Thursday, October 5, 1920
After the manner of the sorrows of Satan is the predicament of the bootlegger at this time. It seems that the bootlegger is about to fall a victim to the inexorable law of supply and demand, and that his trouble is that the demand for the article of commerce in which he deals has decreased to such an extent that there is no business so uncertain and precarious. A chance word dropped gave me a key to the situation, and after working along that line of investigation and reasoning it seems to be plain that the bootlegger is being forced out of business because the people generally will not deal with him…
There has been a great misapprehension about the use of liquor anyway. Nearly all the liquor in the old days was drunk by sober people, that is, persons who would take a small quantity each day and keep it up until they quietly sunk to rest into eternity from fifteen to twenty years before their time.
The men who suffered in reputation were spree drinkers who could not carry their liquor and who became publicly and riotously drunk and carried on for a day or two and became thoroughly sick and poisoned and who were then due to a long course of total abstinence. A spree drinker might destroy as much as a gallon of whiskey in a year, whereas his sober and God fearing neighbor would get away with a barrel in the same time and build up a reputation for sobriety…
One of the most eminent of public drunkards was Edgar Allen Poe, the writer. He could not touch the stuff without getting drunk, and in a day or two was entirely knocked out and had to lay up for repairs. Then would follow long months of abstinence to be broken by a public debauch, until the time came that on a trip from Richmond to New York, he was enabled to get drunk on the train, got off at Baltimore, ran with a group of hoodlums who were engaged in illegal voting on the day of an election, was found dead drunk near the dock that night, taken to the hospital suffering from delirium tremors and died during the week…
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Officers Burns and Butler made a raid in Camp Secret Hollow on Swago last Sunday night, and broke up a stilling place. The operators had taken the still and flown. They had not been gone long, however, for they had left a keg or two of “singlings’ that were still hot. The officers destroyed the worm, barrels, about one hundred gallons of mash and about a hundred pounds of cornmeal.
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The two progressive young pastors of this town sprang a little surprise on their respective congregations last Sunday night by trading pulpits all unbeknown to everybody until Rev. Wyand appeared in the Presbyterian pulpit and Rev. Orr showed up at the Methodist church. For the information of those who do not live in Marlinton, we will just remark right here that the pulpits of this town are manned by two of the ablest pastors to be found anywhere.
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C. A. Dameron died at his home in Staunton on Saturday, September 30, 1922, of cancer. His age was seventy years. On Monday, his body was brought to Huntersville and laid beside the grave of his wife who was a daughter of the late Josiah Loury.
ONOTO
We are having very dry weather in this section, waters are very low and the roads are unusually dusty.
A. C. Barlow, veteran lamb buyer for this section, has been very engaged in buying lambs for a few days. He has shipped two cars and is still buying.
Elmer Poague has also been buying lambs through this section.
Frank Maxwell is taking up cattle that he bought in this section. We understand he had a herd of from two to three hundred head.
Rev. W. L. Hogsett, of Indian Draft, will preach the funeral Sunday, October 8, at 3 o’clock at Hamlin Chapel for the two Wooddell girls, Ethel E. and Clarrissa, that died last winter.
WEDDING
At one o’clock Wednesday afternoon, September 27th, Walter Lyle Rhea and Miss Eula Grace Galford, both of Linwood, came before Rev. J. J. Orr at the Presbyterian Manse and were united in marriage. The bride and groom will make their home for the present in Linwood.