The Monitor., 1890-04-25
A KENTUCKY ELECTION.

| option law of Kentucky it voted ''dryo
| two years previous to the time of this in
cident. 1t was then two years without a
saloon. The morals of the people had
| wonderfully improved. The church and
Sunday-school attendance had more than
doubled, enemies of long standing had
become friends, money that had previously
gone of for liquor now remained at home,
drunken yells, brawls and shooting were
heard no more; and while it is true that
bottle or jug of whisky was occasionally
smuggled in, and that some of the lower
class sometimes went to neighboring
"wet" town for liquor, yet the general
change for the better was SO great that
many determined to keep it SO.
But in every locality there are enough
who can be influenced by liquor dealers to
secure the necessary twenty signatures to
petition to the county court, and pay the
necessary twenty dollars to have another
vote on the license or no license question
taken. Hence in many places the vote on
"wet or dry" is taken every two years.
The liquor men use every possible device,
fair and foul, to gain their point, while the
temperance people, being honest, use every
honorable means. Every vote that can be
influenced by whisky or money. or cleo
tion clerk that can be induced to swindle,
is used by the liquor men, and frequently
the clerk has opportunities to mark votes
in the wrong column, as the voting is done
rica g0ce.
Towns are often changed from good
order and sobriety to drunkenness and
murder and rice eersa. c. was to have
another vote The colored voters num-
bered about one-third of the voting popu-
lation of the place, and the liquorites
counted on them in advance. worked on
their fears and ignorance, told them that
prohibition robbed them of their liberty.
would retura them TO slavery and many
other dire things would be their portion
unless saloons were permitted to deal out
destruction to the people. White folks
were appealed to in various ways, and four
days before the election it appeared that
the town would 60 wet
4 prominent liquor dealer from L. ar
rived at c. on the morning train and was
billed to ..orate'' that afternoon (seyen-
ing") at two o'clock. A yillager whom
we shall call Mr. J. met Mr. s., the liquor
dealer, at the depot. Mr.. ]. is about fifty
years of age, property owner in the vii
10 oa nd ovUpar of /, n oyoaIfant far near
by, a man of middle height, with long,
snow-wbite hair and beard, prematurely
SO from trouble, and dressed as a well-to-
do farmer. He walked up to the fashion
ably-dressed liquor dispenser and asked:
Are you Mr.. S.9''
'sYes, sr.''
.sAre you going to make a whisky
speech here this evening""
Il suppose that is what you would call
it, but am going to deliver discourse
on personal liberty and the constitutional
rights of American citizenship
In short, plain, home-spun speaking,
you are here to influence votes to return
liquor-selling in this town."
.sYes, sir. firmly believe that people
| in this free country have right TO eat,
drink and wear just what they please"
'sWeI," said Mr. j., II don't know that
il is necessary TO mince words. | will
speak to you in calmness, but in the most
earnestness you ever heard Of This town
has been dry for two years; previous to
that time we had one saloon, besides other
places that sold liquor. Three years ago
barrel of your liquor was shipped here.
! 1t had your brand on it; twas your liquor.
! 4 young man drank of it, he was engaged
to marry young lady and induced her to
drink of it, they both became intoxicated
and while in that condition he ruined her
and for it was shot and killed by her
| father. Her character was thus ruined;
she is the only child of fond parents whose
earthly happiness was centered in her.
They had toiled and made every sacrifice
for her, educated her, fitted her for the
best society and thanked God that she
merited all they did for her. Your per-
sonal liberty and constitutional rights of
<AtDtllCdH CttiHCHS W Cat, oAA WSaA
what you please is argument only used to
| impose your mur6erous business upon the
people 1t made murderer of that girls
father, caused her ruin and the death of
the young man referred to. Her home was
paradise, and life to her parents was
heaven. But how different newl That
father feels that he has lived century in
the past three years. He is continually
thinking of the young man he killed. His
daughter is isolated from society and feels
the sting so keenly that life is a burden to
her. Now, sir, you furnished the whisky
that caused this misery, and am the
father who killed that young man who
drank the whisky you furnished, and | will
kill the man who makes whisky speech
here this evening. You say whisky only
hurts those who drink. | never drank it,
my wife never drank it, my daughter
drank it but once, but it made our lives SO
miserable that death would be sweet re-
lief to u.s."
Mr.. s., man of long experience in deal