The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-05-28


me one man whose life has been saved
by whiskey, and l will show you a
thousand who have been killed by It,
WhiSkey is a curse, because it stirs
up, and puts into action, all that is
vilest and most deVilish in man. Some
years ago a minister was sent as q
missionary to one of the small towns
of the State. There were three grog-
shops there, run by three men utterly
ungodly and reckless. The preacher
talked and preached against the whis-
key business. The bar-keepers be-
came enraged at the preacher, ana
combined to drive him from the toWh'
Soon after this one Of the bar-keepers
was smitten down with fever. Inc
preacher visited him. talked ana pray
ed with him. He made public pro-
fession of faith, and soon afterwards
died, apparently happy. The second
har-keeper declared that the first time
he met the preacher on the sidewalk
he would kick him into the middle
of the street. The preacher heard Oh
the threat, and next day met the man
on the sidewalk. He looked the par
keeper in the face as he met nm; put
he covered and went SneaklnB pE
without kicking, or even speaking.
But the third bar-keeper was a more
desperate character. While the preach
er was holding prayer meeting one
night the bar-keeper, with boon
companion, were in his grog-shop
drinking and gambling. He sWore that
when the preacher came from the
prayer meeting he would whip nm or
kill him. The preacher knew noun
ing of this threat, and SO when he
rushed into the crowd and seized him
by the coat collar he was greatly sur
prised. The bar-keeper had prepared
himself for his desperate deed by
filling himself with Whiskey Whenl
he seized the preacher and began ours
ing him. the ladies ran screaming from
the frightful scene. Many of the men
scattered. The bar-keeper, giant OF
man, stood holding the preacher
with his left hand, and cuTsing him
furiously. The preacher said calmly;
"Mr. l--. what have l done to
cause you to make this attack on
me?" You internal rascal, you have
called my name publicly in your SER
mons and have abused me, and are
trying to break down my business and
| am going TO give you hell for Il.
The preacher replied mildly: y on
are certainly mistaken: / have never
mentioned your name in public DIS
course" you are liar; you did,
and you shall suffer for it. The
preacher said: Here are dozen
persons who have heard every word
| have said in public. Friends, did
you ever hear me mention MIR. ---- 5
name in public ?" mo, we never did.
The bar keeper said: you all arc
set OF liars: he did, and he shall SUI
| fer for it," AS he said this. he put
his right hand on his pistol, and be-
gan to draw it. At this moment his
| friend, who had been drinking with
| him, stepped up and said: John,
you must let the preacher alone He
SAYS he did not call your name IN
| public and has proved it. lie sWore
he would not. His friend said: You
must; YOU are exposing yourself to
the heaviest penalties of the law, by
making this public attack on the
preacher" With bitter Oaths he said.
81 don't care for law, nor God. nor
| heaven, nor he'll; I'm going to have
| revenge" AT this moment his friend
seized him, gave him a sudden jerk
and broke his hold on the preacher
| This enraged him against his friend,
| and Selling him threw him violently
on the sidewalk. After scuflling awhile
| the bar-keeper rose up, and as the
| other man rose he shot him in the
! face and inflicted almost a death
wound The other man said with ah
oath: eff that is what you are up
| to I'll be with you, and drawing his
pistol he fired, the ball entering the
(
3tanty.
! Every word of this is truth. 1t is re-
| lated to show the curse of whiskey.
| A few weeks ago i'm this State a
| good man reported a bad man for
dealing in whiskey contrary TO law.
| In a short while the good man was
aroused in the dead hours of the night
| by the roaring of flames, to find that
| his dwelling house, and other build
/ ;,,n- hpi
| did the burning? Would not every
| body guess the same man as the per-
| petrator of the crime?
! Moonshine distilleres and blockade
whiskey can be found in various por-
| tons of almost every county in the
State. Why are they not ferreted out.
dragged to the light, and the law
| breakers punished. Men seek for and
| obtain the position of revenue officers.
| They take an oath to enforce the laws.
| But do they do this? Certainly not
| always. Here is a fact. Some years
/ ago a revenue officer was given defln-
| tie information as TO the exact loca-
| ton of an illicit distillery. He prom
! Used that he would go that night aud
| capture the offenders. But did he do
lit? No. He at once sent them a
/ private message to pull up and move
to some other place. They did so. A
| few days afterwards the officer took
/ some other men, and pretended to
make a great effort to capture the dis
tillers, when he knew they had gone
| to some other place. Is this the only
case of this kind? Do any of these
officers know anything of the influence
of a. little "hush money!" With bad
men running the whiskey business
and Weakened officers to enforce the
law, no wonder it is proving such 2
/ dreadful curse to the people. Ignor-
ance, poverty, immortality and degre.
dation are the legitimate fruits of the
liquor traffic. Sad, sad it is, that pro-
fessed Christians will give encourage
ment and aid to the unlawful traffic ~
whiskey. They will knowingly buy
and use blockade whiskey. Can we
| expect better times, when church
members join with law-breakers to
trample laws under their feet?
]. A STRADLEY.
oxford, n. c., May &c.