Connecticut western news., 1893-05-18

ment. It kills the soul of the victim, de- stroys his moral power of perception, and the world knows 1t.
 Second-The saloon uses mans social nature to kill him. The power of the saloon to destroy lies in the fact that it is social institution. It is not ques- tion of drink or the drink habit in itself. It is the question of the debauchery of mans whole being by direct appeal to his social instincts. Every saloon is founded upon the club idea. It caters to mans social and esthetic nature. It appeals to his sense of the beautiful. The saloons are the most magnificent es- tablishments in the city of New York. They are the most magnificent establish ments in any city, It is this tremendous outlay of genius, of art, of money in their equipment that makes their appeal so resistless to men socially. Men begin to drink moderately with their compan ions. The process is first moderate drinker, then drupkard, then, dis eased wretch Because of mans social nature the disease of alcoholism is con- tagious-it is catching. The man who treats is the man infected by this con
  house in which he contracts the disease, from which it is spread through society.
 THE POOR MANS CLUB.
 Third-The saloon strikes at the foun- dation of social order in destroying the poor man in his poverty. Rum strikes down the rich mans son. Itis impartial in it's visitation of wrath and destruc- tion, but its reign supreme is in the dis tricts of the poor They are apparently the only charitable institutions that are always open. They have free lunch counter in which the ragged wretch may gratify his hunger if he can buy glass of beer. But the fact that the men who sell the drink can own magnificent homes while the man in rags eats his free lunch is evidence sufficient that the free lunch is but bait to the trap. They give free lunch and sell 8 man for five cents that which costs them less than half q cent. It is here in the saloon that the poor man is robbed of his hard earnings, and it is given to the man less worthy to have it. In certain district of this city which has resounded with the cry of starving men and women more than once one of the saloons is paved with silver dollars. The man that owns it is power in the community. He not only owns the saloon; he owns the bodies and souls of the poor wretches who SUD- port it.
 It has been said that the saloon is the poor mans club. So it is, and for that reason it should be swept from the face of the earth. He can go no lower. Ev- cry saloon is not only drinking place; it is 8 place where gambling is carried on every day and every night in the year. It is also place which is ths con- stant resort of evil women. The reason these things go together is because they are birds of a feather. To separate them is an impossibility. The one calls for the other, and in the absence of the other would produce its complement. If the church itself should run saloon, the stimulus of alcohol would drive it's frequenters to the qualification of every other passion.
 T. V. Powderly says most vigorously: 1T have had an experience of 20 years among workingmen. My life so far has been spent in. working among them, and I expect the remainder of that life will be spent in their interests. That experi- ence causes me to say that liquor has done more harm to workingmen than all other causes. The cry has been sounded and parrotlike repeated that poverty makes drunkards of workingmen. If there is any truth in that statement, then it is not to the credit of the man or men who willfully add crime to misfortune. Every sensible man knows that the liquor habit leads to degradation, disease, dirt and death. It is therefore unjust when we excuse the intemperance of poor man to lay the blame of it to his pow erty. We find drunkards everywhere, and in proportion to their number the wealthy have more victims to the liquor habit than the working people,"
 Fourth-The saloon as an institution always has been, is now and always will be a crime breeder and law defer. The liquor associations have rules by which they defend their members in all cases against them, whether they have violated the law or not The saloon is the rendezvous of criminals It is the home of the thief, of the tough. It is the home of the anarchist. It is the stamping ground of the dynamiter. It is the open slaughter pen in which are butchered honor and truth and decency, integrity, love and manhood. It is the source of our political degradation and political crime It is in the saloon that the dirty work of politics is done. It is said that 40 per cent of the Republican caucuses and 60 per cent of the Demo cratic caucuses in our city of New York are held in saloons.
 The saloon becomes resistless power in our political life in the city. Chris tians go to the ballot box like oxen and vote the tickets which their masters, the saloon keepers, write out for them. And the saloon keeper, who is himself chronic violator of the law, looms up as the maker of laws, as the judge of laws. The liquor dealers of New York have their hands on the district attorneys of fee and control it's policy. They have as an assistant district attorney man chosen by themselves and forced on the office in accordance with their demands. He is there for the sole purpose of doing their dirty work, and In his hands are placed the indictments against the liquor dealers of the city.
 We have on the judges bench man who has been notorious as the keeper of saloons and low dives. We have now on the judges bench another notorious scoundrel who ought to be serving term in the penitentiary for his rascality as an officer while doing the work which the liquor dealers of the city demanded of him. This man recently had the audac- ity to lay aside his duties as judge and enter the court as attorney for liquor dealer who desired to open saloon within less than 200 feet of church. There are between 200 and 300 saloons in the city of Chicago within distance of 200 feet of schools, churches or hospitals. The crime is thus made an object lesson to the children, as they are taught from day to day, and faunts it's defiant flag in the very face of the church of Christ. THE LICENSE SYSTEM.
 The Sa loon forcoa the ar,rNafita for drink