The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1879-11-20
IngersoH on Alcohol.

Colonel Robert Ingersoll, who
has been denounced as an infidel,
was lately employed in a case
ardent spirits, and in his speech to
the jury he used the following Ian
guage:
81 am aware that there is a preu-
disc against any man engaged in
the manufacture of alcohol. From
the time it issues from the coiled
and poisonous worm in the distil-
lery un il it empties into the hell of
death, dishonor and crime, that it
is demoralizing to everybody that
touches 1t, from the source to
to where it ends. l do not believe
that anybody can contemplate the
subject without being prejudiced
against the crime. All we have to
do is to think of the wrecks
on either side of the stream of
death, of suicides, of the insanity,
of the poverty, of the destruction,
of the little children tugging at the
breast, of weeping and despairing
wives asking for bread, of the men
of genius it has wrecked, the man
struggling with imaginary serpents
produced by this devilish thing;
and when you think of the jails, of
the alms-houses, of the asylums, of
the prisons and of the scaffolds on
either bank, do not wonder that
every thoughtful man is prejudiced
| ~ 10 gftr al 81
Intemperance cuts down youth in
it's vigor, manhood in its strength,
and age in it's weakness. 1t breaks
the fathers heart, bereaves the dot
ing mother, extinguishes natural
affection, grasses conjugal love, blots
out filial attachments, bhghts pa
rental hope, and brings premature
age in sorrow to the grave. 1t pro-
duces weakness, not strength, sick
ness, not health. 1t makes wives
widows, children orphans, fathers
fiends. and all paupers. 1t feeds
rheumatism, nurses govt, welcomes
epidemics, invites cholera, imports
pestilence and embraces consump-
tion. 1t covers the land with mis-
cry, idleness and crime. 1t engen
ders controversies, fosters quarrels
and cherishes riots. 1t crowds
your penitentiaries and furnishes
victims to the scafold. 1t is the
blood of the gambler, the element
of the burglar, the prop of the high
wayman, and the support of the
midnight incendiary. 1t counte-
nances the liar, respects the thief,
esteems the blasphemer. 1t VIC
lates obligations, reverences fraud,
honors infamy. 1t defames benev-
olence, hates love, scorns virtue
and innocence. ItIncites the father
to butcher his helpless offspring,
and the child to grind the parental
axe. 1t burns up men, consumes
women, detests life, curses God and
despises heaven. 1t stubborns wit
nesses, nurses perfidy, defiles the
jury box and stains the judicial er
mine. 1t brides voters, disqualifies |
voters, corrupts elections, pollutes |
our institutions and eEdangers the |
government. 1t degrades the citI
zen, debases the legislator, dishon
ors the statesman and disarms the
patriot. 1t brings shame, not hon.
or; terror, not safety; despair, not
hope; misery, not happiness; and
with the malevolence of a fend,
calmly surveys its frightful desola-
ton, and, unsated with havoc, it
poisons felicity. kills peace, ruins
morals, wipes out national honor,
then curses the world and laughs at |
its ruin. 1t does that and more
it murders the soul. 1t is the sum |
of all villianies, the father of all |
crimes, the mother of all abomina-
tions, the devils best friend and |
Gods worst enemy"