The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1889-01-05
TEMPERANCE READING.
LAW-BREAkERS.

The Seller, NOT the Drtnkers the re
sponsible Party-Every Saloon Pri- |
mary School for Drunkards.
The occupation of dealing out rum
by the drink to all who may desire it,
irrespective of age and condition,
seems to have a demoralizing effect
upon all who engage in it. Their
moral natures become hardened and
scared, and there is soon bred selfish
indifference TO the rights of others,
and a contempt for all laws and ordi-
nances which may interfere in any
way with the devilish traffic they car
ry on. Sunday-closing laws, for in
stance. are openly defed unless the
most strenuous efforts are put forth
by the officers of the law; and then re-
sort is had to all possible articles by
which the interdicted sale shall 60 on
by stealth, access being given to the
premises by alley ways and rear doors.
There is no other class Of men who SO
continually and brazenly violate the
law. Other men cheerfully observe
the day of rest, and keep the doors of
their places of business closed against
customers The keeper of the rum
hole evidently believes his greed for
gain gives him the right to annul the
law, and continue his occupation with
out let or hindrance.
The plea upon which this is done is
the same as that which saloonists use
to justify their violation OF the Prohib-
itory law in States where such legis-
lation is in force-that people want
rum, and that they will have 1t. and
that Il may as we'll sell it to them as
anybody" The argument is that the
buyers tempt the saloonists to violate
the law, and that the latter could not
transgress it's provisions without the
opportunity of doing so which is pro-
vided by the demand of the drinker.
To the unthinking-and we are some
times led to believe that, at least as
far as this rum question goes, the great
majority of our people are to thus be
classed--such an argument carries
some weight. But it is an entirely
superficial one. 1t omits from the cal
cuation factor whose absence viii
account that the man who insists upon
some one else violating the law in or
der that he may obtain rum is the vic
tim of the fierce and unnatural appe-
tite for iquor-that raging, burning
thirst. which makes that man the
veriest slave to its accursed power.
To crafty that maddening thirst, he
will become a liar, a thief, law
breaker. No law, human or divine, is
regarded as binding that stands in the
way of his qualification; no oath is re-
garded, no pledge is kept, if it pre-
vents his obtaining rum.
But the saloonist does not limit his
law-breaking to the qualification of
the rum thirst in those who have be-
come slaves to the habit There must
be fresh victims found, to be initiated
into the delights of that DEVILS
draught, rum, upon whom the ac-
cursed habit must be fixed, that they
may take the places OF the confirmed
topers. If only the latter were sup
piled, and all others denied. the reign
of the rum power would end in a few
years. when the present race of drunk
ards would be in their graves. But
the rum power is aggressive 1t is
constantly reaching out for new VIC
tins. Every young man who enters a
TO-, +ba ,S,f fiY,,a fn,. 1,,i i,
practically looked upon as one to edu-
cate into the drink habit-one who is
to be as speedily as possible made the
slave of this awful appetite. that his
wages may regularly form part of the
revenue of the rum power.
On every side men are tempted to
drink. Upon the principal streets of
our cities the brilliantly-lighted sa-
looms open their doors in invitation to
the thousands of young men beginning
their career to drop in and spend their
evenings. They are more attractive
than the boarding-houses which are
the homes of so many. They afford
light and warmth and merry COM
pany. Is it any wonder that our
young men visit them? But there is
punctilious etiquette of the saloon,
which DEGREES that he who is visitor
must also be patron, or be consid-
cred dead beat" and perchance be
ordered into the street The young
fellows drink, not because they care
for rum, but because it gives them
tho right to spend their evenings
there. The habit of drinking is be-
gun, the fierce thirst for rum is born,
and the feet of these young men are
turned upon the downward path.
What is true of the fine saloons on
the leading streets, with their garish
ornamentation, is equally true of the
smaller rum-holes on the back streets,
down to the lowest dives in the worst
quarter of the city. Wherever there
is saloon there is a primary school
for drunkards And the saloon is by
no means confined to our cities and
larger towns. All over this land,
wherever q half-dozen clustered houses
form the nucleus of future town. an
outpost of the rum power is to be
found In the growing West the saloon