saw a costly carriage and pair of horses standing in front, occupied
by two ladies elegantly dressed, conversing with the proprietor.
'Whose establishment is that?' he said to the saloon-keeper, as the
carriage rolled away. 'It is mine,' replied the dealer, proudly. 'It
cost thirty-five hundred dollars. My wife and daughter couldn't do
without that.' The mechanic bowed his head a moment in deep
thought; then, looking up, said with the energy of a man suddenly
aroused by some startling flash, 'I see it!' 'I see it!' 'See what?"
asked the saloonkeeper. 'See where for years my wages have gone.
I helped to pay for that carriage, for those horses and gold-mounted
harnesses, and for the silks and laces for your family. The money I
have earned, that should have given my wife and children a home of
their own and good clothing, I have spent at your bar. By the help
of God I will never spend another dime for drink.'" South Milwaukee
has five thousand inhabitants. Three large mills operate there. A
reliable business man, foreman in one of the mills, told me that the
laboring people of South Milwaukee put $25,000 each month into
the tills of the saloons. Dr. J.O. Peck, one of the most successful
pastor evangelists of recent years, tells of a man "who crossed Chelsea
Ferry to Boston one morning, and turned into Commercial Street for
his usual glass. As he poured out the poison, the saloonkeeper's wife
came in, and confidently asked for $500 to purchase an elegant shawl
she had seen at the store of Jordan, March & Co.. He drew from his
pocket a well-filled pocketbook, and counted out the money. The man
outside the counter pushed aside his glass untouched, and laying down
ten cents departed in silence. That very morning his devoted Christian
wife had asked him for ten dollars to buy a cloak, so that she might
look presentable at church. He had crossly told her he had not the
money. As he left the saloon he thought, 'Here I am helping to pay
for five-hundred-dollar cashmeres for that man's wife, but my wife