came; but to the
credit Of the drinking class we must
also say that we never came across a
set of men that could drink as much
and make as little fuss and noise as
they die here. In fact, we hav'nt
heard quarrel or seen fight since
we came here. This reminds us of
an expression that we heard young
man make on the street one evening
prior to the election. He was about
"three sheets in the wind" and he
said that he was drunk and he knew
it, and everybody else knew it, and
he was ashamed of it, but" said he,
"it takes a DIN sight meaner man
to sell whiskey than it does to drink
it," and roired out at the top of his
voice that he was going tp vote for
local option and he didn't care who
knew it. We believe he did as he
said he wotld.
Before local option it was a pretty
hard matter to find some of the boys
at their places of business. They were
more apt to be in some saloon or
around bothering some one who was
trying to work, and if man came to
town to get some work done he had
to run around to the saloons and hunt
his man up, and nine times out of ten
had to "set 'em up" before he would
go, and then he could scarcely wait to
put on the finishing touches before he
would rush off and deposit his hard
earned money in the saloons. ALI
this time houses and fences were go
ing to decay and falling down gar.
dens with large crop of weeds and
a small crop of small potatoes, &C., to
say nothing of the neglected families.
Again, some men would come in
from the country and stay two OF
three days. Others would come in
the morning and remain as long as a
light would flicker in barroom, and
you bet they would fli.ker as long as
the said farmers money and credit
would flicker. "But old things have
passed away and all things have be-
come new" and it is rare thing tC
find any of the class referred to away
from their places of business. They
are all good mechanics and farmers
every one has work to do, and you
will find him right there doing it, and
in his spare moments you will fine
him fixing up his house and fence
working in his garden or adjoining
the front yard by making pretty
flower beds and planting beautiful
flowers. This is all generally done in
early morning or after the regular
DAVIS work is done. and as we &C
through the country we notice thai
the farmers are taking more pride anC
pains in fixing up their farms ant
getting things in shape than usual.
I had thought of saying that il
writing thus it was not my intention
to cast any reflection upon our PEG
pie, but / will not, for what 1 hav'
said was not intended for those WHIT
do not or did not belong to the elias
referred to, and those who did but d.
not now am sure will not deny tn,
fact, so we think it unnecessary t.
offer anything like an apology. W.
do not wish to leave you under tn
| tildU 10 III WhiohNs
sold here, and drank, for there is, a
they think, on the sly, but there i
nothing sly about it. When we see
a man go into house clothed in hi
right mind and having a natura
color. and coming out in about al
hour with his face as red as the bacl
door of the DEVILS old kitchen, acting
and talking like fool, and his oil
frame bent up in the shape of a figur
or the letter s, we naturally con
clude that he never got in such con
dition by drinking good pure water
like we have here. So you need nc
be surprised on getting up any morn
ing to find some of our friends fror
this district registered as guests q
Hotel DeRiley. Another novel wa
some of them have of gettin
, whiskey is by mail. Now, if ou
memory serves us right, the posts