Montgomery County sentinel., 1888-02-24
Written for the Sentinel.
Our Local Option Law


Is exciting renewed interest from an en-
tirely new point Of view A question of
such vital Importance to every citizen OF
our county, equally to the depraved and the
moral, can hardly too much engage the at
tention of well-wishers to the State and to
the race Let me speak first of its Gdpdn-
tdges
The social view, affecting the elevation OF
the individual, his preservation from the
worst form OF savery-thHt OF the appetite
his rescue from himself, the most debauched
and subservient of the DEVILS tools the
peace and prosperity Of his home; the in
huence OF example; the overthrow Of prin-
ciple and the destruction of character which
generate actions inseparabe from ideal citi-
zenship; This more properly belongs to
the Christian statesman and the neral re-
former The religious view, which denies
human right to detace humanity, to smirch
the expressed conception OF Gods highest
and dearest ideal temperance, not only
coadjutor OF religion, but an essential part
of religion itsel securing the possibility
where the right already exists OF progress
in the direction of emancipation from igno-
rance, bestiality and vice, and the cultlva-
ton Of virtue, brotherhood, an the charity
which thinkelh no evil Itself, but depores
evil i'll any; this | leave To the preacher, as
10 take the economic view, and to use those
arguments which appca. To sefishness--a
line u reasoning that never fails oi convic
tlon, though sometimes barren OF results, rs
In the Case ef Burns, So entirely bound with
the chains OF the insatiate destroyer that the
power Of choice had been lost. The splendid
mind the tender heart, the kindly disposi-
tion, the still iaintly protesting moral prin
ciple, the dlscrminative Judgment, the EN-.
acting will, all, at last, dominated by the
besotted animal part Great moral reforms
often have owed their triumph and continu-
ance 10 the influence OF personal considera
tions. Men who cared little for the neral
or spiritual interests-so nearly related-of
Others, have been secured and held To the
side OF righteousness Iur the sake Of profit
The righteousness is accidental the profit
seeking Is Intentional. Avarice with pur-
pose l. thus mildly painted by the worlds
greatest genius:
For this the iIosh over. careful fathers
Have olOkc their sleep with thoughts their
brain with care,
Their bones with industry;
For this they have cnsrJssrd ami piled up
The cankci' u heaps vi strange achieved gold
For this til, have brcn thoughtful To invest
Their SONS with arts, and martial exercises
When, like the bee, tOliing from every flower
Inc VlrluOuS Sweets;
Our thighs lacked with wax, our mouths
with honey,
We bring to the hive and, like the bees,
Are murder'd for our pains.
King Henry is not the only father who
has bitterly deplored the base ingratitude Of
sons: But separated from its ever varying
motives, the regnant passion is always ON
npotent Let us appeal to elfinterest in one
OF the best OF causes. Repeal the local option
law, and every spul in this county would be
poorer in a ratio no man may accurately
predict, but that the loss would be tremen
dous may positively be known Dy present
facts, frightened by comparison. Since the
Passage OF lhe Jaw IN 1880, the price ui ,and
ali over our county has doubled in value, on
the average. immigration, bringing, eb
isecessitate rel, the very best Class of popula
ton, has gone on, year by year, extending,
for no conceivable reason than the desira.
bleness OF location free from the curse OF
rum. We old men know what Rockville
was years ago: A wretched, struggling vii
lage, ol antiquated buildings, without life,
except for that hideous liveliness which free
whisky creates; reeling forms on its streets
by day, and hdeous howls breaking It's un
certain rest by night. It's Jail crowded with
law breakers of every kind, filled, mainly,
by the damning agency which had here its
stronghold. Look at your beautiful county
town to-day: Its growth marvellous and
steady improvement everywhere; the best
of society attracted in the summer months,
adding prosperity and making a reputation
which is a true prophecy of much larger
things Gaithersburg, once crossroads,
with rum mill at the intersection: Now
the home of as moral, cultivated, refined
people, as u rule, as can be found in the
county. No more rum mills, but elegant
dwellings. Land that once sold at five dol
lars an acre, now sell at two hundred and
fifty dollars, even in considerable quantities.
Washington city is stretching out its arms
To enfold the numerous towns that multiply
beyond its boundaries. Progress every
where. In Prince Georges, though just as
near the city, it is not SO. Charles aud st.
Mary's have rum and ruin. Without our
temperance law, our condition would be
just what theirs is Building profits me-
chanics, enlarged farming operations de-
mand increase Of labor; the money once
spent in rum now goes to clothe and feed
families, and to purchase and beautify homes
for working men churches are built and
filled with decent and orderly congregations.
Destroy the producing cause of this pros
peritY, and the progress OF our county, now
the praise Of all behUlders, would be set back
fifty years! 1t is well known that many
VINO oouBht ana Duilt IN tnl5 county 0cc0use
the law exists, would, in case Of its repeal,
sell out, at any sacrifice, and seek homes
elsewhere. Men acknowledge the danger
to their property who are not particular
about their conduct. Men who themselves
drink, at times, even before their children,
trembe at the fear OF worldly loss. If for
no other reason, then, let every man who
owns dollars worth of property stand with
his neighbor solid for our local option law
JUNIUs.
Cooley Creamers pay for themselves in