The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-08-05
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANcE.

Why Drunkard Makers Are Not Entitled
to the Respect of Decent People-A
Prayer That Some Day the Voters Will
Stop Rum Selling.
I have heard all I want to hear about
regulating the liquor traffic. To my posi-
tive knowledge the people have been trying
to regulate the liquor business in this coun.
try since lS4S. What has been the result!
Laws to regulate it have only had the
effect OF intrenching still more strongly the
hold OF the devilish institutions.
The Nation and most of the States per
nit the traffic to 60 on providing it is will
ing to pay certain price. That means
hell for revenue only. | would be willing
to get up before :ny audience in America
and plead for prohibition but never for the
license system. ITO license the liquot
traffic is sin," and do not propose to be
one of the sinners who favor it.. If pro-
hibition is unattainable, the next best sys-
tenn is free liquor. No other crime against
the people is licensed except the crime
against God and man Of manufacturing
and selling for beverage purposes splrituous
and malt liquors.
It is wrong to steal, wrong to commit
arson, wrong to murder, and the laws
say so. No one proposes to license either
of the above crimes. Why should not the
law say it is wrong to poison the bodies
and the morals OF the people and cease
to grant some men the privilege OF making
money by so doing.
Low.license is bad and high-license is
even worse. Judas Iscariot would not have
made his case any better if he had taken
sixty pieces of silver instead of thirty
There is not enough money in America
to justify the sale Of intoxicants to the
people as a beverage. The greater the
amount so received the more hellish the
liquor traffic becomes. Men in the saloon
business are not in it for fun. Charge
them $500 for The privilege and they de-
mand our boys to get square with us.
Make the sum $1,000 and they want our
girls thrown in.
Never in the history OF the State of New
York was so much revenue obtained from
the LIQUOR traffic as at the present time.
Why! The Raines law has brought about
a combination. between drunkenness and
prostitutionAthat is what has resulted
from the existence Of Raines law hotels,
which were started for the purpose OF po-
litical revenue.
Drunkard makers are not entitled to the
respect of decent people. They are in a
wicked business. Saloons are an insult to
the Holy Trinity; they are the foes Of
WOmdnnOOQ anu CillluuoOu. udfC uo pa
thence with those who have good word
to say in favor of distilleries, breweries or
saloons. They are a stench in the land
They cruelty our Lord afresh every day,
including Sundays.
The only fear that tnose engaged in the
liquor traffic have is that prohibition may
come to power with men behind the princi-
pie who will enforce it, For that reason
if for no other-I am in favor of every
State in this country passing prohibition
legislation and of the people electing men
who favor such legislation to make the
principle mean exactly what it ought to
mean !
While I ask the miserable drunkard to
stop drinking 1 call upon the people to
do something better than to elect those
for Office who will grant those in the
liquor traffic anything they want If they
will only divide up the filthy lucre thus
obtained.
Years ago I heard a gentleman named
Smith-a noted auctioneer-make speech
in Newark, n j., in which he said that In
a dream he had conversation with the
Devil on the license question; and he gave
the Devil credit for saying that he was not
so mean as to grant few devils the right
to sell certain drinks and then punish other
devils for drinking them, or because they
could not stand: the effects.
The liquor traffic is not fit for the region
Of perdition, to say nothing about this
country.
I hate the whole liquor business, and
my prayer is that some day the people
will pulverize it.-George K. Scott, IN the
New York Witness