, 1879-11-13
PUGET SOUND ARGUS
-HLEs ON TEMPERANCE.
TEMPERANCE.
lex. from an address by John b, Wright
of Minnesota

field OF thought, field, too, that Is
watsred ~ the crimson gore ana
decked with the graves OF fallen
victims. Ii We would only stop to
think as We 60 along what this word
temperance means, probably We
could see more clearly what great
end we might accomplish IN helping
to push this great work forward.
Jeremy Taylor has said that item
perancs is reasons girdle aud pas
sion's bride, the strength of the soul
and the foundation Of virtue" Very
true, habits of intempsrance grow
upon US slow and gradual. We meet
q friend that We have not seen for
several years; in order to show our
friendship towards him, the first
thing is TO treat him with drink oil
wine or some other intoxicating
liquor, he says, "Oh, no, never took
a drink in my life, bat as it is you l
will taste it any way, it won't hurt
me, / am sure" Well, this is the
irst. The next time be meets
another friend, probably a school
mate, he says, "here, Jim, George or
Harry" or whatever the name might
be, "won,t you have something to
drink before we leave" "Well, /
have not got ia the habit Of drinking
but as we are old schoolm ates, ]
don't care if do take glass"
"here's luck" so down goes glass
instead of u taste.
All! my young m an, this is what
leads us to ruin. The first drink is
the one that does the work; bat,
says one, hold on my friend, you are
too fast. / have been taking glass
every day for ten years, and never
been drunk in my life. Well might
you say this, but there have been
men who have done this, and then
come to drunkard's doom.
Nine times out Of tena moderate
drinker becomes an babitual drunk.
ard. AS it is little vermia that
spoil the vine SO it is the little evils
that open the way, and lead you into
the "broad road" TO drunksrd's
grave. Your only safety is to shun
al! such opportunities that are likely
to sntice you to partake Of intoxi-
eating liquor.
"Touch not, TASTE not, handle not
the unclean thing"
We were born for better pur-
pose than to become slave to our
body. We were the last, the crown
ing excellence of the wisdom of our
maker, "high'above the beasts of the
field" SO let us keep ourselves above
them. tits not often that man be.
comes a drunkard by the first drink,
but when he has taken the FIRST he
is miserable to take the second, so
it is the first that ruins.
Can there be more said than has
been said or more done than has
been done, to help quench this evil
and wipe it out Of existence, and
stop this vile cnrse that is bringing
so many Of our young men and boys
to a drunkaid's doom If this evil
was stopped, times would be better,
our taxes would be lighter aud our,
homes more pleasant and cheerful,
society better, "wolvss kept from our
doors,' orphans kept from ths Asy.
lums. No use for the gallows, no
use for jails aud iockups. Oh! what
a glorious time we should see.
There has been a great deal of
good done through our temperance
societies, but not SO much as might
have been done il we had gone at it
in the right. We depend too much
on monied men 20 run our societies.
We want men OF good characters,
truthful and honsst men, temperate
in all thinOa and man of s,ood ,,,;n-