The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1878-05-17
For the Ouachita Telegraph
s'SINGLENESS OF PURPOSE, ONENESS
OF AIM.''
NUMBER TWO.

for single momentum your onward,
your upward direction. Falter only
for once, and the enemy secures the
vantage ground. Hold no argumenta-
tion with satan when questionable
course of conduct is proposed. Listen
to his seductive voice and your destruc-
tion is foreshadowed by the keenest
pangs of remorse, to know no abate-
ment forever. Your willy enemy is
ever on the alert he lies in wait, ready
to lead the youthful feet astray. He
knows well when and how to strike;
his instrumentalities are wisely taken
to carry forward his hellish purposes.
The most effective one in his hands is
whisky-the tsdogery'' with its atten-
dant machinery. Once securely with
in these dens, the youthful mind is
wrecked; to such an one, high and
lofty purpose in life is out of the ques-
ton.
The tsarch enemy" of our race tells
us this poisonous beverage is Gone of
Gods creatures''-that it is harmless!
The glaring falsity of these sweeping
assertions is apparent to every candid
mind. No demonstration is required,
if we only cast our eye over the fields
Of carnage and gather up the testimony
of its slain victims. See that young
man in company with the cunning,
crafty gambler, entering the "dogery"
for the first time in his life. The hopes
of a fond mother and doating sisters
are centered in him. No cloud filings
its shadow across the threshold of that
happy home. That noble boy is the
prop of the family; the husband and
father now sleeps in the silent grave.
AS he leaves home in the morning his
ro0fhar a,,6 ciSfors foI, h &c
form till lost in the distance, and the
echo of his well-known step in the
evening thrills their hearts with
ecstatic joy. Witness this young man
entering this pit-fall of death, located
near the gates Of dark damnation. See
tho willy gambler, aided and abetted
by the s'dogery man, forging the
chains to be wrapped around his limbs.
The mysteries of cards, dice and the
faro bank are explained to him, inter-
mixed with frequent potations of the
cup, and his brain is maddened and his
imagination intoxicated with this
newly discovered panacea for the ills
of this present lite. For the time, his
mother and sisters are forgotten. At
late hour of the night his unsteady
step is heard, and reeling in he falls
into their loving arms. All! what pen
Ce1A pe'AAo 'AllS SAe'I SolIO", as oue
heart string after another is being
sundered by its scorching and seething
power upon these bowed and stricken
forms? In the morning, on the stool
of repentance, he promises amendment.
JOY springs up in their hearts, and
they gaze into the future, now as bright
as if no cloud had darkened their path.
The gambler, anticipating this, hunts
up his victim, and meeting him as if
by accident takes him cordially by the
hand, slaps him on the shoulder, and
says, "Old fellow, we shall look for
you around tonight. Don't fail to
come ; we anticipate having a splendid
time" ssNo," responds the repentant
youth, 81 promised my mother and
sisters never to go to such a place
again. This expert in his masters
work abruptly turns upon his heel, re-
marking, 81 see 1 am mistaken in the
man. L thought you had sand in
your craw;' not a man to be tied to the
apron strings of any woman" This
master stroke did the work, and he
tells this agent from the pit, "You may
count on mel shall be ON hand" He
keeps his promise, and the raven
wings of despair are folded over those
crushed and bleeding hearts never to
be lifted again.
Harmless beverage! All, could the
tears shed and the waves dashed
against innocent hearts be collected
together in one mammoth reservoir
the largest ships floating upon our
seas could safely ride at anchor. This
astounding announcement will need no
demonstration, if walk be taken
through the prisons of our land and an
investigation instituted among these
wretched creatures as to the cause of
their downfall. BY looking over the
registers, it is discovered that nine
tenths of the inmates of these dismal
cells owe their degradation and ruin to
this harmless BEVERAGE" They tell
you that in the days of their innocence
they never expected to meet this great
sorrow now bowling their frames to the
strokes of justice. The work was
gradual but sure, under the directing
hand of this their strong enemy, and
its insiduous advances did not at first
alarm their best friends, but by con-
stant use the chains became so strong
that bound their limbs to these dens
of excitement that Il mothers and sis
ter's influence failed to arrest their
downward tread. Bcsotted by whisky,
the intellect failing to see the enormity
of the crime for which they are paying