The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1876-10-27
A Temperance Message.
BY JOHN b. COUGH.

My DEAR Young FRIENts: I hav
/ been requested to send message to tn
Sabbath-sehools in behalf of the total ali
stinence cause. l wish l could write t.
= you all that is in my heart on this grea
question, but my time and ability ar
limited, and my message must be short
We are sometimes told that total +b
stinence is not temperance. WI at i
temperance Let me give you a shor
reply. Temperance is a lawful gratifca
tion of natural appetite. Is the appe
tite for Intoxicating liquors a natura
appetite? No. Therefore temperance
is total abstinence from Intoxicating
liquors as beverage.
This principle is a sensible principle
When you are as old as 1 am, you will
regret many things you have learned in
the past; but you will never regret that
you did not learn to use Intoxicating
liquors. | have never met q person nor
do believe that you can find person
in the world, who would say, " | am tifty
years of age, and l never drank glass of
liquor in my life, and l regret that | did
not learn to drink it when l was young" +"
No. When you meet one who has never
drank, he tells you, 9" am glad of it, )"
or am proud of it." A man once
called on me, and said, Mr.. Cough,
want to tell you something. l am not a
reformer. care lutte for reforms, or
missions, or Sunday-schools. The are
all very well in their way, but they are
not in my line. l have been an actor
since | was eighteen, and am now for
| ty-three, and never drank grass of ale,
wine, or spirits in my life. What do
| you think of that? l am pround of it,
Dear children, you would be shocked
| 1t you could read some o. the letters that
lie in my desk, that have been writ
ten to me by persons in all grades of
society-young men, old men, law
years, physicians, ministers of the gos-
pei, teachers, mechanics, clerks, and
some ladies-who have acquired the
appetite for strong drink One SAYS:
Dives in he'll never longed for drop
OF water as, with all the power there
is in me, | long for a drink" Anoth-
er says: " Is there any hope for me on
this side of the grave ?" Another says:
God knows how near I have been to
selfGfstructinn through drink, ard $50
on.
One poor man, actually holding my
feet, cried out ooh, Mr. Cough help
me out of this hell. Drink is my curse"
Yes, dear children, the cry comes from
the inmates of lunatic asvlums, " Drink
is my CURSE" from the state prisons
" Drink is my curse" innocent victims !
wives, mothers, children" Drink is |
my curse from the burning lips of |
the dying drunkard comes the despairing |
cry, drink is my curse" There are |
broken hearts, blighted hopes, blackened |
characters, crushed intellects, and lost |
souls as the result of strong drink, and |
not single individual but rejoices in his
escape from it.
Is not the total abstinence principle |
sensible? But all who drink do not |
become drunkards." | know that; but
If fifty young men begin to drink, some !
will assuredly be ruined by it. Then,
there is a risk. Now we all desire safety
and security. Suppose you desired to
travel from New York to Chicago, and
there were two lines OF road-une on
which there were accidents constantly
occurring; on every train some disaster,
passengers killed and wounded: in short
a very risky road ; and on the other,
never since its opening had there been
the slightest accident. Which road
would you take2 If you are sensible,
and regard your own welfare, you would :
take the safe one. Suppose some ona
should tempt you 10 take the risky road,
by telling you how much more beautiful
the cars were and what Jolly company
you would find on board the train: You
would say. "I care not so much for
gaudy cars and jolly company as for my
safety. I want to be safe" Now, it is
your safety we seek, when we urge you {
to abstain entirely from strong drink.
There is no certainty that you will be-
come victims if you begin to indulge,
but there is a risk.
Some say, az can govern myself; l {
have mind of my own" What would
you think of a captain of steam vessel
who would put on full head of steam,
and then knock down the man at the
wheel? Or, of the conductor on a rail
road, who would let on the steam and
then disable the engineer? You would
say he was a reckless man. The steamer
Or the engine might get through without
but it might go crushing to de- '
;truction. SO when a person, using that
which weakens the power of his will, de-
pc nds on his weakened will to serve him q
using that which warps his judgment,
and then depends on his warped judg-
nent 10 suide him-using that which
affects his selfcontrol, aud then trust his
leranged selt-control to keep him from {
langer-he is reckless. Simply because |
some men drink and do not become ! l
irunkards, can you? once saw man
stand OD a small platform outside the t
3pire of church, and look down on the
pavement one hundred and fifty feet be- /
low. Because he did it, can you Think 6
IF these things before you run the risk I
and remember what the risk is.
Our principle is lawful. We have been {
old it is contrary to the scriptures. t
One gentleman said to me, "if you can |
ind command in the Bible, Thou shalt [
lbstain from Intoxicating liquors as a
beverage, l will abstain but not till T
hen" Dear children, we want you to .
owe the bible, to obey the precepts of l
he bible; but in view of the evils of in a
and in view of its cause, we
Isk of the bible only a permission to let Q
iquor alone. We lay our hand on this c
blessed book and ask. may we abstain I
You do not search the bible for a COM 6
nand, Thou shalt abstain from gambling; ?
rom dog fighting; from horse racing !: b
ust in proportion to your love for t.
he Bible will you abstain from "
hese things, because they are det- r
imental to the best interests of q
ociety according to bible principles. t'
Therefore, since intemperance is caused b
" the use of Intoxicating drink; since v
n proportion to the use of such drink p
increases or diminishes; b
nd since the most that can be said for h
his drink is that it is a needless luxury, o
nd that the world would be better and u
,urer without it-therefo-e, you say, !,
will abstain, and give the weight OF nay r
influence, as long as live, on the side b
f abstinence, sobriety and purity. This o
! in accordance with the teachings of "
be bible. a
How many of US, who are growing g