The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the FrontierA.L.O.C.
History
The Story of a Dark Plot; Or, Tyranny on the Frontier
A.L.O.C.
Smith, William W.; Temperance
"Now, suppose the 'section' which Mr. Smith had antagonized had
been the temperance people instead of the liquor element, what
would gentlemen Brady and Tait have said then if the matter had
been brought to their notice? Would they have dismissed Mr.
Smith? I trow not. They would in all likelihood have attributed
the complaint to what they would mentally designate as a handful
of cranks, and paid no attention to it. But when the liquor
element complains, what then? Their complaint is attended to at
once. Why? Because they are the most law-abiding and influential
section of the community? No, but because they are just at the
present time the most powerful section of the community. Do not
misunderstand me. I do not mean that the temperance people of our
land have not the balance of power in their own hands. They
certainly have, but they do not make use of it, while the liquor
element use what power they have for all it is worth. The C. P.
R., and all other such like corporations know full well this
state of affairs, and as Mr. Tait says: 'Their objects do not
extend beyond the promotion of their business,' and consequently
they are ready at all times to cater to the commands of those who
are making their power felt in the land, and to ignore almost
entirely the wishes of those who have the power, but fear to use
it. Mr. Editor, what are the temperance people doing? Are we
sleeping on guard? It seems to me that we are. How many of us,
after reading the two last issues of _The Templar_, will not
deliberately step on board of a C. P. R. train, and pay our money
to that corporation when in many cases we could just as
conveniently transfer our patronage to some other road. What is
our plain duty in the case? Is it not to show the Canadian
Pacific Railway that we are a power in the land, and that we
intend to plainly show that corporation that the rights of good
citizenship are not to be trampled upon with impunity? The action
of the C. P. R. in the Smith case should call vividly to our
minds the action of the Grand Trunk a few years ago, when they
discharged their agent at Richmond, Que., because he openly
opposed the temperance people."
In concluding this chapter, we will give the opinion of an eminent
clergyman, Rev. J. B. Silcox, as expressed by him from the pulpit of
Emanuel Church, Montreal. Nor is this by any means the only voice
which sounded from Canadian pulpits on the same subject. The _Witness_
of December 31st, 1894, has the following:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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