The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1907-03-21
temperance and the state.

brevity of my paper today,
does not permit a proper disqui-
sition of this feature, but l do state
that in my unchallenged opinion, the
Federal Government, in the enactment
OF certain and numerous statutes, to-
gether with similar action ON tie part
of the states themselves, battle our ef-
forts Of freedom from the whisky and
beer evil, more than do our imported
appetites, or mans own perfdy.
Many, If not every hearer today, will
probably expect me to attack the sa-
loonkeeper in good old-fashioned form
Butt break no vial of wrath to do
him honor, and refrain from following
set rules in this matter. In the 6rst
place his business is strictly legitimate,
and one may not, with impunity, assail
an enterprise conducted by men in pos
session of special government permits.
Then again the saloonkeepers are, in
great majority of cases, the best citi-
zens in their respective communities.
No, [ have nothing whatever against
the saloonkeeper, for he is simply the
government tool-an official who main
tains the distributing bureaus for the
Internal Revenue Bureau at Washing
ton. Our United States Congress is
short sighted, really mean, inasmuch
as it does not designate an official uni
form for this one of its very important
functionaries-the saloonkeeper where
ever he may operate. Tho for many
years my patronage of saloons has been
mere trltle, in my home town, I have
ever been on good terms with the man
who makes associated charities neces-
sity. Even the saloOnkeeper himself
does not like the business, and many a
one of them has told me that he wished
he had never engaged in it,
Let me read clipping from a west
ern paper, in which a saloonkeeper
warns his customers, in the following,
printed on cards. These words come
from one who knows whereof he talks,
and arrest the attention of every right
thinking man: "Friends and Neigh
bors: l am grateful for past favors and
having supplied my store with a fine
line of choice liquors, allow me to in
form you that 1 shall continue to make
drunkards, paupers and beggars for the
sober, industrious, respectable part of
the community to support. My liquors
will excite riot, robbery and bloodshed.
"They will diminish your comforts,
increase your expenses and shorten life.
l shall confidently recommend them as
sure to multiply fatal accidents and in
durable diseases.
"They will deprive some OF life, 9TH
ers of reason, many of character and all
of peace. They will make fathers
tiends, wives widows, children orphans
and all poor. will train your sons in
infidelity, dissipation, ignorance, lewd-
ness and every other vice. l will cor
rupt the ministers of religion, obstruct
the gospel, defle the church and cause
as much temporal and eternal death as
l can. will thus accommodate the
public'-it may be at the loss of my
never-dying soul. But have family
to support, the business pays and the
public encourages it.
81 have paid my license and the traffic
is lawful, and if don't sell it some
body will. know the Bible says:
Thou shalt not kill, no drunkard shall
enter the kingdom of heaven aud do
not expect the drunkard maker to fare
any better, but want an easy living
and have resolved to gather the wages
of iniquity and fatten on the ruin of
my species.
81 shall, therefore, carry on my busi-
ness with energy and do my best to di-
minish the wealth of the nation and
endanger the safety of the state. AS
my business fiourishes in proportion to
your sensibility and ignorance, will
do my best to prevent moral purity
and intellectual growth.
"Should you doubt my ability refer
you to the pawnshop, the poorhouse,
the police court, the hospital, the peni-
tentiary and the gallows, where you
will find many of my best customers
have gone. A sight of them will con-
vince you that I do what say.