The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-08-03

Ii. silks, etc. NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 70
IA. Wooden goods. ..................H
Is. Worsted goods ..................2 20
10. Iron and steel. ....................l9
IL. Leather Observation-Disclosures. IA
IS. Liquors of all kinds. 10
19. Liquors (distilled) ................
20. Liquors (vinous) .................. l
THE REVENUE FEATURE.
But, the great summum bonum Of the
traffic is the revenue feature; the time
was when friends of the traffic would
go before The public and defend the
same upon it's merits as a sort OF neces-
sary evil: but the public has now be-
come sufficiently educated to tie unde-
niable evils of the liquor traffic, that L
affirm without fear of successful con-
tradiction that with the revenue fea-
ture eliminated, the legaliZed traffic
would not exist in this country beyond
the first election. This license cross OF
gold covers q multitude of sins; because
of the license fees received, the state
and municipality shut their eyes to the
awful effects and become partners IN
the business. And yet careful statistics
show that for every dollar received IN
license fees. it costs the state no less
than $40 in the loss and increased eA-
penses of maintaining the government.
in finance ought to see that with sucn
a system it is only a question OF time
when the nation will go down in BANK
ruptcy and ruin. In the MASSACHUSETTS,
home for idiots they have q test to see
whether the patient is recovering, lhe
patient is placed in the bottom OF a
cistern into which water is running
through an open faucet, and is given
pail with which to bail out the water
if he discovers that he can make no
substantial progress While the water
continues to run in, and closes the TAU
Get, il shows a gleam OF returning III
telligence. But our legislative wise
acres have not yet reached that Stage
of development
My friends, the battle between right
and wrong upon this burning question
of the licensed liquor traffic is upon
Us and the forces are being set in ar
ray. In my minds eye l see them now.
In the front rank of the liquor forces
[ see half a million or more men who
are directly or Indirectly connected with
the traffic; millionaire brewers and dis
tillers, saloon proprietors and white
aproned bartenderS, and all the motley
crowd of heWers of wood and drawers
of water in these lazar houses OF lust
and passion; back of these a long array
Of breWeries and distiHerieS With their
chimneys pouring their black smoke N
the air, diyerting the good gifts of. God
from their original purpose Of food and
turning them into the poison that at
the last "biteth like a serpent and
stingeth like an adder" Back of these
the 1000 wholesale houses and the $780,
600 retail houses in which men are IL
censed to manufacture drunkards and
mad men. Back Of these again, [ see
the prisons and jails filed with gibber-
ing men whose hands are red with the
blood Of their fellow men, seven-tenths
of whom were brought there by the
curse of strong drink; back of these
again, 1 see the lunatic asylums hlleo
with gibbering maniacS. tWo-thlrdS OF
whom were brought there by the awful
curse of rum; back of these | see a long
array of almshouses and poor houses
filed with pi+iable wrecks Of mankind,
90 per cent of which is caused by the
liquor traffic. Still back of all these,
/ see their prisoners of war, the suffer
/ ing wives and mothers and starving
! children looking up to heaven with
tear-etained faces and crying out in
their agony TO a long-suffering God for
protection from this devastating curse.
OPPOSING FORCES.
1 look out upon the other side and
catch a view Of the opposing forces.
| In the front rank l see the church
of the living God, redeemed, re-bap-
tized with pentecostal fire, disepthrall-
! ed from every entangled alliance that
/ has heretofore hindered the onward
march against this arch enemy of the
human race. Look at the grand diNi-
sions of this wonderful army Of God.
r,,iIIi,-no Church mann hers T50 =
600 Christian EndeayoTeTs, 100000
Epworth Leaguers, half q. million Wo-
mans Christian Temperance Union
+ members; and another half million
of Young Mems Christian association
members.
And in the midst of these two con-
tending forces, high over all, | see
the great white throne, and upon it
thar God who holds the destinies of
the nations in his hands as the small
| dust of the balances, looking down
with plying eye upon the momentous
conflict; and methinks 1 hear him say
WOE unto him that giveth his neigh
Dor drink, that putteth thy bottle to
him. and mal1est him drunken; woe
unto him that buildeth a town with
blood and establisheth a city with in
! iullity. He that stitch in the heavens
shall laugh; the Lord shall have them
in derision. Woe unto them that are
mighty to drink wine, and men OF
strength to mix strong drink. Which
Justify the wicked for a reward, and
take away the righteousness OF the
righteous from him. Therefore, as fire
devoureth the stubble, and the flame
consumeth the chaff, so shall their
root be rottenness, and their blossom
shall go up as dust. Because they
have cast away the law of the Lord
of hosts, and despised my counsel and
would none of my reproof. 1 will also
laugh at your calamity and mock when
your fear cometh."
Upon which side of this conflict will
YOU be found? You must be upon one
side or the other. You cannot, If you
would. remain neutral. God will holo
Won responsible for the position you
take. The person who seeks to be
neutral will be crushed between the
upper and neither miilstenes OF public
opinion Whoever fails upon this stone
will be broken, but upon whom 1t tails
it will grind him to powder. May
God give us to do the right as we see
the right, and by example, and voice
and pen and vote, do all in OUT power
to rid the nation of this deselate curse
that like black funeral pail Is sweep
ing over our fair land.
Destroy the liquor traffic, or 1t viii
destroy the nation.
At the Tabernacle.
The 2 o'clock services at the taber-
nacle yesterday afternoon We're begun
with tine customary preliminaries.
Stale councillors Joseph E, Taylor