The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1913-04-11
Does Milbank Need the
Saloon?

day night to a large and appreciative
audience. His argument was logical
convincing and conclusive. He proved
that the saloon was q positive menace
to the city of Milbank and country
around about from the standpoint Of
the moral and commercial life. "Come
now, and let us reason together
were the scripture found alton words
found in Isaiah lis.
He said in part:-"Every question
that has in it the thot Of the public
welfare may be settled in the light of
reason. The right of existence on
the part of any given institution or
enterprise must be founded upon Ger
tain basic principles, Namely: lit
must be honorable, 2-It must be
profitable both to the individual Oper-
ating it and the community in which
it is established. Sit must be q
necessity to the comfort and advan-
tage of the people in the community.
Unless said institution has TOR it's
foundation these fundamental basic
principles it cannot have any rightful
lace in any given community.
Is the public school honorable.
profitable, and neces ssity to the com.
fort and advantage of the community?
Yes. We welcome you then, public
school, to an honored place among
our American Institutions. Is the
home honorable, profitable, and a
necessity to the comfort and advantage
of this community? Yes. Hail thou
god ordained institution to an honored
place in our midst Is the church
honorable, profitable, and necessity
to the comfort and advantage of com
m unity: Yes. Welcome, thou sacred
institution, to high and honorable
place in our community life. Are the
merch antile establishments, the hotels,
the barber shops, the banks, the laun
dry, the meat markets, the lumber
markets, -four mill, the grain eleva-
tors, and all the other leg gitimate en-
terprizes honorable, profitable and "a
necessity to the comfort and advantage
of the community life? Yes. Then
we bid them a most hearty welcome
and give them an honored place.
Can the saloon stand the above test?
| IN in doubt. Let us see We will
place some of these institutions upon
the witness stand and let them answer
for themselves We will take the pub
lie school first. Public school what is
your raw material? Ans. Boys and
girls, young men and women. | am
of NO use without them. What is your
finished and completed product? Cul-
tured. refined, educated, trained eff
cient manhood and womanhood. Is
your finished product more valuable
than the raw material? Yes. We
want yon, We welcome you. We
will take the flour mill next. Flour
Mill, what is your power? Steam.
What is your raw material? Wheat
and corn. What is your finished pro-
duct? Flour and meal Is your fin
ished product more valuable than the
raw material? Yes. We need you
We bid you welcome We will take
the church next Church, what is
your power? The Divine Personal
God. What is your raw material?
Unredeemed, lost, stained sim
wrecked humanity What is your
finished and completed work? Re.
deemed, cultured, enobled, and per-
fected christian manhood and woman
hood. Is the finished work better
than the raw material Yes. We
cannot get along without you. We
need you We must have you. We
welcome you. We will now put the
saloon on the witness stand. Mr.. sa-
loon, what is your power? Ans The
legitimate American voter. | could
not get into business without his con-
sent and support. What is your raw
material? Ans. The bright promis-
! ing American boys and girls. can.
not run without them any more than
the school or the church can. Ifyou
keep your boys and girls out of nv
clutches must close up shop. can
not continue in usiness. If you want
me here you must send me your youth
aud not refuse when | ask for them
| What is your finished and completed
workmanship? Ans. Debauched, de.
graded, defrauded, drunken, damned
doomed manhood and womanhood.
Is the finished and completed product
more valuable than the raw material:
Weil-no. What is your finished
product worth? Nothing. There is no
place for it in the industries and pro-
fessions of the world. Nobody wants
it. Nobody will have it except the
police courts, jails, penitentiaries,
poor houses and asylums. the grave.
Can we consistently. say welcome to
such an institutions? No. Emphati-
cally no!
nO S0lOOn COSGo thlS SOuuUIt dIOu0
two billion five hundred million dol
lars per annum. That, ii put into
silver dollars. would give us a band
of silver two and one third times
around the earth If placed edge to
edge. If divided into salaries of q
thousand dollars each would give q
comfortable living to two million FIVE
hundred thousand men and their fami-
lies or twelve million souls. That
would mean that one seventh of the
population of the Uuited States could
be comfortably supported with the
money expended for the liquor traffic
The Spanish American war cost the
United States three hundred and fifty
million dollars. We conld support
seven Spanish American was each
year with the money spent for the sup
port of the liquor traffic, or one every
two months and an extra one thrown
in for good measure.
The saloon costs, in the sacrifice of
human life one hundred thousand
human souls each year in drunkards,
and sixty thousand each year in har-
e..