Pocahontas star herald., 1908-09-04
SUFFER- NO STAIN ON THE FLAG

stain on the flag? Go ask the gray
headed mother who is going to the
grave in sorrow and shame for the
boy-her boy-whose life is a
blight, who is going to drunkard's
hell. Go ask the wife whose "love
is changed to despair and her pride
into shame" Go ask the children
"whose laughter is stilled on their
lips and the music of the home is
stifed and filled with silence and
desoIation " Go ask the "boy,"
the husband, the father, whose
body, mind and soul are wrecked.
Hear all say: why, oh, why does
the Government allow this thing?
Why is 1t the largest partner in
this awful traffic of human life?
Why are they sending humanity to
death and drunkard's hell? Who
is the government? You, gentle
men; you, the voter. Hear what
Abraham Lincoln said in '54-55:
"The saloons and the liquor traffic
have defenders but no defense. Law
! is not for the protection of evil.
Law is for the protection, conserva-
tion and extension of right things
of right conduct, not for the protec-
ton of evil and wrong-doing. Never
attempt to license the evil Again
hear him; CATER reconstruction,
the next great question is to over
throw the liquor traffic" Where is
the great man who will rise in the
presidential chair and do it? We
had hoped that Theodore Roosevelt
would have been the David to strike
down this Goliah. But alas, not
one word has come from this young
giant, this man who has not been
afraid to strike against SO many
evils. One billion, four hundred
and ten million, two hundred and
thirty six thousand, seven hundred
and two dollars, or three million,
eight hundred and sixtY-three thous-
and, six hundred and sixty-two dol
lars per day! ga sum that would
buy fifteen barrels of -four per head
for any man, woman and child in
the nation. We pay every year for
our drink bill a billion dollars more
than the public debt of the United
States. Every % years the whole
product of man and Nature in this
nation in annihilated by rum bills
alone and we have to begin over
again. Stop our national liquor
bill and with the saving of this
alone the wealth Of this nation will
double in twenty-five years"
We have 100000 habitual
drunksrds, 100, 900 each year going
into drunkards' graves, 200, 900
widows and orphans. We cannot
tolerate the tears, shames, heart
aches, murders, crippled children,
imbeciles, insane, despair, damna-
tion. God records them-"He who
sitteth in the heavens is not Knocked;
what we SOW that we shall reap.
Oh, men. Men, arouse yourselves;
strike the blow that will kill this
Infamous business. Vote 1t out.
Will you do it? Let Arkansas be
the ninth state to enter the list Of
honor by putting from us this great
evil, aud thus save the boys of our
state.
We urge you to do all in your
power to keep the saloon from our
midst, and ask that you NOT only
vote against it yourself but influence
Others to do the same.
We appeal to the young men of
our state-those who this year cast
their first vote. We ask you to re-
member the temperance instruction
received in our public schools, and
in the light of the knowledge you
have of the pernicious effects of
alcohol, vote to keep it out.
Have an opinion. Don't dodge.
Be sure to cast your ballot in such
way that you will be proud of it
years hence.
Gather in your mind all the long
procession of voters for license,