Mower County transcript., 1892-05-18

"
When the boy exclaimed" "oh, Nellie. taste this;
I'm sure you will say it is very nice.''
But the little maid with the laughing eyes,
Her chin scarce reaching the counters edge
Cried out, Charlie, don't eat that,
1t YOU do l am sure you will break your
pledge.
She turned about with indignant face
10 the smiling druggist who stood near,
And declared, 'if you sell such as that,
won't ever buy any candy here.''
And the man replied, with a merry air.
II am sorry for that my little mald
But there are people who will, you know,
And shall not fail it lose your trade.''
Into the street the children passed,
The little girls thoughts In an angry whirl.
Thinking how wicked man must be
To Sell brandy drops to boy or girl.
For the child had learned. in bitter hour,
sEThe name Of the tieud who wrecks the home,
And had felt the weight of fathers hand
Made heavy and strong by the demon rum
She pondered the matter over and over,
Tired, and almost ready to cry,
Till she thought, "Ie the people only knew,
l am sure they would not 60 there to buy'
The very next day the work began;
The crusader was only household pet,
But she worked with will in the little town,
Telling the story to all whom she met.
And some were amused By the earnest child,
AS they watched her face, while she stood
Waiting to have them sign their names,
And promise to help her all they could.
Modestly, bravely, on she trudged,
Forgetting herself and her childish games,
Till on Saturday, 10, on the "'honor rolf
Were registered fully one hundred names.
The druggist confessed as he watched the face
Whose earuestness glowed in It's every line,
That though he could live without her trade,
He needed the other ninety-nine.
And he said. with a flush of conscious shame,
To the tired but happy little Elf.
"If temperance turns out girls like you,
I'll join the Loyal Band myself"
The time has not come for prohibition
yet; you must educate people up to it;
must improve public sentiment till you
bring it up to point where prohibition
can be enforced" We hear this senti
ment continually, especially from the
advocates of high license. DR.. F. A.
Noble, of Chicago, gives this capital re-
joiner to such fallacies:
Paul did not wait for public sentiment
to support him IN preaching the gospel;
he went to work and made public senti-
ment. Richard Golden did not wait for
public sentiment to be we'll defined and
clamorous before he began his agitation
for corn law repeal; he set out solitary
and alone, and winning John Bright and
few other able men to his side he trav-
ersed the land, planning, speaking, agi-
tating. He created public sentiment
before which Sir Robert Peel and the
whole Tory party were only as so much
chaff before the wind. Bismarck did not
wait for public sentiment to push him to
the task of unifying and solidifying Ger
many; he pushed the people and brought
them to his own mind. The heroic Carl
baldi did not wait; he saw clearly what
ought to be done to redeem Italy from
the thralldom of the Pope and make it a
nation amongst nations, and he threw
himself into the breach and led the way
to victory. The dead Gambetta did not
wait: he took the people in their hour of
despair and trained them into.hope; when
they we're in confusion, and organized
them; when parties were plotting and
dethroned dynasties were scheming for
reinstatement, and made France Repub
lie. Neal Dow did not wait for public
sentiment to support him IN his demand
for prohibition. Month after month.
year after year, he and his faithful CO.
workers wrought at the business of max
ing public sentiment, and they did it.
Public sentiment does not make itself;
public sentiment does not move forward
of itself. When there is a vigorous pub
lie sentiment on any question of morals
it is because somebody has taken an ad-
vanced position and educated and drawn
the people up to it.