Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1882-08-24


MIR. Theodore Ostendorif, o gentleman who
came TO Walhalla from Charleston about two
weeks ago, died on last Sunday Of an enlarge
ment of the liver at the residence, Of Mr.. j. II.
Ostendorff. The deceased had jus! reached his
thirlietl birthday. His body was carried back
to Charleston for intorment on Monday. Mr..
Ostendorf was merchant and leaves a wifo
and three ohildren.
MIR. S. Q. Kennedy, Of Brooklyn, Now
York, delivered d lccturo on temperance in
the Baptist Church on Monday night. While
he Is not on eloquent speaker nor one gifted
with pointing moral through the medium of
side splitting anecdote, yet be is good
reasoner and improsses the great Importance
of his subject 10 way calculated 10 cacry
conviction ard to work good. In giving sta
tistics of the number of deaths from intem.
perance and the cost in money of liquor he
said figures are often but empty sounds, the
intellect being incapable Of taking them 10,
because of their vastness. When we say it
is ninety-two millions Of miles to tho sun,
tho mind has no conception Of tho distance
save that it is immeasnrable. So when
we say that sixty thousand human beings
went down into Incorporate graves In the
United States last year and that in the world
over one million two hundred thousand
travelled the same roud, we can hardly real.
lze tho vast army marching on to
| temporal and eternal deuth through tho ins
flucnce of rum. IIo stated that seventeen
times us much money is spent for rum in this
country annually rs for the education of the
rising generation and over forty times as
much as for tho ministry. Tho plague in
London swept eff thrty-fvo thousand people
in year and in four years of tho late war
three hundred thousand woro killed or died
in four years The mind stands appalled, at
| such calamtics rs those, but they arc triflirg
compared to tho number who annually fill
drnnkards' graves. Not only So but rum is
| at tho inception and execution of nearly
| every crime. nearly every dark decd, which
| marks our criminal records. Give us the
| money worse than squandcred for rum and
! he would guarantee t6at not Il family in this
broad land should want for bread, not O
child shall go uncducated, the records of
I paupcrism shall be blottcd out and crime
shall become so uncommon that not jail
lock could be found but was rusling for want
of use. Not only does run, lead i,s victims
to sociul and moral degradation, to financial
and intellectual ruin, to death and hell, but
it is an cpicurean in tho selection Of lis vc-
| tins, taking from society tho noble tho
generous hearted md the worthy of all
classes. Ile described tho downward course
of tho young, first the use of tho cigarette,
then the attendance at the billiard room,
then tPpling with beer, punch and finally he
reaches the great thoroughfare to ruin. lie
| described these as but branches all feeders
to tho main trunk and pointing to it, as tho
branches of II railroad. lie then pointed tho
older men to the danger of example aud it's
influence on the young asserting that every
| man was q hero worthy of imitation in
the mind of some boy, and this was especially
true us to fathers, whose examples sons are
moro than likely to initiate. lie alluded to
,hree great difficulties with which tho tenn
peranco cause has had to contend, but which
arc pnssing away. The first was tho common
practice in the past Of young Indies inviting
young men to drink glass of wino lie
dwelt on the evils which have flowed from
this custom and tho encouragement it gnve
young men. Tho ladies could and should
set their faces absolutely against it and by
their influence and example he felt cure
they could entirely eradicate drunkenness.
The next difficulty was tho practice Of ply
sicans of prescribing liquor for nearly ovory
ailment. This too has greatly changed and
tho medical profession are almost n unit
against its use. rronouncing it a poison.
The third and greatest enemy to temperance
is tho idea of moderation in the uso of
| liqnor. One man snys if want a
drink, ! feel l have right to take it in
moderation, and 90 with another, when in
| reality of one million who die annually from
| intemperanco perhaps not one could bo f und
but began to use liquor with the samo idea.
The Mississippi River. which inundated
miles of tho richest lands along its banks.
sweeping away the houses and tho products
of farms. stock and people began in modega-
| tion. At its source it is q harmless riyulct
| but incr easing in power and volume it be.
comes the vast river, bearing on its bosom
sweeping everything before tho ress,loss tor.
rent OF ts waters. The moderate dripker.
as an example too, is tho greatest enemy to
the cause, for if all who tippled must ineyi-
tably fill the drunkard's grave, no ono would
| ho found SO reckless Of bis rrnscnt and future
welfare rs to touch it. His address aboundcd
in casy illustrations and was listened to with
interest. In conclusion he stated tho DIV
might come when tho present generation
would be called on to vote on tho liouor
question. and if 30, he adjured them in tho
name and for the sake of their fathcr1 and
mothers, their wives and children, their
county and State, their God and religion, to
vote for prohibition.