Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-17
Reply to Charles Wooster.

YORK, Oct. Ito the Editor OF The
Bee: I regret that the article which drew
the reply from Charles Wooster was not
also given to the public. Mr.. Wooster
says:
When speaking of the liquor business
Rev. Mr.. Harrison says: TT is squarely
arrayed against all our great ministerial
of their opposition. The preachers cannot
brook the idea that the saloon should be
preferred to the church. They look upon
1t as a rival; their hearts are fired with
Jealousy and their mouths pour forth
vttuperation and abuse. To their mind
tho church should dominate, socially and
politically; they and their satellites should
sit in the high places. feed off the fat of
the land and WELD the baton of power.
! Our friend has approached the subject
with the wrong key. 1 never said minis
terial prosperity; the printer said It. l
said material prosperity. l think he is the
only one to take it seriously. He takes a
good deal of comfort pounding a man of
straw. Now, as to personal liberty as re-
lated to liquor. Isn't there enough of it?
Can't a man get all he wants and use
what he wants? l know of no law against
it. We don't say t never should be used,
Some of our best doctors prescribe it. THAI
is not the question.
Back of it all is the plea for the saloon.
W III a NohliAN los W lbON lie lhNlltliAdl
I damages of the saloon, which is often very
heavy, they have a right to say whether
II should exist or not. So we favor county
option.
The saloon is the worst menace to our
land. 1t is a continuous evil and evil
comes out of it all the time. I am an old
man and have watched II closely all these
years. 1t is poison. Our friend thinks I
am down on the foreigners. BY no means.
AS a nation we are under a great
debt TO many Of them. How loyalty they
adopted their new land and how CALAMITY
they fought for our flag. Some OF my
dearest friends are foreign born. I think
we do not appreciate highly enough their
fidelity. industry and intelligence. When
they come to help we give them the glad
hand. When they come to mar or 10
spoil. that is another thing. Let us look
at the bare facts. Most of the brewers
and saloon keepers are of foreign birth.
They are not like their noble neighbors.
They don't like to work. They prefer to
live without II. So they go into the liquor
business. Yes, IT is a foreign invasion and
it is terrible. This army is killing 100, OOl
a year and wounding some 10000 more.
II costs 1900, 10000 to support this bust.
ness. We. as a nation. pay it.. Mothers
raise up boys with untiring care and ten
derness, TO have them ruined by this great
army. Never anything like IT. Other In
vasions We fight. If we resist this we
are overwhelmed with curses. I know the
spirit of the whole thing. 7 am a law
abiding citizen, yet my life has beer
threatened time and again. I have had
letters with those mysterious skulls and
crossbones and an exhortation to get ready
g. , HN- NVaaw.N TH-a -.la ,aaA aNawNal
out TO kill me, but, as I remember, they
didn't succeed. I have known numerous
churches to be burned. 7 saw those three
houses wrecked in Muscatine a few years
ago. and men dared to lift their voices
against the violation OF law. Three saloon
henchmen stole three cans of giant pow,
der and placed them under the houses,
In them were sixteen men. helpless women
and little children. What did they care?
The beautiful homes were frightful
wrecks. In a neighboring town s1 enter
prising young man dared 10 utter an opin-
ion about the saloon and five horses were
poisoned in revenge.
The saloon is poison. Would even a
brewer want one near his palatlal man
sion? Docs a prosperous country need
such a place to debauch their sons?
Here IS York. In the early days we
fought 10 the finish. I happened TO be
chairman Of the executive committee, and
the committee was much alive. Threaten
a man with death and IL there Is a drop
OF revolutionary blood in his veins he will
do something he can die for. York IL one
OF the most prosperous towns IN the state.
Lots are going UP and 20 are buildings.
The number Of new fine homes is some
thing amazing. Ordinarily we would have
ten saloons and they would cost, n they
did anything, $4,000 = year, We save that