Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1908-04-15
THE LIQUOR TRAFFIC..
a Curse TO State destroyer ofigIan-
B hood and Morality.
by ]. Russell wrlght.

For nearlM six thousand years the
history of the world has been writ
@ten in warm, red blood The sharp
point OF the sword had been the pen
which men had used to write their
names on the pages of history. Then
the nineteenth century came, and
with it the first daWning of true
civilization. The stdrdy men of
New England and the gallant hearts
or the South united in coalition
that in devotion to liberty made to
fremble the very, thrones of Europe
The morning twilight revealed a new
star In the constellation of nations.
The. heroes of seyenty-six;s who had
marked with crimson stain the SHOWS
sIof eight awful winters, laid broad
Mthe foundation stones of life and lib
II Rerty In the American republic. No
other nation has such heritage of
noble men to call forttyT6ble action.
America points WITH pride to Pat
rick Henry, who, by the thundering
OF his audacious sioquence, sent the
thrill of liberty pulsating through
the entire .aad; to Washington, who,
Dy hinshsnAtary genius, led the COM,
tine9tal armies to victory against the
strongest, best equipped nation of
the world at taht time; to Nathan
Hale, the martyr-spy Of the Reyolu-
2 ton. who, standing at the brink OF
his grave, exclaimed: "My only re-
gret is that have but one life to
give for my country!" sac S& fJ
A little while ago / stood on the
historic field of Valley Forge, where
the grandest heroism of modern
times was written in scarlet on the
Icy clods of the valley. For what?
For that golden principle Of Ameri-
can government, that the majority
of the people shall rule. Yet to-day
this principle, for which Washington
fought and Warren fell, is deliber-
ately and Systematically trampled
under foot. There are to-day over
eighty million people ruled by less
than six million. ss'
In obtaining the solution there is
one thing we cannot escape, and that
is that the American saloon Is the
first and foremost factor In degrad-
Ing and sapping the very life-blood
from the nations veins. The drink
2 bill In the United States in one year
; Is about twelve hundred million dol
& lars. 1t is more than Is paid for
bread, shoes and stockings, public
schools, sugar and molasses, home
and foreign missions combined. The
Z fact that the State and nation are
taking revenue from this curse out
y OF the profits Of dealers in this husi-
ness that destroys homes and immor-
fal souls, stands to-day, In my judg-
n'ent, as monument of Gods won
( derf"l mercy to us as people. We
must remember that while Gods
mercy endureth forever, His patience
will not last always. wonder that
we have not already seen the hand
writing on the wall; that we have
q not already been weighed in the bal
ance and found wanting.
IN ct
thousand people annually to drunk
ards graves and leaves 100000 wo-
men and children homeless. BE-
lieve that the man who stands be-
hind the bar and sells liquor Is in
Gods sight just as good and just as
pure as the church member who
votes for that kind of law. BY the,
vote of the people it becomes law;
therefore the seller Is engaged in q
lawful business, and the seller mea-
sures up with the community that
stands back OF him.
There have been more lives lost
from the wine cup within the last
ten years than from all the plaques,
the fires and the wars since the set
tlement of America We boast OF our
great nation, "the land OF the free
and the home Cf the brave" we are
!, proud OF her history, her institutions,
her churches, and her beneflcent in
+ fluences on national life. We point
to our halls of learning and our
/, great Libraries and museums Of art
and culture. Yet there recently
stood an institution In our own
State, under the shadow of the capt.
tol--the depot of thought. And
where are It's benefits? What are
Its fruits? Where shall we seek
them? Behold them in the prisons,
where dehauched manhood wears it.
self away; In the madhouse, where
the maniac howls In awful rage; on
the gallows, where life, enticed by
the sparkling cup, ends at last its
ill-fated career. First. last, and all
the time this liquor traffic Is fraught
with danger, pregnant with misery
and prolific of death
This liquor traffic Is not simply a
financial curse. 1t blights homes and
damns souls. 1t corrupts the ballot,
bribes legislation and tampers with
justice, and 1t Is with the red hand
of corruption and intimidation. 1t
says to the public official, "muzzle
your lips or I'll murder you politi-
cally," and he is dumb. 1t says to
the political party, you straddle
this question and secretly stab 1t, or
I'll kill YOU" and the party straddles
and stabs. 1t says to the politician,
"funkytrucle or | will hang your
hide In the warhall," and the angle
back truckles. Americans point
proudly to the Alamo as glorious
example Of heroism and tell us that
while Thermopylae had her messen-
ger Of defeat the Alamo had none.
All honor to American chivalry.
MAY the graves of her heroes he ever