The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-04-26

Keep thyself pure" The best circle
of society on earth are met to-day VI
on the mountain side, and as they lool
out into the valleys where young mel
are battling, they cry out to the youns
man of the world those same encour
aging words that sounded from tn,
mount of beatitudes so long ago
BLESSED are the pure" while higher
up, from the more excellent glory
where Jesus is, there echoes back {
voice, ringing out to every fainting
soul in the battle BLESSED are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God
The coming man will be pure, true
honest, having learned the value o1
good principles, principles that being
woven into his character keep him al
ways on Gods side.
Furthermore we may say that every
young man who indulges any high
ambitions for the future, will do well
not to place a low estimate upon the
value Of good habits, since our habits
have very much to do with our sue
cesses or our failures in life.
We have nothing to say against the
use of tobacco except that it is need
less, expensive, harmful, filthy, slavish
habit, and though some very good
kind of people use it, and therefore feel
called to defend it in order to justi-
fly themselves, this fact makes the hab-
it itself none the less slavish bond
age. God who created man, and put
the seal of his own glorious image
upon manhood, never intended that a
man, who was made to be lord over
creation, should so lose the glory of
his manhood, as to become an abject
slave to weed, and go down the ages
chewing an unclear weed that could
minister nothing to his sustenance or
to his physical good. And yet this
very night millions of men who were
made to glorify God and be clean, are
chewing and splitting this filthy weed,
and rolling it as sweet morsel under
their tongues. O what caricature
sin makes out of creation The use of
tobacco is result Of the fall of man,
and the sooner we get rid of it the
better. Allow us here an incident
from real life. We once heard of
famous ''silver-tongued orator." upon
whose eloquence the multitudes lis
tened with breathless interest. And
when at last we saw him, his mouth
was filled with tobacco, while the
liquid essence Of the weed had over
flowed its banks, and had found two
outlets, and was flowing in meander-
ing streams down his face; and we
confess, that to us that sight took all
the poetry out of his "silver tongue"
We have nothing in this connection
to say against the habit Of smoking,
except that it is bondage, needless
bondage in which the man becomes a
slave. We have known men who
were in such utter bondage to this
habit, that the world always knew
them by the light of their cigars. We
know what to compare them
to, unless it would be to a locomotive
whose approach is heralded along the
track at midnight by the headlight.
And then there is another respect in
which they are like locomotive, and
that is that they are always and for
ever putting, while the smoke curls
up in graceful curves behind them
wherever they go. Now all this puff
ng and smoking is necessary to the
locomotive, that it may carry along
is heavy train of cars. But then God
las endowed a man with such good
powers of locomotion that he needs
10 headlight, or no artificial fire. So
hat we cannot help regarding all this
process Of putting and smoking as a
Jery foolish habit, and since we do not |
believe that the coming man will be
/ slave to any foolish habit, we con-
,lude that the man of the future
whose very mission will be to deliver
ociety from it's ills and its evils, will
'e himself free from bondage to the
weed in any of its forms.
But there are other habits that are
ar more blighting and damning in
heir tendencies, and of them all, none
s so destructive to the body and the
oul as intemperance. When we be-
lin to conclude that the pure cold
water God gave US in nature is alto
,ether out Of date, and when in its
tead we take up the Intoxicating cup,
he very first time we suffer the poison
o touch our lips, we yield one inch of
ur manhood. From that moment if
We remain in the paths of temptation,
We are in danger of going downward,
step at time, until we are lost for
yer in bondage. And yet the open
aloons are on every street, inviting
ur young men; and how many, O
low many bright promising young
nen, dear to society and dear to- God,
re persuaded to enter these dens of
cath and hell, and sell out their man
lood for the paltry price of sin. Men
tand at the counter dealing out poi
on to body and soul, and young men,
linded to their highest interests, al
ow themselves to become victims to
and their bright pros
ects for time and eternity are ruined,
imply that the saloon-keeper's desire
or gain may be satisfied. O when
7ill the people rise up in indignation
nd put an end to this traffic that is
ursing and blighting the young men
{ our land and of our homes by the
housand? Already before our State
a proposition awaiting the vote of
he people at the coming election, to
0 amend our constitution as to pro-
ibit the traffic in intoxicating liquors
orever. Let every temperance man
ote a whole-souled "yes" on this
Let every young man
ecord his vote on Gods side Of this
uestion, for his own sake, for the
axe of other young men around him.
nd for the sake Of the thousands of
oung men who are to come after him.
We shall say more on this subject at
mother time, but we say here and
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