The Penn's Grove record., 1899-02-17
The Saloon Not a Necessity.

To the Editor-Sir: The saloon is not a
necessity. There is no need OF man that
the saloon fills. This very agitation is evil
dence that the peoples conscience is being
pricked because of the public federation OF
an awful evil that is daily perpetrating the
most horrible curse upon humanity, and
specially upon the workingman, ard still
more, cruelty treating the innocent wife
and children.
Necessity? Why? Because there Is
money in the business, money for those
who fatten upon the likelihood slipped from
the vitals of the toilers of our land, and
this selfish interest simply purchases the
privilege for the saloon to exist for the
further gain of It's promoters. The curse,
the blighting, devastating curse Of the sa-
loon cannot be hidden by the assertion that
the saloon is the workingman's club. If it
is his club, 1t is used only by him to braiu
his wife and beat all the Joy, hope and
honor from the hearts and lives of his off,
spring, who AVE a right by the sacredness
of birth to the sheltering care and protec-
tion of a father in the full control OF his
senses, and OF the home fellowship of faith
full parents. The saloon robs them OF this
enjoyment.
The saloon is not philanthropic. 1t does
not exist for the sake Of providing social
relaxation for the weary, Any association
1t affords only serves its deadly purpose
the more. The wife and children need not
only social relaxation, but relaxation from
disgrace and ~dishonor, abuse and pinched
poverty. and from the more trying neces-
sity Of wearing poor If mot ragged clothes,
and from the narrowing necessity of eating
hardened crusts while the saloon keepers
wife and children revel in their purple aud
fine linen and fare sumptuously every day.
A necessity An institution a necessity
that robs the nation OF over a billion a year,
sends 100, 900 drunkards to their graves,
makes 50,0 900 orphans, 2 5000 widows, causes
1000 suicides, a loss to the nation of SlO,-
O00, 900 through fire and violence, and
causes parents under its deadly, Supplying
influences to overlay $500 little innocent
children every time we count llty-two
Saturday nights in the United States and ia
the cause of ninety-seven per cent. OF all
crimesl
A necessity? Neverl Revolution moves
SLOWLY. but Just as sure as the sun shines,
lust so surely is public opinion closing in
on the saloon. You may not see it and L
NAV not, but what sometimes will not hap
pen in 100 years happens in day, and some
day, and that day is not so, far distant
either, the tide of sentiment will be
aroused against the saloon and distillery,
because of their constant menace to So
,iety. and this fearful institution will be
lifted from our body polite and dropped to
The nethermost hell.
Until then. welcome, thrice welcome, to
any agency that has for its purpose the
,essening OF intemperance, whether 1t be
through the coffee wagon, the mercy seat
or the ballot box. But hail to the glad day
when it shall be no more!
desire to have it clearly understood that
the foregoing is not in any way intended as
a criticism to the remarks Of Bishop Potter.
[ regard his remarks as intended to be a re-
buke to the professed friends OF humanity
and the morals of the people whose duty it
is to restrict the saloon and to provide
places of respectable resort for the laborinG
man. WILLIAM BREWER.
Editor-in-C Chief OF Salvation Army Publlca-
lions in the United States.