Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1889-04-25
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC MUST GO.

THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC MUST GO.
By G. III. W.
We hear and read a |
|TMSI great deal IL w-a-h ay
GWHkEWN about the saloon. 1.-The |
2ENEAnh 4 saloon must CO." Well,
ss1aIA let it go, but what then?
Will that end the fight?
Will the victory be complete? think
not. The saloon is only a limb of the
great upas tree. The liquor business
has as many lives as a cat. A great
many of them we hear nothing about.
Everybody's attention is directed to
the saloon. Nothing said about the
hotel, which is doing as much damage,
if not more, than the saloon-nothlng
said about cider, that great curse OF all
curses. Let me tell you some things
that have seen and heard in this lit
tie quiet hamlet in the last fifteen or
sixteen years. We have one tavern"
no saloon. The landlord told me this
Fall that he was taking in over his
bar seven thousand dollars year.
Only think of that in little place OF
about 1000 inhabitants! About one
wear ago / was passing the tavern"
and q wel!-dressed man and women
drove up to the door in buggy, ana
the man got out and went into the
bar-room and soon came out with
glass of liquor for the woman. They
had little child of three or four years
"a
half of the liquor and then Offered some
to the child. It took a sip and refused
to take more. The mother urged it to
drink, but it refused, and she finished
the glass, and the man came out OF the
hotel and they drove away. This y ar
Just such another occurrence came I'M
der my observation, but another party.
While stood musing in front of the
store IA few feet from the hoteD, two
Young men, farm hands, drove up and
went in and took "their rations," and
drove away. They had not been gone
two minutes when two more farm
hands drove up and went in and took
their drinks, and they had not got
out of sight when three citizens of the
place went in aud took drinks. This
all happened in the space of half an
hour. But you would be surprised,
Mr., Editor, at the amount of cider that
is made i'm our town. There is cider
mill about 100 rods from my house,
and I think 1 am safe in saying that
that there are on an average twenty
teams passing daily, loaded with APP
ples and barrels. and barrels of cider
going home. Church-members and
acknowledgements professed tenn
perance men and men that make no
profession, I know of but one man in
this town who has an orchard and
does not make cider. There may be
more-I don't say there are not-but |
don't know. Some of them keep a
barrel on tap. with cup handy, SO
that anyone that goes into the cellar
can take a drink. And yet we hear
nothing said of it in lectures, and little
in the papers. Well, there is still an
other limb to this tree. 1 will tell you
one more story aud close We have
church-members in our town, prOfessed
Temperate men and women, that keep
liquor in the house, and when they
feel little indsposed, or their children
complain of feeling bad. they fly to the
whiskey-bp title. And they don't take
it raw either, They fix it up so the
dear children can take it-generally in
the shape of eggnog was told
story last Summer tnat verifies this
statement. Mrs. T., Mrs. S., and Mrs.
G. are members of the church and
professed temperance people. Mrs.
TBS little daughter complained one
day of feeling indisposeu. Her mother
told her to hitch up the bOrse and bug
gy and go and take Mrs. 5. and Mrs.
6. out riding. So she started out aud
took Mrs. S. in, and when Mrs. G.
went to get into the buggy, she re-
marked that she din't know IS they
would like to ride with her. as she
had taken glass of eggnog. Mrs. S
said she had done the same thing.
The girl said mamma gave her glass
just before she started, and they had
quite a laugh over it, thinking it was
laughabIe thing
l.. AVON, y. Y.
HERE'S A NOVEL SCHEME-WHY NOT?
To the Editor ofthe Pioneer:
After carefully observing for over
fifty years the Influence OF the use OF
Intoxicating liquors not only on parties
who use them, bat on society at large,
ard the deleterious influence on the
character of those who deal in them, /
am led to the conclusion that we need
radical change in the manner of
dealing. Let person be chosen by
the people or appointed by certain Off
GERS, who shall have a fixed salary, in
stead of being required to pay a certain
sum for the privilege of conducting the
business.
A person required to pay license
will feel under the necessity of being
more diligent in selling, and the more
he is required to pay the more perserv-
ing he will be in making sales, and in
many instances saloon-keepers will!
employ persons to bring parties who
are anxious to reform, also young men
and boys, into their places of business,
and with games and other devices they
soon become regular customers at the
bar.
In country towns and villages the
board of auditors, If they deem it neces.
sary to have liquor sold in their vicini'
ty, could appoint a person with the
approval of the overseers of the poor
agree upon q salary and take charge
of the business. Let the person ap
pointed maze returns under oath quar-
Ierly of the amount of liquor, sold AMI
be required to pay over the money tC
some officer of the town, excepting the
amount agreed upon as his salary
which should be fixed by the board re-
gardless of the amount OF liquor sold
In cities some arrangement could be