The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1892-07-14
BROUGHT HOME TO HIM.
The Reason John Haws Closed His Dis
tillery.

BROUGHT HOME TO FIN.
The Reason John Haws Closed His Dis
tillery.
In the early days of the present.
century in New England drinking
habits were very common among the,
people. They were encouraged and
cultivated by the local distilleries.
says the Youths Companion. which.
We're found in almost all towns.
There was heavy traffic in rum with
the West Indies. with Africa and with
other parts Of the United States. and
the distillation OF this liquor was con-
sidered very important industry, we'll
worthy of fostering.
Unlike other commodities the de-
mand for which usually creates the.
supply an abundant local supply Of
liquor usually creates local demand
for it; and the New England towns
where rum was made consumed large
quantities OF the product Of their own.
distilleries.
Merchants and shopkeepers. to at.
tract custom. often made practice of
placing open pals of new rum on
their counters. Each pail was pro-
vided with a wooden dipper and.
everyone who entered was free to.
drink as much rum as he liked
In the town of N, where little
rum was used except that made by the
local distiller John Haws. practice
grew up, not without reason, of attrib--
uting every case OF drunkenness and
the evil which resulted from it to tho
man who made the rum.
Whenever a man was found intoxi-.
cated-which was very. very often
and was reproached for his condition,
he would exclam:
'Oh, that John Haws!''
The phrase became proverbial in
the place. The distiller who was a
very important man in the town.
heard it repeated and became very
angry that people should impute the
! results of their own excuses to him.
He threatened that if the practice
went on, he would prosecute for SIAN
der the man who uttered the words
oh. that John Haws!'' in any such
offensive way.
One evening in midwinter. as the
distiller was going home from a Sc
| lectmens meeting: lighted lantern in
| hand, he came upon the body of a.
man lying in the snow at the foot of a.
| tree. The light fell upon the FORE
head of the figure. and showed a
rough cut freshly bleeding.
whats this? What's this?" ex-
claimed Haws STOPPING down.
AS he did SO he noticed, to his horror,
that the face was that of his own son,
a young man Of whom he had great
hopes. and in whom, to his great
pleasure. he had seen little tendency
to follow the drinking habits of the
| place.
The father saw the bleeding cut in
the forehead and supposed. on the
instant that his son had been as
s2ulted by some one whom he. the
father had threatened with prosecu-
ton.
he shook the boy by the shoulder,
to see if he still had life.
What is it, my son?' he ex-
claimed. despairingly. "Oh. who
| has done this?"
!. The young man opened his eyes.
! sleepily. ~
''Oh. that John Haws!-that John
Haws!" he murmured.
The boy, in fact had been led by
companions into drinking his fathers
rum at the store. On his way home
walking unsteadily. he had struck his
head against the tree. and had fallen
senseless~ His father had come up
| just as his senses began to revive, and
he had drunkenly uttered the current
| phrase of the village.
The father dragged his son home
He was so much affected by the
| young mans unconscious and entirely
| true accusation. that he soon gave up
the manufacture Of rum; and there,
| has never since been a distillery IN
| the town Of NJ