Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-08
THE SALOON.
The Danger 1t Exerts in Politics Its
Aim Is to Protect the Rum Vice, and 1t
Must Go.
From the Toledo Blade1

Must Go.
From the Toledo Blade.l
The blighting influence Of the saloon
upon politics is seen in every city of the
country, and in less degree i'll every town
and village. There is hardly one of the
larger cities of the Union but that the
saloon is curse to the municipal govern
ment and to the taxpayers. Look at the
city of New York, for instance. The sa-
loon influence has given her the most cor
rupt municipal government in the United
States, and that is saying q great deal.
The practical control Of the city has been
placed in the hands of q thieving, plumber
an honest, intelligent man to interest him
self personally in city politics, or take
Office under the municipal government,
without laying himself open to the suspi-
cion that he is thief and scoundrel mas
querading as a gentleman.
The saloon element works for the SUI
premely selfish end Of its own perpetuation
and freedom from molestation by law.
Were it thing which would benefit human
ity, which would aid in the onward march
of civilization, which would elevate the
standard of manhood and Of citizenship,
which would make the people purer, better,
more intelligent and happier, such an end
would be in the highest degree patriotic
and praise worthy. But what is the reality?
The salooniSt's only aim is to make money.
He cares not if it is red with the life blood
of his victim, if it is the price of q wife's
tears, of children's clothing and food. The
saloon itself is an institution for the graft
tication Of the worst vice that afdicts fallen
humanity, and that its unholy gains may
l,a nd ifo ,,o{, Of acc,1ro1
thing, no small part of it's mission is to
continually tempt mankind, to establish in
as many men as possible the accursed thirst
for Rum, that they may become the serfs Of
the Rum power, and pay tribute thereto
during the remainder of their blasted lives.
In short. the aim of the saloon is to per-
petuate the Rum vice, which deadens in the
human breast every good and holy intiu-
ence, destroys manhood, family affection,
honor, and ambi.ion which opens the door
to lechery, bestiality, and the horrid train
of all similar vices; which fosters self-in-
diligence and all degrading passions: which
turns men into br1tes, and is the enemy of
all that makes life worth living.
What wonder, then, that men who see the
aim and end of the saloon, are ready to
unite and destroy it, and ito thus rescue
municipal government from its blighting
S1hSt. " 40 w NC AOAASAAAhSASN tAAhs3 NAAAAS
our form OF Governments Government Of
the people, by the people, for the people
is perfect in theory, yet i'll practice it has
not passed beyond the experimental
stage. The great danger to it al
ways is from an ignorant and brutal
lied proletariat The vote Of the Rum
sodden victim of the saloon, in whom true
manhood is dead. and who is but the tool
to register the will of his master, the rum
power, counts for as much as the vote of
the purest, highest, and best Of American
citizens. And it is not too much to say
that the drunken, vicious class. bull; MP by
the saloon. is the gravest menace to the
success OF the experiment Of self-govern
ment by the people to-day. When our
greatest and ATHEIST city is entirely
controlled by this element, and the same
danger is threatening every other city in
the land, the danger becomes imminent to
the control of whole States by the same fell
influence. 1t is fact, that certain States
are more or less under the control Of the
rum power, because the cities dominate the
rural districts. It is but step, then, from
State to national control; and the danger
is real one that rum, if unchecked, may
rule the nation. And when that day comes,
the end of the Republic is not far away,
and the knell of popular government r
the United States will have bsen sunG.