The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1888-08-17

clothe labor the farms active to feed 1t, and
would give to our whole industrial system
the impetus of prosperity never yet known,
and never possible ill the saloons are put
away"
Mr.. Freeborn G.. Smith the manufacturer
of the Bradbury piano, and Que Of the best
known and most respected citizens of Brook
Ign in an interview with a newspaper cor
respondent, speaking of the effect of the sa-
loon on his business and its baleful effects
on his W nkmen says:
"With regard to the desirAbility and good
effects of Prohibition among the working
people, can give you an object lesson. l
have two factories, one here and one at Leo.
minister, Mass, where there is Local Option
in force. Here have the greatest trouble
with some of my workmen who are addicted
to drink. / have just discharged some of
my best workmen because of their drunken
ness / have pleaded and talked with them.
but I find that as long as there are saloons
they will slyly go out and get liquor or have
it struggled in. One Of my best workmen,
who earns good wages and who was gal
liant soldier from the beginning to the end
of the war, has been advised to go to the
Soldiers Home for the simple reason that
he is chronic drunkard. 1t is a shame TO
this nation that this veteran cannot pursue
his calling without constant temptation on
every hand. The liquor traffic is the great
est curse have In my mandatory. Some
of my men who ought to be rich are paupers
because they drink. No dependence can be
placed upon the skill or work of drinking
man. AT my other works, where there are
| no saloons. l have never had the slightest
trouble. The men save their money, they
have homes of their own, their wives and
children are well-fed and well.clotEed, they
pay their debts. Inever saw man Of them
drunk. only wish could say this of my
Brooklyn factory, yet il is only just TO say
that my factory is more free from intemper-
ate men than any other piano factory in the
two cities. I propose to weed out the drink
ers if have 10 shut up my works.
81 don't think the tariff ought to enter
into this campaign in any way. As man
ufacturer 1 am as much interested in the
tariff as any one, but Prohibition is the
main question. am greatly surprised that
| Christian temperance men should for a
| moment hesitate how to vote. The tariff is
a bugaboo; It's the politicians who are keep.
ing up the agitation on this question. We
| had precisely the same state of things in
| slavery days, and if the Abolitionists had
not stood firm and resisted every attempt to
! draw their attention from the main Issue,
and had not voted their sentiments, believe
we would have slavery to-day and stronger
than ever. They stood by their guns and
forced the country to emancipation, and if
we stand by our guns we shall as surely
come to Prohibition.
There was never in the history of this
country so grand an opportunity for men to
vote their consciences as there is now. No,
sir, this tariff question is entirely secondary.
1t is complex subject. understood by
scarcely any one, while here is plain, sim
pie question to be answered: Shall our
country be any longer oyerrun by the
,aloon? To me it is as plain as daylight how
a man ought to vote who cares for the high
est interests of his country an d its homes
Many years of temperance work haye in-
pressed this thought upon my mind. A
man Of no brains at all can start grog.shop
and lead off hundreds of our best young
men but it takes the best time, the best eff
fort of hundreds of the best people to re-
claim one of their victims. One is saved
and hundreds go on to destruction. AS long
as the saloon is open we are playing losing
game in cur temperance work"