Mower County transcript., 1900-10-10
AUSTIN PROHIBITION
CLUB COLUMN. !
OUR NATIONS GREATEST PERIL.

OUR NATIONS GREATEST PERIL.
b. cLnros~N. HOWARD.
The American people are face to
face with q mighty problem It is
not what shall be done with Cuba or
the Philippines2n but "HoW shall we
restore to the people the right Of self
government in the United States?"
It would seem that democracy had
given place q to rumOcracy. The
American people have abdicated the
throne of government to the saloon.
We are sending our young men half
way around the globe to teach the
half.breeds of the far East respect for
law, and allow rebels against the flag,
rebels against our laws, rebels against
our homes, to walk the streets OF our
cities, infest the camps OF our soldiers,
smite With moral paralysis our pu0llc
officials, and furnish opinions tor the
national government. ~- g.
The immoral condition Of our great
cities 10 blot on our civilization.
The saloon runs the caucus, names
the candidate. rObs the pubic, ana
spits on the law. l read an i9tefvieW
with New York millionaire the other
dav in which he emphasized the fact
chat nearly all the men Of affairs, sue
cessful business men, and men In pro-
fessional life in our great cities, we're
bows that came from the farm or were
reared in the small towns. He la.
mented the fact that rich mems sons
reared in the city seldom amounted
to much. And he wondered why.
Well, If the poor old innocent does
not know, I'll tell him why. Tits be-
cause the moral tone of our great Cit
les is 80 low, vice is 50 open, 80 allut-
ing, so @tempting;> the: saloons, with
the gaming-table in the rear and the
scarlet woman upstairs, are so numer-
Gus that it is almost impossible to
raise a boy in the CITY without send
ing him to hell. God pity the tempt
ed boy that walks the streets OF an
American city after the fall of night.
War has slain its thousands; rum has
slain it's tens OF thousands. Cut the
usual estimate In two, and 1t would
require 100 whole trains. ten cars
long, with sixty dead bodies in each
car, to carry the remains. 1t would
make funeral procession, hearse fol-
lowing hearse, from Detroit to Du-
buque, and ill trench tn dead
bodies, end to end, sixty-etght miles
long every year.
Simply to state the case is to an.
swer the question. Why multiply ex'
amples? The saloon is the nations
greatest foe, because it murders It's
citizens la cold blood;. because it de:
stroys the character of its citizens,
the units upon which the national
structure rests; because 1t fosters IL.
norance, immortality aud crime,
which sap the vitals of the nation,
aud mean death to a democracy found
ed upon the virtue and intelligence OF
its subject; becauseit defiles the bal.
lot, intrenches the boss, de1es the
law, and impoverishes the people. y 1t
is a crime against the state, a crime
against humanity, q crime against
God. It has opened dens OF anarchy;
schOOled our young manhood to life
of sensual indulgence, personal i'm.
purity, aud profanity; sickened the.
public conscience with its daily hor.
rible detail of debauchery, deviltry
and crime; blocked the. wheels OF
every righteous reform; .paralyzed In
dustry: crucified labor; defeated the
church; outraged the heather, and
blasphemed the Almighty. -
These are the facts about the coun-
try's greatest foe, and 1t would be
adding crime to crime TO state them
and offer no remedy. The mighty
head, the hart, the hand, OF the
Christian citize aship OF America, is
not, what is the country's greatest
foe, for on that thoughtful men are
agreed, but what shall be done with
the Dation's greatest foe? = e., 3
Shall we take q revenue from 1t?
Shall we engage 10 what has been pro:
claimed from pulpttand press as Gods
holy war to break The yoke of oppres.
sion and set al liberty them that are
bruised, and assess the devils bust.
ness to pay the bill? Shall We sub.
scribe TO system that during peace
or war proposes to base the revenue
OF this Christian nation on q barrel Of
beer and whisky? Our revenue sys:
the people, aud Is q curse to the na:
'tiOn. -
What shall We do with the nation 8
greatest foe? Shall we delay doing
the right thing about it, as some con-
tend, until we find a substitute for it?
OF all propositions, this Is the most
childish. A subs titute for the saloon!
A substitute for the gsmbling-hell!
A substitute for the house Of shame!
You might as we'll close np' the
church until you can dnd y substitute
for the devil. The only substitute