The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1875-01-27
A rEmPERANoE SERMON.

observed at the -NatlOnai Oapttals a
mere passing note; statement Of a
simple fact hardly worth more than
a flying mention. 1t only said: "The
police report the arrest, Of an unusual
ly large number Of intoxicated persons
mostly young men," That was all A
larger number Of men than usual de-
liberately extinguished their sense of
responsibility to society and to them
selves, and having so dethroned their
reason, went reeling through the
streets, in which condition they were
arrested by the police, and safely held
until kind Nature had restored the
faculties they had thrown away, and
they had ceased to be dangerous to
society or themselves. And they were
mostly young men," Not much of
an item that. To a great many read
ers who skinned over it, it suggested
nothing. 1t had no special significance
to them. There was nothing in it
touching the financial question; no
intimation Of the policy Of the Admin.
istration toward Louisiana; nothing
to throw any light upon the Pacific
Mail business; nothing but a bald
statement of quite unimportant fact,
to wit, that great many people were
intoxicated, and that most of>them
were young men. Perhaps some old
fellow who knew Washington smiled a
grim, hard smile and said, "The boys
must have been having good time
Christmas. And perhaps some other
sedate person who was never young,
or, if he was, it was so long ago he
has forgotten it. read the two or three
lines and said it was ."outrageous" for
young men to act so. But the mass
of manhood slipped by it, as they but
ton up their coats and hastenon when
they meet in the street any one who
staggers. "a
Not everybody though. In q great
many homes aud 10 great many
hearts il meant a great deal more than
the classification of holidays police
report. 1t came to them like news of
shipwreck to one with friends at sea.
There was reading between the lines
that made fathers anxious and mothers
distressed MOSTLY young men p
And here was the boy just ripening in
to manhood upon whom his parents
looked with pride, and for whose fu.
ture they were 80 deeply anxious
could the father help the involuntary
reaching out to catch him from falling
as he read in these three words the sto-
ry of 80 many young men down and
disgraced? Could the mother fail tc
reflect that her boy was very muck
like other boys, and that other boys
the young men in the Washington
station house-had mothers, perhaps
just as tenderly solicitous for theil
sons welfare as she for hers 2 "Most
ly young men!" Ah, how many 9
mother, when she read it, claspeC
closer to her bosom the curly heat
and dirnpled cheeks of her own dar
ling, as If she would keep him bacl
from manhood and from all the storm
: and stress which carry down so many
And then the mothers, whose darling
with their curls and dimples, and al
the sweet and winning ways of child
hood, have moved on out of the radi
ance of the morning into the heat an,
dust of the noontide, whose boys lool
level now into mother's--and perhap
into some ones not a mother's-hov
these sweet, thoughtful women mus
have shuddered at the bare dreadful
possibility that some time their boy
might go reeling to the station-house
"Mostly young men!" IL is a sLg
gestive, painfully suggestive state
ment. It's the coming Of new crop
and crop of reckless, dissolute men
Young men to-day; and perhaps will
enough of conscience left to suffer re
morse, enough of selfrespect to sufie
shame, but every day growing harde
as habit grows and the senses dsaden
There's no ueed TO write homily oil
temperance, or preach a sermon. Th'
homily writes itself. aud the sermon
breaches itself There's no such sick
ening sight in all the world as tn,
drunken young man or boy; nothing
so painful TO the sensibilities of maj
or Woman; nothing that seems 81
harsh, and unnatural, aud shocking
1t is such deliberate flying in the fac
of Nature and flinging away the bes
gift of God. But the procession move
along. Thins out rapidly to be sur
toward the end, but the young mel
keep stepping in and the ranks ar
always full. 1t is the thing that ia
theirs dread for their sons aud mother
pray God their boys may be delivere,
from, but it goes right on, and the re
eruits are mostly young men," Th
State cannot stop il, quackery canno