Middletown transcript., 1907-11-02
fComunicstedl

tOomunicstedl
To THE MEDDLErowN TRANscRipr:--
When addressing no-Iicense meeting
IN the aliddletown Hall one night last
week, / took occasion to say that l was
credibIy informed that Mr.. Harry West,
late Of Middletown, had addressed one Of
the drunken orgies of criminal negroes,
lately held at Odessa, through the in
strnmpntalities of the promoters OF the
whiskey license campaign. Mr.. West
came to me the next day, assuring
me that had been nlisinformed,
and further stated that whatever his
fanIts, he had never done anything &c
base and ignoble as that, and requested
me 10 right the wrong suclI impntaiion
had PM upon, him, ! want to say that !
have 80 desire or inclination 10 hurt him
of any une else. have been unable to
prove the correctness Of the statement
make 10 me, and by me repeated, aud l
am b'i5ed to accept his own statement
as bei.,g trne. Certain il il, If his state
ment lie trne, and he was wrongly accus.
e 4. he has just cause for complaint.
II il hard to conceive how any man,
with yet one latent spark or element OF
lpcency in him, could look upon The
SCENES lately enacted, and still being en-
acted before our eyes. by the promoters
Of the saloon campaign, without feelings
Of hnrror and disgust, saying nothing OF
the di-grace Of participating in them. II
there was one item Of evidence wanting
to prove the saloon breeder of crime,
the advocates OF license have furnished
it themselves right here in Middletown
aud Odessa, open and before all; And
what they are doing here, they are doing
all over the State. Whatever ones
attitude may be towards that which
We ell temperance, whatever ones
attitude be upon the propriety Of
taking drink on the one hand, or the
duty OF total abstinence on the other,
yet. upun you and me alike rests the
solemn obligation of striking down the
institution that is openly making dead
ly thrust at the very foundations Of free
government.
They have herued together the ignorant
and criminal classes OF every community
debauching them with rum and money.
Lave before me now, some Of their cam
paign literature which they have distri-
buted by the ton among.the mostignorant
negroes, warning them that vote against
license means the tnrning themselves
againsinto bondage with the manacles OF
the slave upon their limbs and the bay
of bloodhound upon their trail'. Warn.
ing them that the very church of Christ
is in conspiracy with their political
enemies to carry out these diabolical
ends; and this for the one purpose OF
destroying their confidence in their own
ministers, and exciting in them passion
and hate towards decent men, and OBJ
Iiterating in them all fear of the judg-
ments of God.
II after this campaign the criminal
negro is found more indolent, more in
-olent, more criminal, We will not need
10 look far for the cause. Ii We reap a
whirIwind as a result of this sowing to
the wind, we need not be surprised. It
is hard to believe that the self-respect-
ing aud thoughtful people of the State
will fail in their duty to strike down
this infamous effort to defeat their will.
The question of license is the issue un-
der the pleadings. But under the facts
now developed it has resolved itself in
to the question as to whether or not
the saloon shall be permitted to remain
through majority obtained by criminal
methods; and whether or not the ignor-
ant and criminal voter shall be permit
ted to hold and exert the balance OF
the will Of large majority of the Of
law abb ling and intelligent pSople
the State. For it must be borne in
mind that every criminal in the State Of
Of Delaware, if lined up at all in this
fight, is lined up on tile side OF the
saloon.
MARTIN B. BURRIs