The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1859-09-01
Where were the men who ought to have

God only knows how far he was respon
{ sible; God only knows, whether by mir
acie of grace, in the last hours, after the
fatal injury was received, when, perhaps
seemingly unconscious, he SO sought Gods
mercy in Chrst-so believed-and the
work Of Gods Spirit was so wrought as
to rescue his precious soul. That soul is
now in the hands of the Judge of all the
earth who will surely "do right" Happy
is it that man is not the final judge of bis
fellow-mortal. But here | arraign as
guilty Of his death, every man who, know.
ing his weakness, partook with him in
that most debasing of vices, in which on
ly when reason was dethroned by alcohol
ic drinks he could stoop to indulge! These
men-druggsts, saloon keepers, hotel
keepers-who, knowing the first glass
would open the flood gates of evil sup
piled him with the maddening poison,
must answer to God when He maketh in
QUESTION for blood; and woe to them if
they dare say with the first murderer,
Gam | my brothers keeper?"
Those men, who, masking themselves
as friends, lure their victims into their
lurking dens, and when they have des-
trCyed for the time all selfcontrol, plum
der them of that which belongs to their
families, it may be, their creditors or their
employers; those men must meet the in
vestigations of an Omniscient, infexible
Jud dge, who has power to cast soul and
body into hell. There will they find what
Is the guilt Of him who, not his brothers
keeper, has been his brothers destroyer.
There they will find what is Gods esti-
mate of conduct like that which the past
week S Investigations have disclosed what
the decision of Heavens Supreme Court
will be as to the man who, protesting
friendship, could take to his own room a
companion who, he kneac, lost his self
control as quickly as he parfook of the
first Intoxicating glass who made Of that
room what the just verdict of society's
unanimous execration call hell; who
with malignity that one might have
looked for only in the realm where the
devil-the first murderer-rules, piled
his companion with the draught of moral
death who won from him $50 the world
describes this trade of robbery all the
money in his possession and who (if his
own tale be true) opened his door, led
forth his victim-then incapable of stand
ing unaided-and, as though he would
ensure his injury if not his death, extin-
guished the light and left HIM in dark
ness on the stairs to grope and to stumble,
and to plunge headlong to destruction?
TO each one of US, my hearers, the
Providence of God IN this calamity has
voice.
1t speaks to each of us of the sin. of
drunkenness. There is not one word in
this sacred book, from first to last, of the
disease of drunkenness. | do not say it
is never disease, nor ever TO be treated
as a disease; but where man has such
use of his mental and moral faculties as
enables him to know right from wrong, he
cannot excuse himself before God, if,
whatever be his appetite or propensity, he
yields to the temptation. God classes the
drunkard with the murderer. He says
that for such there is no part in the king
dom of Christ and of God. Not that it
is an objectionable sin; but it is like any
other sin of the flesh, and one which the
Divine justice cannot let so unpunished.
The current conversation of society, the
common language of the press deals alto
gether too lightly with this offence against
God and against man. Even Christian
men and women are too ready to make
Jest of the drunkard and of his habits a
fault which may we'll remind us of the
Divine Declaration -' Fools make mock
of sin"
OF the other vice into which our friend
fell, can scarcely bring myself to speak
at all. Drunkenness drags man down
to the level of a brute Gambling, per-
severed in, degrades him to the baseness
of fend. 1t was only by destroying his
moral sense through the intoxicating cup
that he could be made to stoop to such
degradation. The essential nature of
gambling is seen in the revelation that
has been even partially made in the IN
vesugatlons OF tne past week. 1t Is worse
than theft; worse than highway robbery;
worse than a hundred other crimes for
which the law sends culprits to the Pen
ltentiary. So even the imperfect legisla-
tion Of most we'll ordered communities
deals with it. Why, then, let me ask,
has it been tolerated in this city? Why
has not public sentiment demanded the
enforcement of existing laws? Why
have not those in authority felt them
selves under continual pressure of public
opinion insisting that the laws, both as to
this vice and as to the traffic in poisonous
drinks, should be vigorously executed? ?
Have any of US said 1T is not my bust
ness?" Have any said, "If I do not
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