St. Johns review. (Saint Johns, Or.) 1904-current, 1908-05-22
WHY WE HATE IT.

troubles, his joys and sorrows.
Some of them we have found as
honest and upright in their dealings
as any man living. More than can
be said about some church members
we know. But this does not justi-
fy his business, nor does it con-
demn the church, because some
hypocrites gain admittance therein.
There is as much difference be-
tween a church member and a
christian as there is between a sa-
loon keeper and preacher. Some
times more difference.
Personally we have seen so much
of the evils of the liquor business
during the past 80 years, so much
Of its economic waste, so much of
its physical ruin, so much of its
mental blight, so much of its tears
and heartaches, so much of its bro
ken homes and destroyed happiness,
so many of its idiots and insane, so
many Of its orphans and invalids,
without a single redeeming feature;
that we have come to regard the
business in the light of the judg
ment of the supreme court in de-
cision handed down last year, that
IL Is unconstitutional, that IL is not
n legitimate business aud that re-
ally no city or town, nor has the
United States a constitutional right
to license any man to operate a sa-
loon.
While we bear no malice toward
the saloon keeper we hate the bus
mess. We have been a careful
observer OF saloon men. We are
surprised that they are not more
depraved. We are surprised that
we find men OF integrity among
them. Men whom we may trust.
Their temptations are such that we
are surprised that they do not all
do everything under the sun IN
order to increase their revenue.
We make laws imposing a high
license 10 sell the liquor to make
men drunk, then we make another
law to fine the saloon keeper for
selling to him IL he is drunk.
Some OF course pay no attention to
the latter law, but there are others
we have seen who obey this law to
the letter; we have observed them
refuse liquor to men who were
under its influence. There are
some saloon keepers who are hon.
est Every saloon man in this
city has paid us every dollar they
owed us except one firm. All
others have been honest. That Is
more than we can say OF some
church members. Thus we "give
the devil his due" But this does
not say that we endorse the saloon
keeping business.
We hate the business as the dev.
u is said TO hate holy water. We
hate its every phase. We hate its }
intolerance, its arrogance. its hyp-
Dcrisy, its cant, craft and false pre- {,
tense. We hate Il for its greed !,
and avarice, taking the baby's
shoes TO pay for the fathers drink. y
We hate IL for its sordid love OF y
gain at any price, making its mon s
y out OF the lives and souls OF its :
lebauchees. We hate 1t for its "
dominion in politics, where il new
7 fails to use its club in any way
hat will further its ends. We n
late It's corrupting influence in civ %
c affairs, where Il brlbes judges, Al
orrupts juries, procures ialse wit, il
esses, having no conscience to OF
estrain its actions. e,
We hate il for the towards il d,
makes of public men. for its utter o,
isregard of law, for its ruthless N
upon the solemn com Y,
acts OF state and national consti- "
ntions. We hate /, for the load n
straps upon labor's back, for the ii,
alsied hands il gives to toll, for its ~
Wounds to genius, for the tragedies a,
{ the might-have-beens. We a
ate IL for the lives OF men and Sc
women that il has sent out in dark a,
ess, We hate il for the aims ca
ouses IL peoples, for the prisons il er
lis, for the insanity il begets, for il,
IS countless graves in the potters in
elds. We hate il for its spiritual m
light, its moral degradation, its M
rimes without number crimes ca
gainst nature, crimes against God, OF
carts it has broken, homes it has in
estroyed, for the malice il has
IMPLANTED in the hearts OF the men
has poisoned, for the strangled
opes, the scalding tears, the bit 20
,rness OF despair OF helpless wo- pe
lanhood under its curse. oe
We hate 1t for its heartless cru W.
ty to the aged, the inhrm, the o'
elpless little children, for its mon as
rous injustice TO the widows and -
Iameless orphans over which i, o'
lrows its blighting shadows, 'nl
eedless OF their streaming eyes si'
id crushed hearts. We hate it as
! virtue hates vice, as truth hates ui'
ror, as justice hates wrong, as Oh
Derty hates tyranny, as freedom ",
ltes oppression. Great God of 's'
,avenl Is there any reason why sn s
an should not hate this hideous, 'h'
'dra-headed monster, the enemy Wv
the home, the fireside, the nation, oe'
c very souls of the unborn babes
! whose existence we are to pre-