The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1913-07-23

and nothing else. 1t reminds us of
the story of the thirty pieces Of silver.
No man among us all can read that
story, and go down TO the polls and
cast his vote the wrong way.
Figures have been gathered and
certified to which show that since the
abolishment of the dispensary in our
county, arrests for drunkenness in
50 per cent and that the actual con-
sumption Of liquor has decreased 20
per cent. Now the supposed profit
| that we realized from the dispensary
amounted in money TO about fifty
| thousand dollars per annum. Now
let us assume that the consumption
If liquor has only decreased by half.
| That reduces the net amount per
| annum we save for a more worthy
use to one hundred thousand dollars.
! This, remember, takes no account of
the many hundred thousand dollars
worth of energy, health and morals
| saved for us as a community.
During the saloon days here crime
| and disorder was as common and
conspicuous as it is now almost en-
| tirely stamped out. The dispensary
was all right as long as il lasted, for
we knew that it displaced a system
which was sucking the life blood
from large part of our population,
| giving us a hundred dollar cost in
energy, crime, insanity, and proverty
for every single dollar that it yield
ed in the right direction, but the first
| step only. We knew that it lessened
the consumption only because it re-
stricted the flow at the spring head.
We all hoped for and expected the
day when we might abolish the dis
pensary. That day has come, and
We know that the consumption of
liquor is again greatly reduced, be-
cause the old spring head is closed:
1t is but natural that we are impa-
ticnt that liquor is still used to a
great extent among us, and the cry
that many of us voice calling again
for the dispensary is the true mani
fest of impatience coupled with the
fact that we miss the revenue.
| Upon reflection. however we OBJ
serve that all true and lasting re.
forms are of slow but substantial
growth. We take for illustration the
great institution of Christianity. The
founder of Christianity taught
beautiful and simple creed Of broth
erly love, and his own life was lived
in no single departure from the
words of his lips. Nineteen hundred
years is a far cry in which to dis
prove the basic principles of Chris
tianity, but who among us can say
that the worlds human population
has not slowly but surely begun to
master the A. b. and Cs of the les
son of brotherly love.
1t is true that these long years
have bred generation after genera
|
as a whole, We know that each sue
ceeding generation has shown q
stronger mastery of truth and JUS
tice, and we all feel that all men
shall one day stand in the full white
light of truth. with no veil before
their eyes, and no barrier of hered-
itary human desire between their
hearts and the great and infallible
lesson of brotherly love.
How easy it is for us to frame this
dispensary question into a word pic
ture of human selfishness. For nine
teen hundred years our fathers have
been trying to master the lesson of
brotherly love. We have before us
here today a simple question of
whether or not we are living within
the fundamental law of Christianity
| If we engage in the liquor traffic for
| profit. Can we for one slight instant
voice a doubt as TO which side of
this question we belong. with nine
teen hundred years behind us of a
lesson that is great in it's simplicity.
and not yet learned? Do we fail to
see the striking resemblance be-
tween this picture of exploiting the
weakness of our fellow man for pro-
fit and the great and undying pic
ture of the thirty pieces of silver,
and the crucifixion?
NO. When we strip this question
OF all its vesture Of complexity, we
know it for what it is. We feel that
we know something about the state
OF mind Of the man who Went out
and hanged himself with a halter"
III the chance to vote on this dis
pensary question fails to put it right
squarely up to us as to what differ
enCe in valuation our DOint of Wow