GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



God bless Jowa iiud all the corn-j: rowing 

 States. If the good people away off across 

 the Avater, instead of. killing off their boys 

 and girls, and men and women, would use 

 their time and energies and intelligence in 

 something like curn-growing, what a happy 



world this might be just now! On the con- 

 trary, while I write I suppose there are 

 hundreds and thousands who are shedding 

 ■ their life's blood in an unaccountable desire 

 to cul each utlier to pieces. May God help 

 us. 



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TEMPERANCE 



"OHIO ])KV;" NATION-WIDE PROHIBITION, 



ETC. 



I hardly need say to our Ohio readers, 

 and perhaps to a great part of the people of 

 the United States in general, that just now 

 the good people of Ohio are massing their 

 energies as never before to drive intoxicants 

 entirely from our State, and to put at least 

 one more State among those that have al- 

 ready adopted prohibition. Judging from 

 past experience, and some sad and bitter 

 experience, our great foe, and I might say 

 our very greatest foe, is the indifference and 

 stupidity of i^eople Avho ndgJit vote if they 

 would just take the pains to do so. When 

 we get things up to such a point that every- 

 body votes one way or the other, we shall 

 achieve a big victory. Two years ago, when 

 we failed ignominiously, it was found by 

 careful search that thousands of good men, 

 through indifference or pure laziness, did 

 not go to the polls at all; and the saddest 

 part of it is that those who did not vote 

 were, by far the largest part, temperance 

 people. The reason is very apparent. The 

 wets made such a thorough canvass that they 

 got hold of every man Avho could possibly 

 be urged, by fair means or foul, to vote. 

 They are doing this again and again. Here 

 in our own county of Medina, people excuse 

 themselves from going to the polls by say- 

 ing, " Oh ! Medina Co. will go dry any way ; 

 and the loss of one vote will be insignifi- 

 cant," etc. Now, our Ohio churches, Sun- 

 day-schools, Endeavor societies, are all en- 

 listed in the work; and if we do our part as 

 faithfully as the liquor-dealers do theirs, we 

 certainly shall win. It can not be other- 

 wise, it is incredible that there should be 

 more had voters in Ohio than good ones. 

 Let me give you an illustration : 



Just last week a man asked me when I 

 was going to Florida. I told him I would 

 go right after election. He said he did not 

 think he wanted to wait till Nov. 3d; and 

 Avhen I remonstrated about losing his vote 

 he said something like this : 



" Why, what particular issue is at hand 

 just nowf" 



We were botli iri a hurry, and I did not 

 liave time to question him further. But I 



ha\e IjL'eu wur.dejing since then if he were 

 not on the wet side, or so near there that he 

 did not care very much about it. Now, if 

 there are any like him whose eyes meet these 

 lines, let me present the matter this way : 



The wets have no other incentive, no 

 other goal, than to make a little more 

 money. They will tell you we want the 

 money for revenue. They do not propose 

 to build up churches, schools, nor any thing 

 else, to benefit humanity. Their great plea 

 is, if not their only plea, that saloons "make 

 business." If we ask them to define what 

 kind of business, they do not have very 

 much to say. They are going to "make 

 money" by voting wet, and making money is 

 their sole object in life. Of course, they 

 say a $1000 license or tax may be used to 

 build good roads, etc. But the dry States 

 and dry towns and cities are going away 

 ahead in the way of such improvements. 

 This is acknowledged now everywhere. 

 Now, the drys are working for the good of 

 humanity. It is not money they are after. 

 It is for the benefit of the people. It is to 

 l)rotect the people. It is to lessen the num- 

 ber of criminals. All this has been gone 

 over and over. We on the dry side are 

 working for godliness, righteousness, tem- 

 perance, and purity. Some of you may say 

 that those w^ho vote wet are not all bad men. 

 Well, even if that is true, all bad men vote 

 wet. Did you ever hear of a gamblei', a 

 highway robber, a picki^ocket, or any sort 

 of criminal, Avho did not vote wet and join 

 in with the wetsf Do you, my friend, want 

 to be in that crowd"? On the other hand, all 

 good men and women are most if not all on 

 the side of the drys. The wives and moth- 

 ers — especially the mothers — if they had a 

 chance Avould vote dry without question, for 

 the sake of their sons and daughters, if 

 nothing more; and the wets are fighting 

 Avoman suffrage, tooth and nail, for they 

 knoAV Avhat the result Avill be if the Avomen 

 get the ballot. 



Now, is it possible that the voters of our 

 State of Ohio should be found more than 

 half wet, Avith the explanation I have given 

 above? Let me digress a little. 



On page 508 of our issue for July 15 I 



