Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1880-07-04
TEMPERANCE ADDRESS,
Read BEFORE 4 the Cumberland
Presbyterian sunday school,
at LOndOn, by Mrs. III. z
NJ. PresnelI.
Published by Request of the
Committee ON Publication.

the public mind to such an extent that no
one can be silent upon it. It is the duty of
every one to declare on which side he
stands in this great conflict. Can the Sum
day school remain silentt Dare it prove
so false TO the thousands of precious
souls gathered under its fostering care7
Let US for few minutes look into it and
see what intempersnce means.
One writer says the Incarnation of de-
pravity is intemperance. and the necessary
fruit of intemperAnce drunkenness. Ac-
cording to prison, Jail and aims house re-
ports, not less than seven-eighths Of all the
crime and pauperism of the land are caused
by intern perance.
The Chicago FIRE is said to be the greatest
conhagration of the worlds life time SIts
pecuniary 1amsge was about $3CC, O00,C J.
Incompetence in the United states sinks
$3,0OO,Co0,C ~ every year. The Chicago
fire turned nearly one hundred thousand
people out of their homes; intemperance
renoers hOpelessly homeless six hundred
thousand every year sends 0O0) to the
j4il-1O0 coo to the poor house-lOO, 900 or
phans are bequeathed to society. A stand,
ing army of 70,eC) men are marchil
straight to drunksrds, grave more men
than persisted each ear Of The q eat war.
Statistics are appalling when once We be-
gin to study them, yet they do not lie; with
shame we have to acknowledge their
truth. 20
King Alcohol invades our fair and
beautiful land and sweeps off every year
thousands of souls into drunkards' graves.
Every year there are about s. D murders
I committed and the same of suicides. The
late tragedies which stain the record #
hnoxyilles fair fame were the result of
drunkenness. Sg
Tens of thousands of idiots and insane,
| and 500 COO paupers, are cast upon
society every year. as The gracious
gift of this mighty dsspot.s And yet
we tamely submit. If a foreign power
were to do US one milhonth part of the in
jury that whisky is now doing the nation
would be in arms in day. If this nation
whisky, then whisky will put the nation
down.
Alexander conquered the world and wine
conquered Alexander. .-
II Is est mated that there are about 15O.-
| 00J saloons in the United States, and
around these saloons swarm an army of
nearly 6, 000, TOO daily custom rs. A writer
on this subject states that the sales of
liquor by retail in the United States in q
single year have been estimated 81 ST. 483, >
| 49l, 865, or over forty dollars for every man.
woman and child in the count " SD e
We have 128 0a0 schools and 4,000
churches, and against these 10000 saloons
| There are $4,000 manufacturers and
sellers of strong drink in this country,
twelve times the number of all the clergy
men, four times the teachers and nearly
double all the lawyers, physicians, teachers
and ministers combined. See how it stands,
one minister to work for Christ, twelve
saloon men to work for the devil. One
teacher training the .young for usefulness
and four demons sowing the seed Of infamy,
| drunkenness and shame.
The cries of widows and orphans are
heard throughout the land. They are
reacning up to heaven and calling for ven
| geance on those who are cursing and
blighting The country with disease. poverty,
III grace, murder, infamy and sins too foul
to poIlute the lips with their utterar ce.
| l. is q burning shame that the whisky
dealers are allowed to stand behind the
strong arm of The law, with license in
hand, to commit highway and wholesale
robbery and murder. The man who en-
/ ters the circle of the whisky trade, be il in
l salo IN, drug store or distiElery must barter
| Every impulse of true gentleman. He
| Can not be u true man and place the wine
cup to his brotner's lips. How can he be q
true man and hear the mother pleading for
the life, the honor, the soul Of her boy
How can he retain Q manly feeling and yet
turn deaf ear to the pitiful pleadings OF
| the widow and the orphall
| 10 bring this Inject nearer home, let US
| glance at the statistics of our owa state for
a moment In Tennessee in 1873 the popu-
lation was ,25S, $40 La that same year
| her people consumed twenty and quarter
| million dollars wort of strong drink. Our
common school fund is 5 ,5l2. 90; the in
terest on which gives about $3.50 TO.
which alone is used for school purpos g.
Hence Tennessee, in 1873, expended about
| 1876 times as much for whisky as she did
for education, and nine times as much as
her entire school fund. 1t is no wonder,
then, that she ranks third in the scale OF
| ignorance. A &
o should we not arouse and go to work
| to drive this horrid n, nster from our land
/ Women surely should be up and doing
The church ought to have on her srmor
the Sunday school should unsheath tn
sword and march forth TO conquer and
drive from our land this foe.
The statistics which have JUST presented
to you may seem very diseCuraging.
The picture is fearful one, it is true, yei
the friends of temperance bave some cause
to eJolce. Time was when the elite Of
society furnishei wines and liquors foI
their guests but the practice is going Out
OF use. A writer on this subject states tha
the consu OF ardent spirits has taller
on about lo,OOO,OOO gallons in the last sz
| y
i, ton of malt liquors has increased 1900,
) I 90 gallons, which is said to prove that ou1
native born and Irish popula ion are grow
: ing more temperate, but aa increase on tn,
part of the Germans. Let Us rejoice ever
. at this change, but We can not fatter our
d selves that the evil is removed or ever
l. sufic emily suppressed to allew the friend
~ of temperance to take any rest The sta
tistics Just read tell different story. W
see the blight of the poisonous trail of in
temperance, and read it in the pov
erty and crime which surround Vi
e. w nat then, is Our duty We mus
put down this evil by precer
ana oy example. We must get the peo.
aroused on the subject. We must urg
our low makers to take some action in re
gard to 1t. Let US work even ut the risk q
% being called fanatics. The first Temperance
u socis y formed in the United States wa
rerseeuted-they were hooted and nellie
r through the streets. They had to endur
all manner of persecution. but they did nc
% wsver. They suffered. but the corner st n
, of temperance was laid. and each ston
4 was cemented to its fellow by love. truth
i sympathy and good will. TIE movemen
= was born in the Church Of Christ and wi
% never die. Tbs best o ethod of suppressin
the evil may not be d We oped yet, but W
need not despair. Time will reveal j
Rome was not built in day Ever
movement 10 but strengthening the caus