Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1900-12-06
sTHEIR LAST CENT"
From the Sioux City Journal

That the saloons of that city are sup
ported largely by those who can least
afford to spend their earnings there
in No doubt this. is so. OF course
reference is had to the pecuniary side
of the case. 1t is no doubt true OF
Ottumwa because it is true of Sioux
City and true everywhere. The
Courier thinks it is passing strange
that men will spend their last cent for
Intoxicating liquor. If it were only
their last cent the case would be bet
ter than it is, but the last cent fire.
quently belongs to some one else and
is only held in trust by the party who
spends it. Therefore the drinker
not only spends the money foolishly,
but in doing so violates trust. What
is the matter with such people?
Well, s good deal is the matter
with them. For one thing they are
weak in their heads. They are apt
to say they are spending their own
money and that it is nobody's bust
ness how they spend it. They have
the pride of independence without the
thing itself. They very likely have
ambition to be thought of as good fell
lows, and they associate good fellow
ship with being jolly over bar, at
the expense of one and then another.
They are after good time, and it is
little enough pleasure they have, as
they think. With the confirmed sot
the drink may be the main thing, but
with most of the drinkers it is the
good time.
The poor men at the bar, spending
their last money for drink, are not Sin
gular in their violation Of trust. In
all conditions among men there is for
getfulness of the trust which they
alone can defend. There is no trust
equal to that of a good name. The
man may say his name is his own, but
it is more than his own. 1t belongs,
maybe, to wife and children; it be-
longs, at any rate, to family. 1t be-
longs in part to society. 1t is trust
with the individual. Work directed to
the preservation of a good name goes
to the root of everything. No man
can preserve good name and be in
different to the comfort and peace OF
his family. No man can preserve a
good name and be Indifferent to the
welfare of society. No man can pre-
serve a good name and be Indifferent
in the matter of paying his debts.
The poor men at the bar are afraid
to offend their fellows. The fellows
are not likely to bother themselves af-
ter the last cent has disappeared. The
only opinion worth cultivating is good
opinion, and no opinion is good that
does not spring from the mans honor,
fidelity and courage. Friendship bas.
ed upon integrity may endure, but
friendship cemented in vice will serve
no enc in time of trouble.
1t is passing strange that men will
spend their last cent for Intoxicating
liquor?" 1t is doubtful if it Is the liq-
uor the money goes for. Quite likely
the money goes for the companinoshfp
The bar marks the level of it.
The major part of the sin of the
world, at least in the initiative, is
thoughtlessness. Men do not stop to
think what they are doing or are in
CAPABLE. They are quite likely weak
1t is common for weak men to be bru.
tai toward those who may be depend
eEt upon them and thus it is that so
many women and children suffer at
the hands of men who spend their last
cent for drink. The suggestion of an
apron string will bring the last cent if
nothing else will. :
These poor men who spend their
earnings in the saloons are deficient
in moral stamina. They are deficient
in resources for healthful entertain
ment. Their education is confined to
the cheap and coarse things. They
tire quickly of their own society, and
books are beyond them. They flock
together for mutual support, and the
saloons afford common ground for
them. These men do not SO much
need to be lifted out of the saloons as
they do to be lifted out of themselves.
The problem is an old one and the
struggle with it increases as the CEN
turtles multiply. A pretty long meas.
ure is required to note progress.
The pride of men in all conditions
has to be met. They will shun asso-
Citations where they appear as the
fools of them, or as the interiors of
them. If they can be interested in a
garden or COW there is hope for
them. If they can be interested in
the education of their children, led to
some self denial in their behalf, there
is reason to be encouraged.
But it is not easy to do for men
VIM VIII Wv A0IlliAG lOl GhSAoCltCS.
Nearly all energy exerted in their be-
half is wasted. Anything of super
structure must have some sort of a
foundation to rest upon
independence in doing wrong is OF
no good to anybody. The only indie
pendence of value is independence in
doing right. No one can do right
whose thought does not extend be-
yond himself.
Every mans generosity should be-
gin at home. An acceptance of this
moral precept on the part of men
who now spend their last cent in the
saloons would dry up countless bars.
Blu morality has hard time of it
against championship. Men are more
interested in cracking smile than a
bottle. They have more of an appe-
tite for the stimulation of congenial
spirits than they have for the exhilar-
alton of ardent spirits. They pay
their way with their last cent.