Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1888-10-22

men must keep the peace in their ow,
town, and no other community will com,
In here and do for u3 what We are no
willing to do for %ourselSe,. The Leg,
man who waits for his %neighbors I,
feed him may go TO the poor house, bu
there are nc state poor houses for laz,
and fsithless cities. They must reap 81
they SOW, and if they desire sobriety
and purity they must work for them ani
enforce these things fer themselves.
But what binders us from having pro
hibition? What have we so much to
fear? What are these giants Of difficulty
and walled cities SO strong? These men
that oppose prohibition from self inter
est. are they any stronger. drawer, wiser
than other menu Is their patronage 80
valuable, is their smile 30 sweet, is their
praise and their applause worth any
more than that of good menu Is the
appreciation OF those who pstronizs and
keep and sustain the saloon worth more
than the appreciation of a mans own
conscience? But again, are they as
strong as is sometimes supposed? Are
they to be feared more than others ?
Whence comes all their supposed power?
Lies it not in our timidIty? "Upon
what meat doth this our Cesar feed thst
he is grown SO grestY" Is it not that
we have always taken counsel with our
fear rather than with our courage, and
feared the face of man rather than the
displeasure OF God, and weakly yielded
when We ought to have stood, and re-
treated when we ought to have advance
edP And SO it comes that this great
liquor power, to quote again, "testrides
the narrow world like a Colossus, end we
men walk under his huge legs and peep
about to find ourselves dishonorsble
graves"
But let me quote again from q better
because a divine book that says: "Who
ert thou that thou shouldst be afraid Of
q man that shall die, and OF the son of
man which shall be made as grass, and
forgetteth the Lord thy maker, y x y
and has feared continually every day
because Of the fury of the oppressor, as
if he were ready to destroy, and where is
the fury of the oppressor?'
And that leads me to ssy that no
christian man should be afraid to 60 into
this struggle for the abolition OF the
saloon; chiefly and principally because
it is right to struggle against it. and ii it
is right God is for the struggle, and if he
is for it it is bound to prevail. We are
enlisted for a holy war; a war whose
weapons are love end lew and loyalty to
truth. We are IN for a struggle to make
men better, aad not worse, to free men
from the curse OF u hideous slavery. We
are for uplifting the community, not de.
grading it. We have no wounds to make,
we have no revenges to wresk. We seek
the damage of no man, not even the
saloon keeper. We are the best
friends he has. Then why fear to go into
such a holy war? Why shrink from it ?
We cell no man nance, We reyile no one
we have no axes to grind, we are upon o
mission of help and hesling-help to
those rendered poor and worthless by
drlnk-healing to the wounds caused by
drunken PASSIONS. It's q christian work,
this work for temperance, as much as
miDistering to the sick, or caring for the
poor. Then let us perform this work,
embrace this opportunity and enter if
we may the promised land, let us rather
be g Joshua or q Caleb. standing up IN
manly strength to the opportunity,
rather than men of fear and timidity,
going back to the desert to die with die
honor.
/ judge no mans duty by my duty. L
hope to have charity for the opinions
and motives OF other men. But as for
ne in this local option fight L would as
soou take money out OF your till by
theft ss to vote against the abolition OF
the saloon, would always expect to have
to face that vote, all through life. 1
should see the face of a good man, long
since gone home, haunting me by day
and night, and that face would condemn
me. I should remember his heroic life
his sacrifice of home and friends, and
honorable POSITION to carry the gospel
of temperance and love and hope to
dying heather mep-snd that holy life
would condemn me. 1 should remember
his dauntless courage when faced by q
infurlated mob to whom he had come as
q savior. his pale face as the swift fly
ing stones rushed by him and struck him,
and that sublime courage would condemn
my GO wardice. / should see again those
hours of evening and morning prayer,
when with patient love he gathered his
little ones aud taught % to be true, end
brave, and honest, and helpfal, and those
scenes would condemn me. [ should see
that low chsir and cushion by its side,
in the dark recess of his study. where
every morning / knew he offered prayer
to God for his children, for those poor
degraded people and for his enemies;
and that altar of prayer would condemn
me. 1 should see again that aged form,
p%rematuyeiy aged because OF intense and
self sacrifsang labor, come into the
house at mid day, and stsgger and fall
never to rise again, until it wal borne
away down ths river to the cemetery
amid the palms-oalled home to Its bles-