Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-11-05
Letters From, the People
SEVENTH DAY ADVENTlSTS
OPPOSING LIQUOR TRAFFIC

The Sunday Capital Neys:-The
hundreds of Seventh day Adventists
scattered throughout this state are
making systematic campaign
against the liquor traffic, by
visiting thousands of homes and leav-
ing copies of a special temperance
number OF The Signs of the Times"
"a church publication. Other temper
ance literature is being distributed free
of charge in efforts to make prohibit
ton in Idaho permanent, by passing
the proposed amendment to the consti-
tuition at the coming election.
The seventh day adventist denom-
nation has a temperance society con-
sisting of its entire membership, as
one of the requirements before being
taken into church fellowship is that the
candidate shall be a total abstainer
l want to give you few thoughts
concerning our position toward the
liquor traffic. which will also be ap-
piicable to the prohibition question now
before the people of Idaho.
The American saloon Is a parasite,
and produces suicides, homicides, sor-
rowcides, and burnt out -insdes, and so
on" 1t is the nations great tape
WOliI, WHICH has ldSt6nGu llSGlI upon
the vitals of organized society. 1t
produces a national disease, and needs
a national remedy to effect cure. The
liquor traffic constitutes a great organ
ism. 1t Is made up of composite joints;
it has the saloon joint, the grill joint,
the gamblers joint, the white slave
joint, the dance joint, the sporting
joint. the red-light joint and the
criminal joint. Like the serpent, it
needs to be crushed, and the only way
to do it is to crush it's head.
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is
raging. and whatsoever is deceived
thereby is not wise" Prov. Xxx: 1.
Alcohol is a deceiver. 1t makes you be-
lieve you are warm when you are cold.
1t makes the drunkard believe that he
is strong whom he is so weak and I'M
stable that little child could push him
into the gutter. 1t makes him think he
is the strongest man in the country, the
champion puglist, the keenest bust
ness man, the most engaging orator
the richest lord. the finest citizen. and
tho greatest politician, when he is the
weakest. dullest, poorest and meanest
citizen on earth.
The saloon is consumer and waster
of all that is good and grand, and is
a producer of only irreparable evil. 1t
has no economic value which can pos
sibly accrue to the individual or the
nation in final results. The more 1t
induces a man to spend for booze. the
less he will have for shoes; the
more he spends for hops, the less
he Will have for crops; the more he
spends for wet goods, the less he will
have for dry goods; and the more he
gives the bartender and Tess he will
have for the coal vendor. The great
majority of people cannot support both
their families and the bartender;
therefore, they ought not to impover-
sh their families for the benefit OF the
bartender.
If you stick your finger in a mans
eye, he will wink; if you thrust it in
to his pocket he will shrink. The sa-
loon is a robber and an outlaw and
when ii thrusts its hands into the
American pocket and takes out two
billion dollars annually and returns no
equivalent, it is enough to cause the
American people to shrink, and to try
by pen, voice, and vote to stamp that
traffic out forever.
The liquor men say they are OPP
posed to drunkenness, and are in favor
of using the pen and voice in educat-
ing the people. as the legitimate means
of curing drunkenness. But instead Of
CO. operating with the temperance
forces in properly educating these
drunkards, they spend millions of dol
lars in preventing their educating.
They circulate literature and use the
billboards of the country to carry false
information and induce drunkenness
The liquor men have never yet issued
a single pamphlet for the benefit OF
the drunkard that he might overcome
his evil habits through education. II
they do not believe in making drunk
ards, and education is the proper cure,
why do they not produce "a phamphlet
that will cure drunkards, and spend a
little money in showing the terrible, ir-
reparable and irredeemable loss of
manhood and womanhood that follows
too free indulgence in Intoxicating
drink?
The salvation of one drunkard's life
and home from wretchedness and
ruin is of sufficient importance to
Justify the most heroic efforts and the
expenditure of millions of dollars. and
yet the liquor men put forth no effort
and spend no money to cure the drunk
ard of the evil habits which their bust
ness has caused him TO form. Instead
they spend thousands every year to
boost a business that thrives on the
making of drunkards, and on the etern-
al ruin of the souls of it's most faith
ful patrons. T. G. BUNCH.
Boise, Nov. 3. 1916.