Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-12-20
TWO HUNDRED ANp siNli l,E MILES
LONG.

TWO HUNDRED ANn sINn tiNL MILES
LONG.
Let us imagine them brought together
in such \ ST. cot, anl lc, us sup. i.r "a. FER.
ate drinkers and their hmi.i,s 80. ra,rcb-
ing into il - be- upp, end CI..i.h me.
If you have The Irtvc and d p.lierc.. AMI
stnnd at the i'wor end, and let IA sCe
wlrt lie sIet turf on in urr year
What amy is tbs that comes uaiclirg
down in solid column. i've abreast. extend,
ing five hUndrcd and seventy miles II is
the army of five million men and women
who daily go to the saloons for intcxicitirO
drinks. Marching twenty miles day It
will take them more than tweniy.eipht
days 20 90 by.
Now they are gone, and clo,e on their
rear comes another army, marching five
abreast and sixty miles in length. In it
there are
3jU 900 CONFIRMED DRuNKAI,DS.
They arr men and women who have
lost control OF their appelitcs, who are in
the habit of getting drunk and maIi ing
beasts OF themselves Marching iwo
abreast the army is one hundred aD tilty
| Hi''S7 i'"S DCoh tlltIl CIOStIN. mere
are gray haired men and fair hrirpd boys.
there are, alas! many women in that
army, sunk to deeper depths lban men,
because of The greater height from which
| they fell. 1t will take them seven DAYS to
90 by
IL is Il sad and sickening s4h' hu, do
not turn away yet, for here comrs another
army-cne hundred thousand criminals.
From Jals and prisons and penientiaries
hey come. AT the head of lhe army comes
a long line OF persons whose hands are
smcarcd with human blood. With ropes
around their necks, they are on tlcir way
to the gallows. Others are going TO prison
Tor Lille. Every crime known to our laws
mas been committed by them while under
the influence Of drink.
But hlrk! Whence comes those wells,
and whc are thos. hound by rong chains
and guarded by trong men Ms they 90 by?
lhey are ravlng mlniacs, made such by
drink. Their eyes are tnrmen,rd by awful
sights, and thcrea sripg within sounds
Shiny reptiles crawl over their bodies,
and liepds from hell torment them before
their time. They are gone now and we
breathe more freely
| But what gloom is this, that pervadcs the
air, and what is that long line of black
coming slowly down the street? 1t is the
line of funeral professions. One hutdrrd
| thousand who have died the drunkard's
death are being carried to their graves.
Drunkards do not have m,ny friends to
mourn their loss, and we can put thirty Of
| their professions into mile we ttuS
| have
| A PROCESSION 3 333 MILES LONG
|! will ia Ike good share of the year for
them TO 60 by. for funeral professions
move slowly. Yes, most Of hem do, but
every now and then an unconined corpse
in Il rough cart is driven rapidly by, and
we her the brutal driver sing,
20 o'S, rattle his honcs rattle his bones,
He's only piuper whom nobody owns"
Io)k into the collins as they % by. Gee
,4e dead drunkards Some died OF delir-
| IilA tremens and the lines of terror are
s.' plainly marked on their faces. Soms
| froh2 to death by the roadside, too drunk
70 reach their homes SIme stumbled
from the wharf and were drowned. Some
wandered into the woods and died, and
rotted on the surface Of the earth. Some
blew their brains out. Some were fear
| fully stabbed in drunken brawls. Some
were roasted in burning buildings. Some
were crushed TO shapeess masses under
the cars. They died in various ways, but
strong drink killed them all, and on their
lombStones, if they have any, may ftly he
inscribed, "lle died a drunkard's death"
Close behind them comes another long
line of funeral processons; we know not
how many, but they are more numer.
ously attended by mourning friends.
| They contain the remains of those who
have met death through the carlessne&
and cruelty OF drunken men. Some died
of broken hearts. Some were fouliy mur-
dcrcd. Some wtre burned to death in
buildings sci on fire by drunkardS. Some
were horribly manged on the railroads
because Of drunken engineers or hagmen
Some were blown up on STEAMBOATS,
because drunken captains ran races with
rival boas.
But here comes another army-the
children innocent ones, upon whom has
been visited the iniquitv OF their fathers
How many are there? Two hundred
thousand. Each one must bear throur m
life the signs of being the drunkard's child.
They are reduced TO poverty, want and
bcggrry. They live IN ignorance and
vice.
Some of the children are morning with
hunger, and some ale shlvcring with cold,
for they have not enough raws To ktap
them warm. Many Of them are idiots,
made such before they were born, bv bru.
tai, drunken fathers. And wolse than all
the rest, many Of .hem have inherited IL
love for liquor, and are growing up TO
Itake the places and do he deeds of their
fathers. They will ill up The ranks of the
awful army OF dluukar,l-, lhnt NOV. ;
in unbroken columns down to death.
1t has taken nearly IL year for the street
to empty itself of lis years work And
close in the rear comes the vanguard Of
the next wears supply. And il his Id
what liquor does in our land in rne year.
what mast be its results in all the world
through the long centuries.
Thus far we have listened to the stories
that the figures tell. But they cannot Q
all. They give only the outline of the
terrible tragedy that Is going on around
us. They canno. picture to us the wretCLtd
squalor OF Grunkard's huma. They can
not tell us how many unkind and cru~l
words strong drink has canSed otherwise
kind and tender husbands and fathers to
us how many Leavy blows have fallen
from drunkards hands upon those whom
it is his duty to love and cherish and pro.
/ tect. They cannot tell us how many bright
hopes which the fair young bride had of
the future have been blasted and turned
TO bitterest gall. They cannot number the
! long, weary hours Of night during which
she has so anxiously waited, and yet fear.
fully dreaded, the heavy footfall at the
: door
FIGURES CAN NOT TELL
us how many scalding tears tbs wives of
, drunkards have shed, nor how many pray
ers OF litter anguish and cries OF agohy
God has heard them utter. They can noG
tell us how many mothers have worn out
body and soul in providing the necessities
= f life for children whom a drunken father
a has eft destitute. They cannot tell us
! how many mothers hearts have been
q broken with griefs rs they saw darling
q son becoming drunkard. They can not
toll us how many white hairs have gone