W. B. Godbey - Enter His Rest

so manipulate popular sentiment as to secure a legislative act including the town and west end of the county,
extending eastward to Salt River. As the Legislature was at that time in session, we at once sent away Judges
Jones and Armstrong, two of our most prominent citizens, to wait on the Legislature in our behalf. The result
was that we secured the passage of the prohibitory law, protecting our town and the west end of the county from
the awful nuisance of intoxicating drinks. Having secured the legislative act, the next thing was to enforce it, as
they were selling at several different places. In this war Satan raged and stirred earth and Hell against us with all
his might. One day they fired on a group of us temperance men from a whiskey tavern across the street. The fire
was re turned by the temperance men and there was quite a roar of pistols, creating great excitement. One man
was killed, and afterward one of our best temperance workers was shot by a whiskey man. They blamed me
more than any other and, looking me in the face, as in Indiana, swore they would shoot me if I did not let them
alone. I said to them, “if you shoot me, somebody else will shoot you; we will never let you alone till you go out
of this business.” Some who persisted in selling without a license were flogged and driven away. Eventually all
had closed out but one who was very obstinate, claiming that he had a government license which superseded our
local option. During the entire campaign mass meeting continued to be held in the Methodist Church prayers
were sent up to God and speeches were delivered to the people. Finally a great crowd having spent some time in
earnest and a number of speeches having been delivered Prayer to the spellbound crowd they all marched out of
the church in a procession. Old Dr. Polk our venerable patriarch carrying the open Bible led the host followed
by women and then the men and making quite a demonstration marched to this saloon. The women aimed to
pour out the man's whiskey while the men stood by and saw it well done. Though he looked me in the face and
threatened to shoot me and hitherto proved exceedingly audacious and obstinate when he saw the great
procession he became affrighted, surrendered and begged for time to move his stock away and leave the country,
which was granted. This wound up the campaign with a glorious victory.
The saloon element have a clamorous maxim, “Prohibition does not Prohibit.” As a demonstrative proof that
that is Satan's falsehood I refer you to Perryville Ky., where we drove whiskey out forty years ago and it has
never gotten back. For quite awhile they continued their vigorous efforts to revive the saloons but constantly
failed. It has been many years since they have attempted the iniquitous re-enthronement of King Alcohol there.
After the expulsion of whiskey the drunkards became sober and united with the churches. As you know strong
drink always shortens life, they have all passed away to the graveyard and, as we hope to a glorious immortality.
When I was sent to Mackville they had already secured a legislative act protecting the town, but it happened that
it only extended one mile out from the corporation limits. Soon after my arrival I was informed that a man was
preparing to open a saloon a few paces beyond the mile limitation. I immediately called a mass meeting in the
Methodist Church and had prayers and temperance speeches, arousing the people to action in the matter, and
appealing to them to solemnly protest against the opening of the saloon at that near proximity. In this the
multitudes were concurrent in the negative, protesting most solemnly against the iniquitous institution. I told
them all to pray the next morning while I went and talked with the man. I took with me a good Methodist
brother to serve as bodyguard. On arrival I invited the man to come out on the pike as we wished to converse
with him.
Then we proceeded, in brotherly love and kindness, to ask him to please desist, telling him that we had held a
mass meeting the preceding night and all the people were very anxious that he should kindly desist, and that we
had borne to him their earnest request that he should do them this favor and change his purpose of opening a
saloon. Despite all the love and kindness we could possibly show him, he got very angry, saying that he paid for
his license, laid in his stock and had the law on his side and it was too late to ask him to desist. When I told him
that we had passed unanimous resolutions that he should not carry out his enterprise, he also threatened me with
violence saying he would shoot me. When he got into a rage, uttering his violent threats, my attention was so
centered on him that for a moment I lost sight of the good brother who was kindly serving me as a bodyguard.
Upon looking round I saw him about fifty yards distant and getting away as fast as he possibly could I simply
said to the angry man amid his threats, “If you kill me somebody else will kill you, meanwhile I told him
positively, “Rely upon it we are not going to let you sell whiskey here.” He then accused me of threatening him
with the Ku Klux, as that was immediately after the war when much violence was prevalent in the country and
very frequently men were found in the morning hanging by the neck. I showed him that I was his friend and that