Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-05-07
Em6eSanco Column.



loaf. IN Is said. is better than none. am
thankful that so many gifted men and
women OF our land are lending
their influence, aud using the talents God
has given them to further the interests OF
temperance, and seek to elevate fallen hu
manity. morally intellectually and spirtu
nlly. When read such instances rs these
nv faith is strengthened, aud take hold
of the work with fresh courage.
The annual meeting Of the W. Q. T.
Union Of Ashtabula county will be held at
Conneaut next week, ought to be one OF
the best meetings they have ever had.
There are two departments OF temperance
work that will naturally come before the
contention, that hope will receive the at
tention. that in my Judgment, their i'm.
pnrtance demands. | refer to the work OF
the Press Committee, and temperance in
the Sunday schools. But more on this sub
iect hereafter.
Extracts from Henry Ward Beecher's
speech before the Brooklyn W. Q. L. Union
March 22ud, 1880:
There are some things about which there
can be no exaggeration in language, No
man can exaggorate the mischief in the in
dividual body and soul, Of intemperance.
Nobody can find figure Or language to ex-
aggerate the horror and mischief IN the
household that contains one, and some
times several incorporate people There
is no Disgusting the fact that the activity
Of Mars brain is one Of the generic and one
Of the most unsuspective and operative
causes which lead men into drunkenness.
1t has continued from generation
to generation, and it yet exists to an
appalling extent. And that 1t is vlnclblo
| can see through the laboring OF itty
years which have lived to see. remem-
Der the first step. | remember boy as l
was. the thrill with which ] listened to my
fathers six sermons on intemperance in the
old Lilchfield church, and knew the man
whom he loved, and whose ruin was the
inspiration of the sermons, and gave him
mower 10 save hundreds Of men. remem-
Der the first step and every subsequent
step TO the present hour. | have lived TO
see change in public sentiment; change
visible in whole states, and inducing legls-
lation. and therefore the mischief is vinci-
BILE, il It be steadily and continuously as
sailed, Nevertheless. the work will never
be done and finished. You might as well
attempt to educate everybody in one gem
Grafton, and be done with it, and say the
next generation wont need any education.
The same cause sprouts up in every sue
ceeding generation. There will never be q
time when you can lay aside your armoi
and say, There is one job out OF the way.
You will have to enlist in the matter fol
life, 1t IS great fight between the car
nal man and the spiritual man, the anima
man and the Christ man, and so long a'
he lives in the world and needs the gospel
so long will intenperance exist in the
world and need the application of the grea
saving truths Of temperance and religion
Now there are some things which have
tended to divide the great hosts that are
fighting this mischief.
If we can, we ought to have with us THO
consent and sympathy, the reason and
moral sense, and practical encouragement
of every class OF the community. We
have not got it. To a very large extent
the men that are engaged in business, and
especially the business OF politics, are mol
with us, or are so only in lukewarm way
To very large extent in some sections
the ministers OF the gospel are not with III
in any active form. Now, what we want
is to have it possible to unite men from
bottom to top, and we are TO do IL; Their
are some mistakes, some errors that mus
be avoided, and in the first place there i
no use in our undertaking to couple Will
the movement a general physiological
movement against excitents. | never us
tobacco nor did my father before me | neYe
shall use it; | hate it; body and soul hat,
it, but | am not going to discuss that ques
tion on temperance platform; | am no
going to discuss the question OF tea ant
coffee; love them both, but a great man!
do not. | am not going to discuss thu
question Of meet and vegetables; some mel
believe meat to bo damnable, and ther
were such men clear back to Paul. Som
would eat no meat, and others nothing bu
meat, as it were, and he had great dea
of trouble on his hands, and we have in
berited il to some extent. Therefore W
must find n ground so large, or rather il
order to take on the whole moral sense o
the community. we must find ground Il
regard to temperance on which all cal
stand. In order to do this hold first tina
we must maintain the highest ground L
our teaching, and that ground is that
man in good health never needs alcholl
stimulants never and il he Is to TAX
them it must be as he would take calome
or quinine, or any other medicine-specia
temporary and for special reason, not
diet, not a luxury. We are TO maintai
that for state OF health not only are IL
toxicating drinks unnecessary, but al
pernicious, perilous to the thousand, ruiz
Gus to the whole community. In this vie'
total abstinence from all that intoxicatC
as matter Of luxury or diet, must be II
sisted upon; and IL must not be oil
scured, or slurred over, nor put into th
background.
II we could wo would have every minis
ter Of tho Gospel, and every elder, al
every professor of religion, and every MOI
al man, and every citizen, accept thG
ground, and we will labor for that. W
want public sentiment that shall In II
Wilderness include top, middle and bOttoI
Of human society. ! am here In sympath
tonight to speak in behalf OF human Sc
clety; TO speak Of the temperance move
ment with reference to this particular fel
turo Of 1t under the auspices OF Chrstia
women. Because, In the first place, 1t
from that source that we derive moral et
thusiasm, aud in this world without enthl
siasm YOU never can make great cAus
infectious, you cannot kindle that fire {
zeal that feryor, without tho flame thu
leaps from blade to blade, leaf TO leaf, trC
to tree, and house to house. That Is whl
we want. II we carry on the work anon
one class, among men alone, we shall hay
but one kind OF enthusiasm; il you put
into the hands OF women, you get an el
thusiasm which carries the higher NOR
emotions, and women are II may be pc
mitted to use the word, the kind Of me
we want In such case as this ] kno
there are many who object TO women g
ing out Of her sphere, and n intemperan,
would only make compromise, the
might be something TO be said. But /
not know to-day that | would make oOn
promise with tie devil on this ground.
you'will soc to IL chat you will never il
wade the sphere Of women, women sha