The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1882-10-19
INTEMPERANCE.
The Veritable Beast With Seven
Heads and Ten Horns.
The Red Dragon Of Scripture Demand for
the Organization Of National Pro-
hlbItlOn Party.
1T. DEWITT TALMAsE.l
sUBJEcT:-"THE RED DRAGON"


TExT:-RevelatiOns, xiii, 8: Behold,
a great red dragon. having seven heads
and ten horns, and seven crowns on Its
heads. And his tail drew the third part
of heaven"
Some interpreters take this red dragon
of the text to be one thing and some
another, and as there seems wide differ
ence of opinion, feel at liberty to take
it as suggestive of the great monster OF
intemperance. Wide-jawed and IRON
hOofed, fiery, all-devOuring, with at
least ten horns to hook and pierce and
wound, and by taking possession OF many
governments 1t may be said to have
seven crowns, and by the humber of
Kings and Queens, and orators and
poets, and other illustrious persons
whom it has brought. down from the
armament of power 1t may be said to
have drawn the third part Of the stars
of heaven after 1t. Alcoholism Worst
of all red dragons. In. my sermon OF
last Sabbath, while reprehending the
political parties Of this day for their
present degradation, / said that the
great political parties had done their
work, and that we should before long
have a new party. The Republican
party was formed to kill slavery. Slavery
is dead and damned. The Republican
party having achieved what 1t started
Democratic party was founded by
Thomas jefferson to oppose the adoption
of laws Of primOgeniture, by which the
Oldest son got all the inheritance, and
to drive out Of the land all foreign titles,
and to give equal rights to all classes Of
the people. Having fully accomplished
that work its mission seems ended. We.
are now ready for party organized for
new, particularly supreme, God given
work. showed you last Sabbath that
such party must first Of all acknOwl-
edge God in it's platforms, in its enSigns,
in its plans and purposes; that 1t must
also be the foe Of national wastefulness
and the friend of national economy. 4
come now to say that 1t needs not only
to whisper, but to thunder, against the
curse of curses, the abOmination of
abOminatiOns, the infernalism Of infer
nalisms-the intemperance Of the land;
and by national prohibition go forth to
slay the red dragon of alcoholism. IL
you think that the triumph of prOhibi-
tiOn in Iowa and Wisconsin and Kansas
is fanatical parOxysm you are greatly
mistaken. In six years the Prohibition
party will hold the balance of power in
every State of the American Union
not, perhaps, having majority Of votes,
but the balance of power, so that no
man can be Governor or Lieutenant
Governor or Secretary of State or Judge
of the Court of Appeals until he be pro-
nouneed against the red dragon; and in
twelve years 1t will have its President In
the White House. No party ever rose so
rapidly as this party. Is rising. The
Anti-Slayery party, which finally rose
contempt till 1t took possession Of the
Presidential chair and both Houses Of
Congress, made not One-fOurth the
spread of this anti-rum crusade. Why,
slavery was pet lamb compared with
this red dragon.
All the families which have by intem-
perance been robbed Of fathers and SONS
and brothers, and all the States which
have had their mightiest men despOiled
by this iniquity, and the churches Of
God which have found the chief obstacle
to their advancement in this awful
habit of strong drink, and all the intel
ligence, and all the virtue, and all the
enthusiasm of the continent, will pack
themselves into an avalanche that shall
come crushing down upon the greatest
evil that ever cursed the nations. Now,
give the politicians of America fair
warning of what is coming. Better lead
off than come in afterward among the
stragglers. Prominent men of both par
ties, North, South, East and West, fore
see the rising tide of this great refOrma-
tion, and they are getting ready to fight
the red dragon. There may be many
defeats before the day of victory, but
victory will come as sure as God lives,
and this land was not intended for one
great drunkery, / nominate for Presi-
dent and Vice President in 1884, caring
not which is the first or which Is the
second name on the ticket, although one
is Republican and the other Demo-
crat, the one Western man and the
other Southern man, two pronounced
n ~ s.A-. I'll.
Kansas, and Governor COlQuitt, OF GeOr-
gia. 1t is high time that the Far West
were honored with such an Office, and
now that the war is all over. let us show
that werealizeit Is all over by calling
to the highest, or next to the highest,
Office the illustriOus Georgian. 0, my
Lord and my God, what a country this
would be with no dram-shops in it ! In
Thy great mercy hasten 1t. No dram
shops, then no jaiIs and no poorhonses.
Few desOlate homesteads, few, broken
hearts. No women brought up in ele-
0ance, afterward married to men who
sat them with pale cheeks and shriveled
arms and consuming lung and hollow
eye and fainting strength to fight back
the wolf whose nOStril, thrust through
the broken window pane, snutfs for the
blood Of helpless babes Let the temper
ance societies Of the land cease quarrel
ing, and the 10000 members OF these s07
cieties in this one State Of New York
join the hundreds Of thousands OF men,
bers Of temperance societies in other
States, and the millions OF people in the
United States who, not belonging to
any temperance society, still feel that
something must be done for the sobriety
and disenthrallment of this nation, and
in One-haIf the time that Ihave spoken
of as necessary for the achievement the
work Will be done. We want, first of
all, to demand an amendment to the
Constitution of the United States. passed
by three-fourths of the States as directed
in the Constitution, f0rbidding the man
ufacture and sale Of alcoholic liquors,
except for medicinal, scientific, artistic
or mechanical purposes, in all the States
portation Of all foreign liquors except
for the aforesaid purposes. Next year,
or the year after, let great convention
be called to demand such IN amendment
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