Noah S. Sweat

Judge Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat, Jr. (b. October 2, 1922; d. February 23, 1996, Alcorn County, Mississippi) was a judge, law professor, and state representative in the U.S. state of Mississippi, notable for his 1952 speech on the floor of the Mississippi state legislature concerning whiskey, which is considered a classic example of political doublespeak. Reportedly the speech took Sweat 2½ months to write.^[1]

Judge Sweat was also the founder of the Mississippi Judicial College of the University of Mississippi Law Center.^[2]

The "whiskey speech":

"My friends,

"I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about whiskey. All right, here is how I feel about whiskey.

"If when you say whiskey you mean the devil's brew, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home, creates misery and poverty, yea, literally takes the bread from the mouths of little children; if you mean the evil drink that topples the Christian man and woman from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against it.

"But;

"If when you say whiskey you mean the oil of conversation, the philosophic wine, the ale that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean the stimulating drink that puts the skip in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, Christmas morning; if you mean the drink which enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean that drink, the sale of which pours into our treasuries untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide tender care for our little crippled children, our blind, our deaf, our pitiful aged and infirm; to build highways and hospitals and schools, then certainly I am for it.

"This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise."

See also

• If-by-whiskey
• Prohibition

References

1. ^ Clarion Ledger, "On June 3, Soggy's speech will come to life" 25 May 2003
2. ^ Mississippi Judicial College Web Page

External links

• Safire, William (1997) Lend Me Your Ears: Great Speeches in History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-04005-4. Page 876.

Persondata
Name	Sweat, Noah S.
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	October 2, 1922
Place of birth
Date of death	February 23, 1996
Place of death