The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1907-07-31
The Lexington Dispatch.
wednesday, Jnly 81. 1907.
a Further Examination Of the.
Whiskey Question.


To the Editor of The Dispatch:
have just read the reply of Mr..
Justice in The Dispatch of July 10,
and believe that it calls for more re-
marks even tho he is ready to close
the controversy. I don't care any
thing about how great I am, but as to
the laws of thought and the rules OF
the Syllogism, I profess to know them
and for him to say the invalidity OF
my premises is too plain to need point
ing out, can hardly be called anything
more than ssblufing." I wrote my
first article because it seemed to me
utter presumption on the part of the
Dispensary Board to establish dis
pensary where they admitted, "the
petitioners opposed to the dispensary
were very much in the majority" l
signed my name, Zone Who Favors
Whatever is Right . because try to
maintain. that attitude towards every
question. I have convictions, but if
any man can show am wrong, Ihope
Ihave the manhood to confess it.
There are many eYiis in the world and
/ generally give my voice against
them; but as to the whiskey question,
had said so little upon the subject,
that began to think maybe l was
afraid oft. However that may be, l
want to sayI am now fighting the
giant whiskey, the paramount evil OF
this nation, and 7 am ready to hit
him with all my might.
Let me give you an account of the
Giants birth. ] know his birthplace
lit is the whiskey still. Imagine all
the whiskey stills combined into one
great still and visit it for yourself.
There are thousands and thousands of
bushels of wheat, rye, and barley on
one side and, perhaps, an equal guam
tisy of peaches, apples, and such like
on the other side. In short, you find
some of the most useful products of
the land and in such enormous quan-
titles that noted writer on Physi-
ology says it raises the price OF these
products. There are thousands of
poor people reaching and crying for
this food, but they cannot get it..
Wickedsmen take it and beat it up
and distill it into whiskey. and give
these hungry people, whiskey instead
sof bread. They need bread, but re-
ceiye something worse than stone.
But now I ask, is it right to use, the
products Of the land in this way? l
don not believe God has placed them
here for this purpose, and it is a sin
toase them in this way. We have no
right to destroy any material that
God has placed here, but anything so
dangerous as whiskey made from ma
terial SO wholesome as peaches and
apples ought to be destroyed. Talk
about law to protect the forests of
3 thesland, but why do you not talk
about a law to protect the products OF
the land against the whiskey fiends?
5 But let ussnotiee further the effects
Sof whiskey. In my other article I
made the statement: Whiskey is a
dangerous thing, and I am not afraid
that anybody viii see the inyalidity
sof that premise Any temperance
lecturer can take up an hour showing
YOU cases in which it proved danger
sons. could spend all the remainder
of my life gathering facts of this kind
aud would never be able to exhaust
the material. Shakespeare in por-
traying the ways of the Roses, pic
lures this scene: A son who has
killed his father comes in dragging
the dead body and throwing it down
he looks upon, the upturned face
bloody and cold in death, ard ex-
claims in anguish:
20 God! it is my fathers face,
Whom in this conflict l unawares
have killed,
Oheavy times, begetting such deeds"
Shakespeare pictures this scene as
the very climax of horror in the wars
of the Roses and yet whiskey has
brought about this same climax.
About two weeks ago, there was
drinking in certain family, and the
son killed the father, and we exclaim
how dreadful is whiskey which brings
about such unnatural deeds! You
may talk about whiskey not causing
people to violate the Decalogue, but
am certain that whiskey causes people
to violate every one of the Ten Com
mandments and every other righteous
law in existence. Whiskey is far
more dangerous than I am able to de-
scribe to you.
1t is said the time was when our
a Il II