Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-03-10

iHOFdtiy anu socially, ana tnete is NO gOOt
motive that can be assigned for engaging
in it. We can hardly pick up daily
paper and not read of some outrage
caused by the use of rum. The liquor
traffic is sending a hundred thousand OF
American citizens annually to theil
graves. Its ravages are equal and even
worse than our great civil war, Staying as
many every year, besides sending seventy
per cent of the convicts to the peniten'
and making thousands Of psuper homes
Yet in the light of these facts the liquor
dealers in this city resolved that their
business is as respectable as that of the
church of God. Where Is the church
whose teachings and influence sends men
to the penitentiary and hush ands and
fathers have to abuse their families and
murder peaceful citizens3 The church
does not light the heavens every five
minutes of the NIGHT with the torch of
THE DRUNKEN LEGENDARY,
but the liquor business in our nation
does. The church does not stain the
earth every FIVE minutes of the day with
blood shed by the hands of the drunken
assassin. but the rum traffic in this coun'
try does. Statistics have been carefully
gathered. so the people are not Ignorant
of these facts. The whole traffic is
wrong and the men engaged in it know
1t is wrong.
But | want to call your attention to
another resolution of the Liquor Dealers
association. in which they assert that
bau fox ntf n hn LOT 10
abiding is to obey without equiyocation
the laws of the land. Now is it
fact that the liquor dealers do
thats Do they not as business evade
the law and jointly plan to do it2 One OF
the liquor dealers in this city told me
bosstingly that he sold more liquor in
Iowa now than he did before the pro-
hibitOry law went into effect. AS far as
have ever come in contact with them,
they all boast that prohibition is fall
ure and the law is ignored. Everybody
acquainted in Davenport knows that the
liquor men unblushingly ride over every
ness that they dare to ignore. Did the
liquor dealers have the conceit to think
that they could make the christian PEG =
pie of Rock Island and all lsw-abiding
citizens believe that the saloons here are
lsw-abiding when drinking men boast
that they can enter them any Sabbath re-
CARELESS Of the law Don't tell me that
they are lsw-abiding when l have seen
little children carrying buckets and
pitchers of beer from these saloons, when
the law emphatically forbids the selling
to minors.
The trouble with the liquor business in
Rock Island is, that it had its own way
so long. it had come to think it had pad
locked every pulpit. every newspaper
aud every politician: it had come TO be-
lieve that the city council and police
force were under its thumb. Is it not a
shame that men seeking Office and poll
ticians IN general, will fall down before
il, court its favor and make it promises
even when they know they are of some
other political complexion? | will not
vote for sny man if l know that he caters
to the saloons. and my in
luence will be against them, as far as it
goes, even if they are of my political
creed Is it not high time in our city
election to cease drawing the political
lines and organize for something better
and higher than party spoils? All around
in our neighboring towns temperance
men are anxious to know the position
the merchants and business men of this
city are taking regarding the liquor trsf-
fic. The lines between the rum traffic
are being continually more closely drawn.
The fact is the fight is on and the liquor
dealers know it aud are sensitive over it.
The shooting of few more Haddocks.
the passing of a few more resolutions of
by liquor dealers, few
more threats to boycott Gods ministers
aud Gods church. the news of which will
speedily fly to every nook and crook of
the land, stirring the law-abiding and
God>fearing people until they will arise
in their might and with the ballot wipe
out this foul blot from the glory of our
nation.