The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1905-09-15
Wet or Dry Election.

business, but all others will be i'm
proved. Just think of it, one hum
dred and forty thousand dollars
spent yearly in the saloons of Pal
atka for that which is neither good
for soul nor body. that makes men
| fools and causes disgrace and crime.
Remove the saloons and most of this
amount must go in other channels,
buying better food, clothing and
homes and in that way we would all
get share of it; rs it is, it is simply
sent up north for more drinks.
But there is a moral side to this
question. | have asked many who
! from buiness standpoint are in
favor of the saloons, yet morally
! they say it is wrong; even saloon
men admit this. Will man who is
really a man sell morals? Can 1T be
estimated with money? Is it not reas-
enable 60 conclude that he who would
sacrifice moral principle for money
would do any thing for enough of it?
God forbid that the people of Palat-
ka may be SO greedy for the al
mighty dollar as TO sacrifice moral
principle for it. By our vote on the
| 2Gth of this month we will show to
the world the moral standing of Put
nam county. Should it go wet we
will be mortified that old Put
nam with its churches and means Of
education is so low in morals as to
vote for saloons. Bradford county,
which | have often heard spoken of
us "a bad county, had moral princi-
pie enough in it to vote it dry by a
large majority, and so with almost
every other county, and shall our
beloved Putnam be disgraced?
Is not the saloon business too
mean business for you to engage
| in? Then why vote for another to
| do it. If it is too mean for you to do
| it is too mean for your town. Notice
the men who are spending their mon
ey for the wet side, are they not the
saloon aud drinking men who are
doing nothing to make the world
better morally or religiously and all
| for IL selfish motive? Who is it tax
| ing so much interest in the prohibit
ton side? Are not they an unseltish
| set who are trying to build up the
country in morals and religion and
to make men better in every way =?
Which set are you going to help on
election day? Gods people or the
DEVILS?
The saloons are drunkard man
ufacturies just as much so as
Selden's is II sash, door and blind
mandatory, and some of us
are now rearing the boys out of
which they will manufacture drunk
ards and keep the saloons going. 1t
may be yours. You had better help
the cause while you have opportuni-
ty and have no regrets. 1t would be
a sad day to me should one of my
boys take to drink, and much more
so should | know | helped to put the
temptation in his way. What may
be expected of Il boy who knows his
father drinks and advocates the
whisky trade. Open your eyes and
look around at some of the work the
business has already gotten in. |
would mention names but for hurt
ing the feelings of some who are now
! in great sorrow on account of it.
There is religious side to this
question. Will Il religious man vote
for saloons? No sir, by all means no.
Some who call themselves such may
do so. you cannot serve God and
|
ganization on earth it is in the sa-
looms. / have heard some of these
in Palatka called little hells, and
from what | have heard of them if
hell is any worse than that or even
as bad ] will try to see that / escape
that place. Will any decent man,
not even religious, vote to have such
places remain here? The saloons
are in perfect opposition to the
CHURCHES. On several occasions while
discussing the saloon business with
those who are favorable to them, |
have been shocked by having them
wind up by telling me how false and
untrue our church people are and
about hypocrites in the churches and
so on. / said: Gentlemen, if what
you say is true, that the saloons are
so good and the churches are so bad,
some of us have been making big
mistake. If it is true, then let us re-
move the churches and build more
saloons. And that is what some will
do on the Goth, vote to keep up the
the saloons and decrease the church
es. If I should disgrace my religion
in that way l would expect Gods
sudden Judgment on me.
Notice the means used by the sa-
loon people to win. Their campaign
committee have certain colored men
to call meetings of the colored voters
which take place with doors closed
to any known temperance people. If
their cause is a good and just one
why not have it free to all as does
the prohibition side?
hnI fAr N
open debate on this question, but
they fail to come up. They seem to
run this as they do the saloon bust
ness, that is, behind the screens, so
outsiders cannot get onto their bus
mess. The only meeting so far heard
of was among the cOlored people, and
they have hoodooed them pretty
well, from all accounts, with only a
few dollars to pay poll tax and a few
kegs of beer to distribute at the meet
ings. This l know to be true, as
some of us We're there and heard and
saw before we discovered that it was
a private meeting. l do not remem-
Der that | was ever more disappoint-
ed in a man or had such cause to lose
faith in the colored people, in whom
[ had had such great faith as re-
| ligious set, than on this occasion. l
saw certain class leader of the A.
M. e. Church, who had always i'm
pressed me as being a very intelli-
gent and pious man, advocating in
this meeting the whisky cause and
telling them how they could have
their poll tax paid for them. In
talking with him later about it he
said, yes he knew morally it was
wrong, but it would ruin business to
put the saloons out. l said to him,
and would like to say to every other
person who pretends to be religious
and advocates the whisky business,
that they are as bad as Judas, who
Gold 10, I nd Co n 20 mic IF cfl