Mexico weekly ledger., 1888-03-22
local opsion-My Reviewer Re-
viewed.

local opsion-My Reviewer Re-
viewed.
To the Editor OF the Ledger.
MExIco, Mo-, March 1o,-Last
week there appeared in both the
daily and weekly editions of the
LEDGER an abridged report of an
anti-Local Option speech delivered
by Senator McGinnis at st. Louis
on the It'll inst. under the auspices
of the Personal Liberty League to
a large audience, in which we are
told there was a "fair sprinkling of
ladies'" The Audrain county Lo-
cal Option literature committee re-
quested me to review the speech.
Fully intending to do this IN err
tease, | went TO the LEDGER office
to e how much space we might
use, and finally learned to my
chagrin that no reply to the address
would be permitted either to go in
LEDGER, or to accompany it in form
of a supplement. The editor and
publisher however kindly offered
us the use of his weekly edition
the issue after the election. This
accounts for the appearance of my
review in the daily and weekly In
~tetHgeaeer, and as supplements to
Laddonia Herald and Vandalia
Leader. We could not obtain one
half the space we needed, and in
reviewing Senator McGinnis had
to confine ourselves to the first
half of his lengthy speech.
And now comes one of this
whisky advocates friends 6for Sena-
ter McGinnis is in the employ of
the liquor party in st. Louis) and
in the daily LEDGER of Saturday
last, over the nom dc plume Dem
~ocrat'' reviews me for having re-
viewed Senator McGinnis. All
right. We will take another look
at Democrat" but announce in
advance that it is with pain, for in
spite of the age, experience and
long religious training of friend
Democrat he voluntarily tales
his stand with the st. Louis
whisky attorney and his party and
actually endorses his anti-temper-
ance speech. I am forced to this
conclusion by the following sem
tence in "Democrat'sn article.
"sBut what has this to do with the
furture of Prohibition to promote
temperance 2" Thereby bearing
witness to the Senator's affirmation
that Prohibition has failed. IF any
further proof is needeais is found
in the fact thas~"Democrats takes
me to task for having dared to re-
view the whisky speech of the
whisky attorney. In Isaiah $40;
God says: "Woe unto them that
call evil good, and good evil; that
put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for
sweet, and sweet for bitter" and
in the 23d verse is a woe pro-
nounced by God against then.
(Which justify the wicked for a
reward" and this Democrat"
and every other advocate of IL
censing the SALOON does.
In the first paragraph of "Dem-
ocrat's'' article he forgets that he is
not q preacher, and delivers HIM
self Of a little homily against
preachers in general, and those in
particular hat NEEDLE with politi-
cal questions-questions that are
settled at the ballot box by the
ballots of citizens. First, he
charges that generally they are
possessed of a pessimistic or
atrabilarious dispositions-gloomy
and respondent in spirits, SO much
so that each preacher'slooks upon a
growing and vigorous population
as n ripening for he'll. " because
"from his standpoint there is little
virtue anywhere, and none outside
the pulpit and its supporters"
This is said to take the edge off my
review of the Hon. Senator. 1t
will not work, because tits wholly
incorrect. Speaking for himself
the writer can truthfully say that
he is decidedly an optimist and not
a pessimist. Speaking for others
he a say that being on the most
intimate terms with the ministers
OF Mexico, he has found them to be
most companionable and sociable,
and possessed ofcheerful, hopeful
and lovable dispositions. He does
not know an atrabilarious spirit
amongthem.
Second, Democrats" disagree
ment with the preachers is found
in the fact that they take a public
interest in Local Option, and he
says "the public very properly dis
countenances descent from the
pulpit to the political arena If
Democrat had been talking of
the change from the religious pew
to a voluntary defense Of a st.
Louis whisky attorney, then he
might with more propriety have
used the word descent No
minister of this county, with whom
/ am acquainted, believes in taking
a prominent part in defending or
attacking the ordinary questions
I4a u ~ - CT