The true northerner., 1900-06-13

]
ed by investigation already made that
the drunkenness of track inspector
was the cause of the accident. What
was the cause of that drunkenness?
The drinking habits of that inspector.
How did he acquire them? In a sa-
loon which we taxpayers allow to run
on payment of a certain sum of money
into our own treasury.
$50, then, ii was the greed or selfish
ness of the men of this town which
lies at the bottom of this dreadful dis
aster. Who was TO blame for the dis
aster? The track inspector? No. The
saloon keeper who sold him the liquor?
No. Who then? We ourselves, my
brothers; we who licensed the selling
of the stuff which turned a mans brain
into liquid fire and smote his judg
ment and reason with a brand from
out the burning pit.
"If l had stumbled upon the three
corpses Of my own children night be-
fore last, l could have exclaimed In
Justice before the face Of God, Il have
murdered my own children for l was
one of the men of Barton to vote for
the license which made possible the
drunkenness Of the man in whose care
were placed hundreds of lives.
For what is the history OF this case?
Who was this wretched track in
spector? A man who, to my own
knowledge, trembled before tempta-
tion; who, on the testimony of the fore
man at the shops, was and always had
been a sober man up to the time when
/ we as municipality voted to replace
the system Of no license with the sa-
loon for the sake Of what we thought
was a necessary revenue. This man
had no great temptation to drink while
the saloon was out Of the way. Its
very absence was his salvation. But
its public open return confronted his
appetite once more, and he yielded and
fell.
"Who says he was to blame? Who
are the real criminals in the case? We
ourselves, citizens; we who, for the
greed of gain. for the saving of that
which has destroyed more souls in hell
than any other one thing, made possi-
BILE the causes which led to the grief
and trouble of this hour. Would we
not shrink in terror from the thought
Of lying in wait to kill q man? Would
we not repel with holy horror the idea
of numbering and manning 40 people?
We would say Impossibler Yet when
l am ushered at last into the majestic
presence of Almighty God l feel con-
vinced | shall see in his righteous
Ia ,f
demnation just as certainly as If we
had gone out in a body and by wicked
craft had torn out the supporting tim
bers of that bridge just before the
train thundered upon 1t, for did we
not sanction by law business which
we know tempts men to break all the
laws, which fills our jails and poor
houses, our reformatories and asylums,
which breaks women's hearts and beg
gars blessed homes and sends innocent
children TO thread the paths of shame
and vagrancy, which brings pallor into
the face OF the wife and tosses with
the devils own glee a thousand vic
tins into perdition with every revolu-
ton of this great planet about its
greater sun?
"Men of Barton, say what we will,
we are the authors OF this dreadful dis
aster. And If we sorrow as n COM
munity we sorrow i'm reality for our
own selfish act. And, oh, the selfish
ness of it! That clamoring greed for
money! That burning thirst for more
and more and more at the expense of
every godlike quality, at the ruin of all
that our mothers once prayed might
belong to us as men and women.
"What is it, ye merchants, We busi-
ness men, here tonight that We struggle
most over? The one great aim of your
lives is to buy for as little as possible
and sell for as much as possible. What
care have ye for the poor, who work at
worse than starvation wages, so long
as We can buy cheap and sell at large
profits? What is the highest aim of
us railroad men In the great whirl Of
commercial competition which seethes
and boils and surges about this earth
like another atmosphere, plainly visi-
bic to the devils of other worlds?
What is our aim but to make money
our god and power our throne? How
much care or love is there for flesh and
blood at times when there is danger Of
losing almighty dollars? But, o Al
mighty Saviour, It was not for this
that we were made! We know 1t was
not.
"ro whom am I speaking? To my
self. God forbid that / should stand
here to condemn you, being myself the
chief of sinners for these % years.
What have i done to bless this COM
munity2 How much have / cared for
the men in my employ? What differ
ence did 1t make to me that my exam
pie drove men away from the church
of Christ and caused anguish TO those
few souls who we're trying to redeem
humanity? To my just shame / make
answer that no one thing has driven