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*mr~‘ t :.- i, _ r . ;;;; ;■~ ' -, ■ - ._ . ■ set bv this well-nigh shameless and truly odious aggregation of human freaks is not in danger of emulation elsewhere, and any suggestion that there is occasion for alarm on the part of those determined STRONG STAB AT PROHIBITION. If the prohibitionists forbid the pleasure of tak ing a drink, then they prove that they deem them selves wiser and better than God Almighty himself, who created the vine and taught Xoali the making of wine. They prove that they imagine themselves to be greater and higher than Christ, who turned water into wine and celebrated the “Lord’s Sup per" with bread and wine. They forget that Paul said to Timothy: “Drink wine for the sake of your stomach. ’ ’ But any encroachment on the divine service and its various institutions is a violation of the religious liberty of our country. The Catholic priest uses wine at the altar; the Protestant celebrates his func tions with wine and bread; and the most orthodox Jew enters upon the religious duties of the Sabbath with prayers and wine. If the prohibitionists prefer to exclude alcoholic drinks from the functions of their divine services, well and good, and no. objection on our part to that. I do not want to abuse the laws of God and the teachings of His Scripture. On the other side, it seems to me not more than right to protest against any interference with our customs on the part of others. What are these men, who send out such invita tions, after; Do they want to irritate and poison the public mind by stuffing the columns of our press with their venomous and silly misrepresentations? Do they want to trample the sacred and constitu tional rights of personal liberty, freedom and man hood under their uncompromising walking sticks? Let me cite right here an extract from an address of Abraham Lincoln, made in April, 1864: “The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people just now are much in want of one. We all declare for lib erty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name, lib erty. And it follows that each of the things is, by THE REASON to preserve the purity and integrity of the white race, is in itself a grave affront to the white people as a whole. By ARTHUR KOENIG. the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names -liberty and tyranny.” How beautifully does this language lit the con ditions of our lift 1 today. Have our learned friends on tin* other side any real and correct conception of tht' word liberty; is their doctrine, their creed and Christianity based upon the fundamental laws of our constitution, freedom and individual happiness, or is the suppression of the liquor traffic, as insisted upon by the prohibitionists, a tyrannical measure, incompatible with the decency of an intelligent and self-governing people .’ ’flit' making of wine dates back as far as the creation of earth, and the brewing of beer originated with flit' old Egyptians many centuries before Chris tianity came in the world. The use or abuse of either wine or beer has killed since only those that deserve to be killed; intemperate, degenerate, good for nothing debauchees. Others relish the gift of God in a temperate manner and resent the intrusive interference of those who claim to be better ami wiser than their fellow men. This will a 1 wavs « remain so and all the reverends in the world cannot change it. Moreover, I know many a man of the latter class who openly enjoys a good glass of beer, wine or whiskey when lie sees it, and nothing fear ful is thought about it. Why should there be? Germany, England and France represent the most intelligent nations of the world, and they are all drinkers. It does not seem that the Lord has ever contemplated to destroy these people for their sin of drinking! Nor has the church ever banished a decent saloonkeeper or declined his pecuniary con tribution. Never! And among those that played big parts in the progress and development of the time, in science, in art, in war and in peace, in pol itics and in literature, there were no teetotallers to be found. Even the silver tongued Henry Ward Beecher (God bless his innocent soul) abhorred pro hibition and often enjoyed a drink of Extra Dry with Ladv Tilton. •/ The brewers, malsters and distillers of the United States consume in the products of the farmers every year over one hundred and fifteen millions of dol lars; they pay in license, revenue and other state, 9