The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1902-1905, 1902-06-19

Rebuild Your Bridge.

Editor PALATkA NEWS:
Having heard the Dispensary bill
discussed on almost every corner for
the past two or three months, |
purposed TO read that notorious dOcu-
ment as soon as / could possibly pro-
cure a copy. At last | got one and
began to read, but before | finished
it | fell a! leep a. during this sleep
[ had Il strange dream. / was in a
crowded city of the north and in one
of the large parks, a great throng
pressed about something; l knew
| not what. After hours of work !
managed to get near the center o.
this mass of people and there beheld
| the common attraction. On a raised
| platform in II large arm chair sat a
man about whose form was wrapped
an An erican flag; above him, for
protection from the sun, was spread
a broad, white awning. He was /.
somewhat large man with horlL
complexion; his hair and beard wert
lmOst white and from eaeath hi
shaggy brows looked Out a pair o.
| blue-grey eyes. Withal it was :
| peasant kind face. From the man !
| raised my eyes above the awning
md there something met my gaze
| which / had not seen before. 1t was
! large sign-one on each side of the
| platform and these are the words o.
the sign. 1.-The Ben. Tillnan of Flor
.da; champion of the Dispensary
Bill. This bill went through in my
Estate; it must go into effect through
out the union. 1t will save money
o each state; this can be used to
educate the children, but even if j
do not save for the state, money
it w Ii ga, our youth from ruin"
The signs, the man, the people les
pecially the people, gave me such /
shock that | awoke. | continued
my reading but when it was finished
| was very glad that my vision was
Jmly dream.
Only a dream, yet that dream
aroused some thoughts in me. Thel
[ asked, what is the meaning of ali
his .'whiskey stir? What is the
purpose of this bill? What is the
motive which prompted its intro
luction? Is it true that it was in
reduced in order to free the state
rom the bar room and our beloved
youth from temptation? Was it the
promptings of a great heart, filled
with love for humankind which
gave origin to this plan? Some say
yes; others say no. But let us grant
that this is true and that the motive
was entirely pure. Then | would
ask, where has this plan or any like
it proved success? Where has a
plan of this kind even in the history
of our country saved a state from the
barroom or its equivalent or its youth
from ruin? | am sure that an eXam-
lie cannot be shown. Men get credit
Tor what they do and not for what
they desire to do; for deeds not mo-
tiVeS.
If all this energy had been used
with respect to the schools of FlOri-
da; if all this time had been spent in
perfecting better system of educa-
zion, then l COLL think that we
were at the source of a stream that
would float us out on the tide of an
unwritten law and that law would
save us from the need-if need there
be-of dispensary bill.
Gentlemen of the dispensary bill,
remember that so long as young men
think that it is proof of their i'm
portaEce to make hogs of themselves
by excess in the use of alcoholic
drinks, that just that long there will
be no saving our youth, whether in
tOxicants be sold by the state, cor
poration on by an individual, and
Just that long gray hairs will be dis
honored by clustering about the
Throws of poor, pitiable, besotted old
age.
Gentlemen, go back with your as
pirltion and Inspiration, to the legis-
lature If you can. But try q plan
that is deeper and broader and
which will appeal more readily to
men who think; rebuild your bridge
but make it of a better and stronger
material.
Tell Inc why it is that when we go
out into our country districts-and a
similar state of affairs can be found
in our towns-that the homes of
many of our people are carelesslY
kept; why do We find few flowers,
few trees, poor fences, dirty yards,
no p lint on the buildings, every thing
a disordered mass? Is his condi-
ion the result of pOverty2 1 think il
is not, for re people are not all poor
and before. our freezes many more OF
them tn. dow hi d incomes which
gave theu comfortable livings; yet
there were just as many broken
fences; iuat as many rags and whis-
key bottles in the yards; the same
number of trees and flowers; the
same amount of paint on the houses.
These people patronize the bar room
but whiskey is not the cause Of this
condition. IL is not what they have
that makes them what they are; Il
is what they lack.