The record-union., 1894-03-31
UNION TEMPERANCE MEETINGS.
Active Campaign Opened by the
Pastors Union.
Young Peoples Societies and Others
Prohibition the Watch-
word.

NnurcQ uQQ6f the auspices OF the 1dSCOTS
Union and Young Peoples Societies.
The programme OF addresses was as fol-
lows: Monday-"Personal Responsible
ity of the Voter" by Rev. E. E. Dodge;
History of Prohibition" by
Rev. r. NJ. Stevenson; Wednesday -
"Can a Prohibitory Law be Enforced. !"
by Rev. J. II. Reider; Thursday-'The
Relation of Intempsrance to Crime." by
Rev. P. A. Atkinson; Friday-"Has the
Saloon Keeper Right to Liver" by Rev.
J. B. Koehne.
Following is the address delivered on
Wednesday by Rev. j. 81. Reider:
The question I am called upon to an
swer this evening is certainly very inn
portant one. For surely the signs of the
times indicate very plainly that the tenn
perance work has thrown itself almost
entirely into the practical question OF
prohibition or no prohibition.
It is a fact patent to every thinking
mind that with tens of thousands in
our land the love for alcoholic drinks
has degenerated into a passion over
which the will has lost control. The
blows of the demon have shattered the
will, paralyZed the moral sensibilities,
and moral SuasiOn is useless with them
if the qualification lies within their reach.
These poor unfortunates of our social
system must be protected; hence 1t IS as
thinking men and women of this age
we are led to agitate the question of the
prohibition of the liquor traffic. We re-
joice in this, because we regard prohlbi-
ton as the only sure way TO destroy the
hydra-headed monster. We believe that
the signs of the times indicate that we, as
a nation, are moving forward to smite,
with the sword of destruction, this
deadly foe of our common humanity.
We believe there is no mistaking the
well-def1ned convictions of the great
mass of temperance men and women.
that this traffic is in conflict with the
genius, spirit and intelligence of the age
in which we live, and that it must go
down before an indignant republic. His
tory plainly teaches US that it requires
the education OF at least one generation
ere any great reform in any given direc-
ton can be brought about.
For more than a quarter of a century
the question of prohibition has been
more or less discussed by the American
people. We have learned to know that
license and moral suasiOn will not ac-
complish for this nation what we so
much need, except within certain narrow
limits. AS a nation we have been very
careful to protect the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, the fish of the sea,
but we have refused to protect our boys,
aye, have even sold them to the liquor
oligarchy for 81 900 per capita for pub
lie revenue. No wonder the mothers ali
over our land are complaining that their
SONS are being sold too cheaply. Only
81 600 piece for boys worth their weight
in purest gold.
Ask that fond companion Of yours
what she would take for her white
souied boy. as she presses him to her
bosom, she will say that all the wealth Of
this great Government OF ours could not
buy one little right arm as it nestleS in
her bosom. And yet this so-called Chris
tan nation Of ours says, tor the paltry
sum Of s., 900, the liquor men of this ma
ton may rob that mother OF her darling,
and send him down to a drunkard's
grave, and far worse, a drunkard's hell.
But, thank God, there comes to US at this
time words Of holy inspiration: Though
hand Join in hand the wick ed shall not
be unpunished, but the seed OF the right
eous shall be delivered" We believe
that this promise of God is being verified
in this land of ours.
Said Mr.. Gladstone recently: "More
evils come from strong drink to the peo-
pie than from war, pestilence and fam
inc, the three great scOurges of the hu-
man family" Said Chief Justice Davis:
"If all the evils of whatever kind were
divided into five parts the liquor traffic
would be responsible for four of them."
And yet in the face of these startling
statements our nation continues to IL
cense the almost 100000 liquor sellers
that it may coin revenue from the scald-
ing tears and broken hearts of the tens Of
thousands of widowed mothers and or
phan children.
A Government cannot long survive
that lives on its own vitals; that has
system Of finance that involves the de-
struction of the property and life Of its
own citizens.
We rejoice to know that the time is
fully come when men OF thought and
conscience tremble for the future of
Government the foundations of whose
prosperity are laid in oceans of human
blood and tears, and whose Golfers are
supplied with money coined from broken
hearts of wives and orphan children.
This curse of curses has forced itself into
the very heart of our nation, into the
Yitals of all society, and we blush with
shame when we say, into the pew and
the pulpit or the sanctuary of the Most
High God.
After some years of solemn thought
upon this subject l voice my honest con-
Victions that if the Christian people OF
this country were united, ministers and
people to a man, in united and deter
mined effort to destroy this serpent of
the still, it would flee from our shores to
day is watching, with anxious eye, the
movements of the Christian Church, and
thousands who make no pretensions to
Christianity are waiting to cast the
strength and the force of their temperate
lives into the scale of prohibition. We
certainly have learned, from the expert
ence Of more than fifty years, that we can
hope 10 accomplish but little through the
political parties of this day.
We pity that man from the depth of our
heart that is so impregnated with party
spirit that he fails TO recognize the fact
that politicians of all parties have hood
winked the people for years upon the
subject of liquor legislation, and you
will fully understand why we have lost
all hope in accomplishing anything in
the way of temperance reform through
political parties, and the sooner vile poll
tieians land there are not few of them,
time servers, the cormcrants who fatten
upon the bleeding hearts of widows and
orphans, learn to know of the growing
feeling in the breasts of the American
people in relation to them, the better for
them and US. The purpose of society in
organizing Government and the pur-
pose of a Government under such an
organization, is not to protect evil in any
form.
4 Gods law condemns the use of strong
drink; 1t pronounces a curse upon him
who putteth the bottle to his neighbor s
lips, and woe upon him who is mighty
to drink wine. Its whole spirit con-
demns the drinking custom of society,
and yet drinking goes on protected by
so-called Christian legislation. We can
not believe that the Government has q
right to sell to one citizen the privil-
e9e to tempt another to commit crime