Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-01-14


taxed the seating capacity Of the Con-
gregational church to its utmost greeted
John Is. Finch, of Evanston, Ill, r. w.
Z. T., last Monday evening to hear
what he had to offer for the good of the
order and the good of the community
IN general. Mr.. Finch is certainly
fluent speaker. thoroughly familiar with
ms subject, and impresses his audience
with the sincerity of his motives. He
sketched. succinctly. the rise and pro-
gress OF Good Templarism, showing that
1t has within brief space, spread almost
over the earth's surface. Its cardinal
doctrinal point is the total prohibition of
the rum power. License of any kind it
regards as league with crime, and it
stands wholly and only for the eradica-
ton OF the curse, root and branch. No
compromise, no quarter will be asked
or given. 1t is duel to death, in which
one is right and the other wrong.
and in which one will triumph
and the other be DESTROYED
The speaker showed that as late as
1885 the business of selling rum was re-
garded in public esteem as being equal
ly respectable as the selling of dry
goods and groceries. But the educa-
ton OF the people and the agitation of
the question brought about the change
OF sentiment that to-day exists through
out refined society everywhere-just as
the business of holding, once re-
spectacle, had been educated out of ex-
istcnce-and the infamy of the rum
traffic now ostraclses the seller and his
family in the church, in the school and
in all good society. Public intelligence
is sufficient to discern where the blame
lies principally-not so much on the
poor slave of an appetite who obeys
its slavish behests, thus robbing his
wife and children of their rightful sup
port, as upon the lazy, shameless vaga-
bond who stands behind the bar dealing
out the accursed stuff and laughing at
the ruin he makes of the father, at the
misery of the wife and the starving
children. The speaker showed the
alarming extent to which the rum pow
er dominates the larger cities Bos-
ton' the seat of culture, learning and re-
finement. has only recently been obliged
to have the appointment of its police
force taken out of the hands of its mayor
and vested in the governor of the state,
because it was impossible to elect other
than creatures of the rum-sellers and
other criminals to municipal offices.
Chicago is governed by mayor who
was not elected, but fraudulently seized
the office through the Vaccinations
and manipulations of thieves, whisky
sellers and gamblers. Cincinnati is in
the same condition, and the other large
cities are rapidly approaching a condi-
ton as bad or worse. To the country,
therefore, outside the large cities, must
the work OF redemption be addressed.
The speaker made no reference what
ever to either of the old parties, which
would be calculated to arouse prejudice,
but contented himself with the approval
OF the movement which ignored them
both and was marching forward with
purpose single to redeeming the land
from the cankering curse of drink; and
predicted that the time was near when
prohibitionist would occupy the exec
utive chair and liquor license be as
great curiosity as is now bill of sale
for a slave.