[Little Rock] Arkansas True Democrat, September 1, 1860
From the Arkansas Baptist.
Ladies and Gentlemen of Arkansas: We have prepared the following Petition to be circulated throughout the length and breadth of Arkansas in every county and in every nook and corner of every county. Let us all, Ladies and Gentlemen, make on united effort and we can succeed by the first of January next in placing our state in an enviable position—free from those Licensed Dens of Iniquity.
Obtain every signature you can—many beastly inebriates would rejoice to sign the Petition to have the temptation removed from before them that they might spend their remaining days in sobriety, happiness and peace.
Let us have tippling houses put down throughout the State and immediately a population of worth would seek homes in our growing state—unsurpassed in point of natural resources by none of her sister States.
Let every lady interest herself in this great movement and take a noble part in freeing our State from its most potent foe.
Let every Gentleman act nobly in this matter as much of his future happiness in this life and that to come may depend upon the success of this movement.
We specially and earnestly invoke the aid of all the ministers of the word of God and of all the Editors of newspapers in the State. Your facilities for doing are superior to most others: will you use these advantages to aid in accomplishing this noble work? We are persuaded you all will.
PETITION OF THE CITIZENS OF ____________ COUNTY ARKANSAS, TO BOTH HOUSES OF THE LEGISLATURE WHEN ASSEMBLED IN LITTLE ROCK, IN 1860-’61.
We, your petitioners, free white persons of both sexes, from the age of fifteen years upward, do most earnestly yet humbly pray your Honorable Body to grant us the following petition; namely, The entire abolition of the Law or Laws authorizing the Licensing of houses to retail ardent spirits within the State of Arkansas; but, if your Honorable Body should not grant the above in full, then we ardently pray you to grant the above by special enactment, to our county as named in the caption of this petition.
We would not ask this at your hands without offering a few of the many reasons which urge us onward in this matter.
Reasons for the Petition:
- Tippling houses afford temptations that induce large numbers to drink to excess who would otherwise remain sober.
- Tippling houses manufacture and bring into market the hordes of loafers, spendthrifts, “fast young men,” blacklegs, thieves and cut-throats that infest our country—especially our villages, towns and cities.
- Tippling houses are the direct or indirect cause of perhaps nine-tenths of all the crimes committed within the state, and consequently of an enormous tax upon the sober and industrious classes, in order to pay court fees, etc. etc., in criminal prosecutions.
- Tippling houses lead to incarceration in our county and State Prison of perhaps nineteen-twentieths of all the inmates of those places for human punishment; furnish the hangman most of his subjects after having made them too bad to live on the earth; furnish large numbers annually for our poor house; make squalid poverty take possession of what but for doggeries, would be houses of plenty; make great numbers of almost broken hearted wives, become widows surrounded by weeping children, and scatter causes for weeping and wailing all around.
- Tippling houses are justly chargeable with nine-tenths of all the quarreling, fighting, stabbing and shooting that occur every year.
- Tippling houses should be held accountable for three-fourths of the accidents that occur by steamboat explosions, railroad collisions, personal drowning, freezing, suicides, etc.
- Tipping houses demoralize to some extent any place where even one is sustained— that community lacks the subtraction of at least one doggery in order to moralize it.
- Tippling houses are detrimental to religion, morality, education, prosperity, honesty, industry and individual and general happiness.
- Tippling houses being continued, there will be drunkards raised up from amongst the children at present around our firesides now in perfect sobriety! Horrible thought!!
- Tippling houses are obstructions in the road to all that is good, great and ennobling— they are in the way of the gospel of Christ, in the way of happiness in this life and of that to come.
In consideration of the above with numerous other reasons, we again urge your Honorable Body to grant our humble request, and we as in duty bound will ever pray.
Males over 15 years. Females over 15 years.
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Cut out the above Petition, paste blank paper to the bottom of it, and place the names of males on the left and of females on the right; then send the list of names to us before the meeting of the Legislature, and we will see that the subject be presented to that body in proper time. Up, let us all act at once.