p. 45 | Health and Temperance by Editor

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Jan 21, 1886

Health and Temperance.

By Editor

A Singular Document.

WE give below an exact copy of one of the most singular documents which has come under our notice for a long time. Mrs. Mary A. Cornelius, of Mulberry Grove, Ill., gave Wm. J. Pitt, a saloon-keeper, written notice not to sell her husband, Jones Cornelius, any more intoxicating liquors. Mr. Pitt paid no attention to the notice of Mrs. Cornelius, and continued to sell the husband liquor at every opportunity. Under the influence of this liquor, Mr. Cornelius neglected his business and his family to such an extent that Mrs. Cornelius could endure it no longer, and so commenced suit against Mr. Pitt. The document which follows is the agreement entered into between Mrs. Cornelius and Mr. Pitt by which the suit was discontinued:—

"State of Illinois, Bond County—ss. Mary A. Cornelius vs. Wm. J. Pitt:— Damages for selling her husband intoxicating drinks and for his time. Before Wm. M. Redding, a Justice of the Peace, I, Mary A. Cornelius, plaintiff in the above entitled cause, for and in consideration of the sum of one dollar, to me in hand paid, the receipt whereof I hereby acknowledge, and a written gaurantee from the said Wm. J. Pitt not to sell my husband, Jones Cornelius, any more intoxicating drinks or cider or any other drinks at any time in the future, do hereby dismiss the above entitled suit, and all other suits that I may have commenced against the said Wm. J. Pitt. I furthermore, for and in consideration of the aforesaid sum of money, hereby acknowledge myself amply and satisfactorily remunerated from all claims and damages against the said Wm. J. Pitt, in full to this date. "Witness my hand this 12th day of December, 1885. MARY A. CORNELIUS. "E. REVIS, Witness. "ROBERT HUDSON, Witness."

When we look at this document from the standpoint of the money consideration which it contains, it is certainly contemptible. If it was only a loss of one dollar to Mrs. Cornelius to have her husband made a drunkard and a vagabond, then she might much better have kept out of the courts and allowed Mr. Pitt to finish the work which he had so well begun, by sending Mr. Cornelius to a drunkard's grave.

It occurs to us, however, that Mrs. Cornelius did not look at this matter from the dollar standpoint. It was from the dollar standpoint that Mr. Pitt had been looking at the matter. He wanted the dollars which rightfully belonged to Mrs. Cornelius, and to get them was willing to make Mr. Cornelius a drunkard.

Mrs. Cornelius did not commence the suit against Mr. Pitt for the purpose of getting back the money which her husband had expended at Mr. Pitt's bar, but for the sole purpose of saving her husband. Such being the case, she was ready to drop the suit against Mr. Pitt the moment he became willing to give her a written gaurantee that he would not sell her husband any more liquor.

We see in the circumstances which surround Mrs. Cornelius in this case enough to make angels weep, and men hide their faces for shame. Here is a veritable vagabond who for the sake of gain is willing to engage in a business which debauches and kills every man who comes under its debasing power. This man is not only "permitted," but he is "commissioned" or "authorized" to sell intoxicating drinks to the husband of this helpless woman. Until the husband gets so far along in the downward course as to be a veritable drunkard, Mrs. Cornelius is absolutely powerless to help herself. She may watch with anguish the work which is being done, but she can do nothing to stop it. Finally, when the husband has become a common drunkard, when all the manhood is crushed out of him, when his business is ruined and his money all gone, when he is debauched in his morals and ruined in health, the law gives her the right of appeal to the courts. This right she gladly avails herself of, and makes a heroic fight to save what is left of her husband. Shame on any Government under which such a condition of things is possible!—The Lever.