River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1889-06-20
CHILD pRuNKARDs.
A Crusade Against Wicked Rock-and-
Rye Drops.


''No more rock-and-rye candy. or
drops or wine cordial confectionery,
is the cry of the different branches OF
the Woman's Christian Temperance
Union. The crusade has begun. and
it will be a relentless warfare. 1t
started at West Chester. and a big
constable intends to seizesall the rocI:-
and-rye drops, and the dealers wifi pa
prosecuted for selling liquor without
license.
In an interview the president of the
WOman's Christian Temperance Union
said: IF we can do any thing, either
legally or otherwise, to stop this per-
nicicus practice, it shall be done. We
have gone TO many of the small retail
candy dealers lately and requested
them to stop the sale Of rOck-and-rye
candy Many OF them complied with
the request, but it is still manu-
featured and sold in large
quantities. Even small bottles of
rock and rye are also veuded. We
certainly do object tol.his feature of
the candy business. Why, all orr
children will become premature drunk
ards if it shall be allowed to continue.
When once they get in the habit of
purchasing such articles at candy
stores, they will then take a nip ON the
sly in some secluded beer saloon.
Only the other day lady friend of
mine. who has couple of children,
was terribly shocked by seeing them
come from school their eyes all afire.
cheeks inflamed and cutting the most
curious pranks. In great alarm at
seeing them so demonstrative and IN
steady she asked them the cause of
their exuberant feeling. They -blub-
bered out. laughingly: ''We'se- been
eating rock and rye. There is a great
amount of whisky in this rOck-and-rye
candy. and it is of such an in
ferior quality that it easily af-
fects those who essay to eat it.
1t is a lamentable fact that even
candy can not be manufactured with
out placing some strong drink in it,
just look at those wine cOrdials that
are sold daily to the young by tinscru-
pulous dealers. There is pretty little
port-wine drop to suit the palate of
one, there is the sherry drop to please
the taste of another. and so on ad in
initum. These cOrdials ought also to
be suppressed. The question to be de-
cided. however. is whether the sale of
such candies without a license can be
proved illegal II it can we will fight
against il grimly."
mo one can estimate what evil those
pernicious drops really have on chill
dren." said another member Of the
Temperance Union. Il have seen them
after eating it behave very unseemly.
Do you think we can win if we take up
this fight? Well, perhaps we can; but
still that remains to be seen. The law,
like men. is somewhat tickle, and ex-
tremell pliable.
The manufacturers of cordials and
rock-and-rye candy claim that such ac-
ton upon the part of the temperance
ladies is a species of fanaticism. Why.
if child could eat ten pounds of rock
and-rye candy" said well-knOwn con-
feetioner of this city yesterday, lit
would not make him or her intoxicat-
ed in the least. | admit that there is
some little of Intoxicating spirits il
such candy. but it is very small. ! do
not suppose there is One-quarter of a
thimbleful of whisky in twenty-five
rock-and-rye drops. These people can
not do any harm TO us. and all their
talk is mere twaddle."
1t is said that the members of the
union intend to investigate just how
much spirituous liquor is contained in
the different kind of drops, and will
begin a series of experiments as to The
effect that a pound OF rock-ahd-rye
candy will have on a person.
daInbia Record