The Ohio organ, of the temperance reform., August 05, 1853, Page 230, Image 6

About The Ohio organ, of the temperance reform. (Cincinnati, [Ohio]) 1853-1854

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ia .Wjsqonsia. .JwatA
-uOuk readers are -already- advised
that the Legislature of this State hare
passed:,: stringent prbhibitory Jaw
ontainlng all the vital principles ,of
the lair of Maine j The people take a
iroteupon it in November next-, e, We
can not .doubt that the result will be
the same as ia other; States,)! So far
s,re are advised, but one.jKywf
fle State ,takes ground, against the
measure, and the weakness of ila ao
ticks will give strength to! the pause it
;poses.. This paper s the rt'Osh
kosh. Courier;' professedly a .Demo
cvatic sheet. The Editor attempts to
poor ridicule. Upou the measure, but
succeeds' only in securing contempt
for himself He loads his old musket
to the nuzzle, intending . that his
charge shall sweep 'away every thing
before it, but at the first fire, the only
result attained was to kick the silly
fellow over,. He goes off as follows:
"The Maine Liquor Law , is now. the
rage, . Scarcely four months will
have elapsed before that pestilential
disturber of the bono publico will be
among us, a cure-all to the over
worked and badly-governed race, of
humanity, who have suffered many
thousand years for the want of a
Maine Liquor Law." The poor soul
has no argument to offer but foams
and rants, about our free and happy,
peaceful and prosperous country un
der the reign of liquor, and expresses
his fears that the blessed state of
things is about to come to an eternal
stand by the introduction of a new
order of fanatical measures.
. Here is a taste of the dish served
up for the whisky boys: . ,.. t
"Our country has been advancing
with many strides peace, plenty and
prosperity have assumed the living
forms of guardian spirits, and have
directed us on in a career of happi
ness before unknown in Christian
lands; but we have ell along been
without the Maine Liquor Law. We
have risen to wealth, honor and dis
tinction, in our labor-race with the
world; but where would we have
been if each State had been fortunate
enough to have secured the panacea
of the Maine Liquor Law? We have
had the Statute Law, the Common
Law, the Lynch Law; but the Maine
Liquor Law, Heaven pity us, we have
not had. We have heard of the Law
of Moses, the Jewish Law, and the
old Roman Law; but nobody, till
lately, knew any thing' of the Maine
Liquor Law. There was, too, the
law of the Medes and Persians "that
altereth not" the law cf gravitation
and cohesion and above all the laws
of mind and matter; but there has
now arisen another law above all
these the Maine Liquor Law. Again,
we have the moral and physical law;
but not yet the "higher law" of all
the Maine Liquor Law. The truth is
it is becoming a Christian habit, now-a-days,
to prefer the advice and follow
the example of extremists.
"Ideas are worthless if they do not
reach a visionary elevation so far above
the ken of solid sense and reason as
to be wholly undistinguishable. There
must be a general flourish a kind of
moral monomania which is to drive
mankind to reforms like sheep to the
ibid. The Maine Liquor Law is in
every paper. It is talked about, legis
lated about, preached about, and
sung and whistled. The apple butter
of our good old mothers those poor,
tnisguided mothers of our revolution
ary days patriotic they were, but
misguided. Yes, the apple-butter and
the eider they used to twig, and the
apples, and the minpe pies, must all
goby the board; they must be thrown
into the moral filterer, the impeccable
Maine Liq'uor' Law. "'Thi next in the
sinless'progress of reform will be the
great Aoti-Putnkih ; Tie Society; and
of course : Common Schools, . must go
down, because they(-are common and.
even the common events of life must
be stopped,' and public Commons must
be got out of the way, Give us the
Mat" Liquor Law; and men will be
so great that they can walk oh the
top of the tallest pines and measure
flights With 'the eagle--but what can
we do now, being without the Maine
Liquor Law."' I nt 'i nl mr!ul to
: To the credit of the intelligent chit
sens of .Wisconsin, be it said, but one
such paper is1 sustained in the State.
"The Democrat," published also at
Oshkosh makes the following truth
ful and sensible remarks: . .i ,!,;. '(
, , "This measure is in reality of more
practical importance to the people of
this State than any or all the political
questions which have come before
them since our State has had a politi
cal existence. . :', UiU ,'", , -"It
is, we presume, a troublesome
matter to the mere politician, especial
ly that class who have given up all
other business, and devoted themselves
to the good of , the , dear people, and
have little capital to operate upon be
side an ability to harrangue the crowds
who assemble in bar-rooms and sa
loons. To such, we have no donbt,
it would be much easier to do battle
against the Ghost of the old United
States Bank, or some other such issue
which has been dead so long that the
mourners have all disappeared and
left none to resent the insult But
the beauty of the thing is that the
passage of the Maine Law will do
away with the necessity for all that
class of statesmen. Their "occupa
tion will be gone." 1 To the honest,
industrious citizen; to those who pay
our taxes, and support our Govern
ment, it is fraught with greater bless
ings than the mind can well conceive.
As a mere financial question it is of
more importance to the tax-payers of
this nation than any one that has di
vided the two great parties of this
country in twenty years. To the
thousands of victims of a depraved
appetite, who know themselves going
to destruction, but have not the power
to break away from the temptations
which surround them, it opens a door
of hope.
"To the Patriot, the Philanthropist,
the Christian- to every one, in short,
who cares for the welfare of his fel
low man, this subject appeals with a
force which may well banish all mi
nor questions, and engage all in one
grand struggle to banish intemper
ance, with its thousand evils, from our
State."
Progress of Iniquity.
The following nervous article is
taken from a Pittsburg paper. It is
one of a series contributed over the
signature of "Ion." read it for its
stern facts and impregnable arguments
against the Liquor traffic, and for. its
graphic and powerful style. Read it
and be convinced that no greater curse
than that of Intemperance can afflict
and degrade our countrymen:
"Next comes the 'Rumseller, (the
father of the Sampsons of iniquity
'Intemperance,,) with the eighty-four
millions of distilled damnation sold
per annum in the United States.
Stand up, thou brow-branded, Cain
like Rumseller 1 Stand up befoe the
bar of public opinion, and hear the
charge I bring against thee "Thou
art a murderer, a murderer above the
laws." I have proved this charge
from his own infamou3 books upon the
art of adulteration of liquors, and 1
will prove itagain have proved it by
analysis of his. liquors, made by scien
tific men, by tbe.RumselJer's own tes
timony; and 1 by ' cloud of witnesses';
and will prove it again. ' 'Would you
have more.testimonyl,: Then; let the
departed visit the green earth again. ..
. Break the turf above your mould
ering homes, ye host of drUnkaraW
shake off the grave dust from your
crumbling brows l and stalk into court
in your tattered : shrouds and bony
whiteness and testify against him. ; Say
Unto him as Nathan said unto the
royal murderer 'thou' art the man;'
Come down from the gallows ! thou
rum-maddened man-slayer-grip the
bloody knife .again, and stagger into
court, and testify against him. Say
unto him as "Nathan said unto the
royal murderer, 'thou art the man '
Crawl from the slimy 'ooze, thou
drowned, drunkard victim, and with
suffocation's blue and livid lips, testi
fy against him. Bring that rum de
ranged suicide into court with bis
throat cut, and let the dripping gore
drops testify against him. 1 Make way
forthat frost stiffened corpse, there,
'Tis the drunkard's wife, driven from
her fireside to die in the snow storm.
Let the frozen tear on her pale and
icy cheek, testify againsthim. Break
thy seal of silence, thou unrelenting
past, and let the shrieks and groans of
his dying victims come back, wailing
down upon the night-winds to testify
against him. ! Unrol and read thou re
cording Angel, the murder indict
ments against him, which thou hast
written in the book of God's Remem
brance, to testify against him. Snap
our Durnmg cnams, ye spirits aamneu
v alcohol, and rush ud. all sheeted in
fire and dripping from the blazing
waves of hell, and testify againsthim
plead 'plead like angels, trumpet
tongued, against the deep damnation
of your taking off.'
. God made man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him.
Who, with impious and polluting hand,
defaces the image and supercription of
his maker, and stamps him with the
counterfeiting die of the Devil? Al
cohol. Man by nature walks erect
litfs his forehead to the stars-power
and dominion have been given to him
over all the creatures of the earth he
is nature's King? Who breaks his
sceptre of authority takes from him
his imperial crown, and degrades him
below the brute t Alcohol. Who de
stroys his reason, 'hides her bright
beams in mystic clouds that roll around
the shattered temple of the bouI, cur
tained in midnight? Alcohol.' Who
pollutes his heart, and robs it of every
noble and generous emotion! Alcohol.
Who makes him a madman and then
lashes and halloos on the mad pack of
his vilest passions? Alcohol. Who
fills our jails with felons, and hangs
iron trembling wretch upon the gal
owst Alcohol. Who crowds our
alms houses with paupers, our hospi
tals with disease, and our grave yards
with dead? Alcohol.
Does any of you want to be a fool
nay, worse, become the jibe and
derision of fools? Let him drink li
quor. Does any of you (I don't care
how proud and virtuous you are,) does
any of you want to be a rascal with a
hang-gallows look, or become a low,
vulgar blackguard? Drink liquor. ' ;
If you are a father, do you want to
see your children ragged and ignorant
growing up young candidates for
the penitentiary and gallows? Drink
liquor. If you are a son, and you
want to pay with black ingratitude the
debt you owe your parents, and bring
down their reverend grey hairs in sor
row to the grave, drink liquor. If you
are a husband, and you want to steal
all the beauty from your sweet wife's
face break her ' heart make her
-wretched, and perfectly miserable,
drink liquor. Do any of you want to
lose the property you have gathered
together by the sweat of your brow,
as a home for your wife'ahd li'ttle ones
and a retreat id bid 'sgefDrtok'H-i
Siuor.v Do any of 'you want it work
or the devil., tn4 6n4 yourselves W
at best,' get paid, off jn the, wages Oof
sin,, which is death? Drink liquor r-r
If you want to pa j V' high' premium
for being" poisoned,' drink liquor. - If
you want to bid an i eternal farewell
to your freedom .and bei a (greater
(lave than was ever , lashed at inighjt
to his dungeon, drink liquor, .jqu,
want to exchange a healthy 'body, 'so
fearfully and Wonderfully made,'"' fof
a disease cursed ;frame,' that a demon
would scorn to inhabit, and the soul
quite in disgust, drink liquor, (l.ljpp
want to blast with disease your body,
from head to heel sweep 1 every line
where manly beauty lingers, and early
heap the clay upon -a fouK mass of
corruption, more .disgusting than the
leprosy of John and Namaan, or the
Sores of Lazarus, drink liquor. If you
want to go to the grave 'unwept ilD
honored, and unsung and let infamy
there spread her sable plume,! ana
fling its blackness o'er a drunkard's
tomb,' drink body-blighting spirit-
dammng liquor ,f ; J
More than fifty- thousand drunkards
die every year in the United States
rom the direct effects of 'Alcohol.
This is no loose guess, y I always
stick to my text, and fire close to the
mark when I drive in an argument, or
clinch it with the proof , I base my
estimate upon the other' register" of
bid king Alcohol himself. 1 bare a
list of one hundred and : thirty-five
men, who died regular drunkards in
the short period of sixteen years, in
my native county, and the lower edge
of the next county, in Maryland.' In
my. list are Ministers, class leaders,
doctors, lawyers, planters, farmers,
mechanics and laborers. In my na
tive county one hnndred and twelve
men died regular drunkards o sixteen
years, .seven per annum,' or One! to
every four hundred and forty-four
inhabitants; at the same rate pur
present population of twenty three
millions, give us fifty one thousand
drunkards killed every year by the
direct effects of alcohol, to say no
thing of the indirect effects of liquor
in producing disease and shortening
the period of human life. I know aQ
about alcohol the disease it produces
and how it produces them because it
is my business to know, and I fear
lessly say, and defy a successful con
tradiction, that .the i side I stabs by
blows the indirect effects of alcohol,
kill more than die regular drunkards.
I have drank cjd Madeira out of silver
goblets with the proudest in the land,
and bolted awful bad whiskey with ' ft
rum-swilling skunk in ft dirty doggery.
I have wandered about and lived in
various parts of Maryland, and 1 have
seen just as many grogshops and
drunkards as I ever saw in my native
county. I have lived in five States
and traveled in twenty others, and I
have seen more men 'drink rum and
become the derision of fools' elsewhere
than I ever saw in my native county.
My estimate, therefore, is not only
perfectly correct as far ps it goes, bat
it is actually under the truth.
Fifty-one thousand men, (more than
died at Cannae or at Waterloo,) killed
every year. in the United States, by
alcohol I 'He that hath ears to hear let,
him hear,' and 1st this awful figured fact
fall on his startling ear like the solemn
warning of a death-bell, and let each
say for his soul's sake, 'Oh! God--shield,
ohl shield me in the hour: of
temptation from fiery 6ting of alcohol.
Oh I let me not die the deatb of a drunk
ard, not let my last end be like his.
Like the deadly simoon that sweeps
across the desert, bliehting and blast
ing all before its path, the more dead
ly simoon of alcohol sweeps over our
beautiful land, and the high, and the
low, and the proud and humble, have