02/13/2026
Defiance Tabernacle part 3
Rev. Stough delivered his famous "Booze and Booze Fighters" lecture to an audience of men only on Sunday afternoon, May 29. It promised to be a strong attack on the brewers and sellers of alcohol in the community, and it was. Stough accused the local clergy of not fighting the saloons; when Rev. Lance of St. Paul Methodist objected to this accusation, he was shouted down by the audience.
Stough went on to call out the reporter from the German language paper, the Herold. "That little German sheet is owned body and breeches by the brewers and saloonkeepers in town (prolonged applause)... when that little Dutch editor comes out next week to scorch me...if you don't play me fair, I will skin you and leave your hide up here to dry."
This led to J.A. Deindorfer, editor of the Herold, to denounce Stough's attacks on him and his reporter, and Stough replying that it wasn't personal, but for his editorials molding the minds of the German population.
Christ Diehl Brewing Company got into it, too, as Stough accused them of giving money to support the campaign to keep Henry County wet. When Stough refused to say where he got that information, Diehl noted the only source would be the banks that dealt with the checks. That got the Merchants' Bank to publish a letter to Stough asking for the leak, and if found, that employee would be asked to resign.
Of course, all this controversy was great publicity for the evangelistic campaign, with frequent pro and con letters to the editor of the Crescent News. Crowds continued to turn out for the services, and for the drama.
