The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1898-07-26

him to enjoy ne re0llZaGlOn OF sOWo14
t1e blessings which his benevolente
! shall produce I do not know how
many blessings this gift may bestow,
but may God forgive him for the many
lives of usefulness his cigarettes have
destroyedl
''The cigarette goes hand in hand
with the whiskey habit. The one is
almost sure to lead to the other. Why
bless one and curse the other? Why
bless the man that made his fortune
manufacturing cigarettes, though he
does pay toll to immortalize his name,
and curse thefOne. that manufactures
strong drink2 They both lead to ruin,
and their manufacturers are equally
responsible for the souls destroyed by
them. How many thousands given to
Trinity College will pay for n boy
killed by cigarettes9
"Please answer, Mr.. Bailey"
We will publish Nj. Bailey's reply
in full. He says:
This good woman would be entitled
to her opinion if it were reasonable. "
Let us see. Does the Recorder meRn
to say that it is not reasonable to say
that cigarettes are poisonous and are
Staying hundreds of Americas young
men every years If so. we will cay
that when it retutes the arguments OF
Americas most eminent physicians
and scientists (they declare the cigar
cite p~oisonous) we will gladly accept
it's statement.
"But," it continues, cit is not reason
able to charge all the stopping shOu-
dered, shallow faced, hang-headed
youths you see to the account of cigaI-
ettes."
This is a dodge. 1t answers none Of
Mrs. Starnes' questions. Neither she
nor anyone else has attempted to charge
''oU the sallo w-faced youths to the &C.
count of cigarettes" But if they in
iure a great many shall we defend
them because torsooth they do not in
j1re all2 AS we'll refuse to fight Satan
because he does not carry all men to
hell. Again:
VIC WISH AZ "O4O N0SOLJ w A0A4O
another and q verse cause. And If 1t
were reasonable, it is unreasonable to
charge them to the account of Mr.
Duke. The farmer who raises tobacco
is in this reasoning just al account
able"
In the language of Shakespeare: 20
wonderful, wonderful, and most won
derful wonderfully and yet again won.
derful, and after that out Of all whoop-
ing!" Nez t we shall expect to hear the
Recorder say 1T is unreasonable o
charge the lives wrecked by whiskey
to the account Of the saloon keeper or
distiller. The farmer who raises the
corn, rye or grapes is just as account
able!' The Recorder concludes in the
following language:
''The most accountable persons are the
mothers and fathers of these youths.
Nor is it reasonable to garble the words
of our editorial, as this earnest sister
does. We said Christianity prompted
the gift; we said Christianity made it
beautiful, holy and blessed. We took
Mr.. Duke at his word; we also believe
in the Bible, which teaches US that
NGN OAC0SCS S4L0a SANCA AA Lis 00AASS
and warns US not to judge. We did
not endorse the means by which Mr..
| Duke has become able to give the
money; but We may be pardOned for
being thankful that il the means OF &C.
quiring have led to the unmaking Of
some, the bestOwRl Of it Will go to-
wards the making Of others"
Certainly you may be pardoned,
Bro. Bailey. And in the same way
you may be pardoned for defending
the saloon keeper because the money
paid for his license goes to the public
school fund and while unmaking
some will go towards the making of
others" Finally the Recorder says:
"But this sister, if we may edopt
her reasoning, would have Mr.. Duke
use his money for the enlargemsnt of
his cigarette plant"
And this, we wish to say, is the first
time it has been limited that it is I'M
constitutional for Mr., Duke to use his
money for anything else except to
manufacture cigarettes.
Taking it as a whole, we think the
lady's questions remain unanswered.
Bat it is as hard to find a cigare tie
smoker who condemns cigarettes as to
find a drunkard who condemns whis-
key.
Our esteemed young friend, Spencer
Blackburn, outdid himself in his