The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1874-04-02

= OF happiness and life, Is money. n
/ time is too brief, the widest imagina
] ton too feeble, to depict mere frac
S ton of the woes and crimes caused
]; by money. 1t makes rogues of hon
] est men and villains OF generous soulI
], 1t blinds the eyes of the wise aud per
} verts the words of the righteous
/ Money makes slaves, hypocrites, gam
; blers, thieves, robbers and assassins
Money, alasl ruins virtue, beguilei
: innocence, turns uprightness into
| faIsehood, outweighs honor and patri-
otism, brings wickedness and shame
and brutality. The wealthy, alas as
well as the poor, give and take bribes
J to cripple the arm of justice. Thou
sands of souls are lost, other thousands
/ languish in penitentiaries and houses
! of correction. hundreds expire on gal
lows, countless hearts are broken and
families ruined by the curse, or rather
abuse of money, and the corrupt ap-
petite to possess it, more, still more
of it. Brethren, let us pray, sing and
preach to abolish all sorts of money,
u which Is satan's medium to purchase
lost souls. Brethren let us pray for
those poor sinners who use money.
But before we do, let US look upon
another, and probably no less fatal
source and cause of crime, shame and
destruction-its name is luxury. /
do not mean effeminacy, sensuality
and righteousness / mean extrava-
CANT indulgence in expensive diet,
costly dress and equipage, to outshine
and outlive, if possible, every other
person. Is there any degradation of
human nature to which an insane
luxury has not mislead thousands of
Gods creatures? Is there any cate
CORY of shame and crime which has
not received its victims from: the cor
rupting hell of extravaganza 1t is
the apish pomp and madman's mas
querade which ruin persons and fam
lilies. force business men into bank
ruptcy and suicide. and innocent per-
sons into the dens of shame and crime.
You have heard of public men who
must sacrifice their honor to keep up
the capricious style and tone of the
day. You hear and see daily the ex-
| change of purity for tPumpery, and of
veracity for glittering aud deceitful
| masquerades. Purgatory is not large
enough to hold all the victims of in
sane luxury. Well, then, let as have
a revival and close all stores offering
! for sale such abomiuable articles, of.
fering that horrible temptation TO the
innocent, running so many souls aud
faulilies.so many innocent women and
children. Let US form calico societies
muslin unions, and leather clothes
| associations; and lef US move back
into Adams paradise because ever so
many people abuse Gods gifts in this
world.
Is there any thing in the wide uni
verse, however blessed and necessary,
that cannot be abused !? Among all
the feelings of the human heart none
give us more delight or genuine hap
piness than the love and affections
which unite spouses in perpetual and
reciprocal esteem, friendship and SYM
pathy. Look upon the shocking crime
and nameless woes emanating from
the abuse of that identical love of the
sexes. jealousy is the progenitor of
hatred, lifelong aud implacable ami
mostly, brutal hostilities, murder and
suicide and all that is of daily occur
Physicians only know how
many thousands lose health, cheer,
and happiness, the noblest functions
of soul aud body, how many are car
ried to an early grave; how many
poor and guileless children suffer,
wither and perish, and all by this
abuse of the hottest aud most gener-
GUS feelings OF the human heart. /
will not shock your feeling bv re-
counting the woes, vices and crimes,
narrated daily by the press, the social
evil, the abortions, the foundIings. 1t
is enough to know and understand
what abuse will do.
Now, ladies and gentleman, let us
meet the evil at the root. The main
cause of all this evil is beauty. There
shall be no beauty. We will tolerate
none. But, as our good wives, sisters
and daughters cannot help being |
beautiful, and we do not like to see
them do like the sisters of Frederick
the Great, who wantonly destroyed |
the beauty of her face, let us build
harems, and keep every beautiful |
dame and damsel locked up until
committee of grave and honorable
judges shall declare her decidedly |
ugly. Then she may go forth into
this wicked world without danger to
herself or others.
Take religion itself and see what
abuse will make of it. All the bar
barous cruelties which man in his
brutal rage could infiict on man, out
RACES of all descriptions were COM
mitted, prosecutions of individuals /
and Nations were decreed and exc
cuted in cold blood, destructive wars |
were Waged, millions of men were I
made miserable, and ether millions |
slain-all by the abuse of religion. /
And just now, generous DANES and +
damsels are misIed to abuse PRAYER I
and benediction themselves, take the /
name of the Lord their God in vain, /
and make public demonstrations-la- !
dies make public demonstrations-un t
der the influence of abused religion. |
There is nothing SO holy, SO sublime t
SO divine that man in his delusion can |
not abuse. Shall God destroy his |
beautiful creation because foolish men {
worship the objects of nature? Can /
we abolish money, luxury, beauty aud |
religion, love of PRAYER, because they |
are abused and become the sources t
aud causes of misery. affliction. shame |
crime and ruination? Human nature /
and the civilized world respond en- I
phatically, No! If the law prohibits |
that which is not criminal or immoral t
per Sc, il is despotic. challenges resist !
ancc, renders itself contemplate, uu- /
dermines the respect also for good T
and necessary laws, makes hypocrites |
and hidden rebels, and defeats its own |
ends, 1t demoralizes. II public opin- !
ion stigmatizes that which is neither
criminal nor immoral per Sc, it weak.
ems itself, and renders itself powerlcss.
If religion aud prayer arc abused to
wage war ON liquor to-day. they may t
be abnsed Tomorrow. on the same {
principle precisely, to persecute and
pray out of their houses and homes, I
Free Masons, Catholics, Foreigners,
Intidels, or anybody that is not fash
ionable; suits not the taste of his
neighbors, or does not conform to vul-
gar prejudices.
If the passions may be igniten with
impunity to override aud defy the
law and the Constitution in this or
that form by any meaus, it matters
not how or what, we stand at the /
0c 10