River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1883-04-12
Christian Temperance VS.. Political
Temperance.
tBY JOEL POSTER.
CONTINUED from last areek. J


and principle or taisehood and passions
When the child is born there is no indica-
ton OF the soul or reason; the eye is watery,
the same as the mans when he has drove the
soul out of him with strong drink and is
what we call dead drunk Il have often
wondered where the soul of the man is while
he is in this state. He appears to have less
and less every time he comes out OF it, till at
last he dies with the tremens, like a mad
dogl Now, You throw bucket of water
into the face OF the drunkard and he will
rouse up, and his eye will have the watery
lock that the chiId's does when the mother
sees the first sign of soul in her child The
first conversation that takes place between
the mother and child is through the eye.
The eye appears to be the window OF the
soul. The first thing the child notices is
the eye of the mother She will see that
there is a discovery made and open her eyes
vide. The watery appearance of the eye
disappears fast, and it will not be long before
the christian mother will give the first les
son. Mothers young mothers, in particularly
suffer more or less pain. The first lesson will
be that it is wrong to give unnecessary pain.
The child is growing stronger and rougher.
She taps him on the head; he looks up like
half-drunken man, as much as to say "Whai
is up2" She opens her eyes wide and pu.s
on an expression OF pain. The child looks her
square in the eye. She wants to kiss him,
but it won't do She turns away her face
and he goes abont his daring business. After
few lessons OF this kind, if he is a little too
rough he will look up very cunning; the
mother opens the eye, as much as to say,
snow you have done wrong" but she is
sure he is a little angel as he begins to know
right from wrong. The political temperance
mother thinks just as much of her child.
keeps kissing and laughing over it until the
child gets rough and strong, then she shakes
him up TOR giving her pain and looks mad at
him; and the little fellow is just as mad as
she is, and she thinks the devil must have
been in the brat when he was born.
Let us pass to another stage. The mothers
have three children, are poor. and do their
OVID work; one child sitting up in the cradle
just big enough to want all he sees, the other
two are older. The mother is in another
room at work. She hears q squall and goes
in, and sees the oldest child off to one side
the baby reaching toward him. The middle
one says: ''Johnny won't let baby have So
and-so She goes for Johnny, jerks away
the thing he has, hits him a slap that sprawls
him OH the floor, gives the thing to the little
tyrant she is raising in the cradle, who looks
at Johnny, as much as to say, ''You had
better mlnd next time" The mother says
to Johnny: "You are bad boy to hinder
your mother in this way when you know
| have got to meet with Elder Smashall's
band of Christian Crusaders and break up
that bad saloon. G-o-d-e will punish you.n
How that boy longs for the time to come
when he can get away from that mother, as
his father does; how he will go for that God
that has been made a bug-a-boo to make him
good by acting on his passion. The christian
temperance mother acts different When
she hears the trouble in The other room and
goes in and sees how things stand, she has
more time to devote to her family as she
never has anything to do with Elder
Smashall. She does not take Johnny's
things from him or slap him, nor throw any
God at him, but gives the children lesson
in the right OF property. She goes and gets
something and gives it to baby and gives him
to understand that it is his just as much as
Johnny's is his own; then she turns to john
ny and says: 81 am very sorry when you
knew how tired and how much your mother
had to do that you did not try and keep your
little brother STILL" There is no passion here.
Johnny is badly whipped and tries to COM
promise. He goes to baby and wants him to
take his playthings. The eldest child has
gone out doors, has hit his toe against astone
and comes i'll yelling and toe a bleeding to
mother. She says Naughty stone to hurt
mothers Johnny, SO mother whip it," She
pretends to whip it which so excites Johnny
that he forgets his pain and joins in with his
mother, who puts rag on the toe and kisses
him Here is talsehood and passion being
cultivated by the ignorant political mother.
How is it in the other easei The christian
mother mixes piety with admonition. She
says: 81 am very sorry; you know how often
have told you to be more careful, hope
YOU will remember" She puts on the rag,
kisses him, and Johnny means to be more
careful.
The boys are now twelve or thirteen years
old; Johnny is on the street playing pull
away to keep warm, father is at the saloon,
mother and sister are at Elder Smashall's
prohibition meeting. He has got political
moral tramp to come and help him reform
the town; mother and sis are dressed as rine
as any of them Mother is on the stand with
some old maids and grass widows by the
side of Elder Smashall and the tramp, and
she wells most beautifully, "Oh, where is my
boy Tonight" Contrast this with the true
christian mother at home. her sons and
daughters with her. Perhaps the children
have social little party, as twas 60 years
ago. Now the husband and son of the po-
itical temperance mother can have ne such
thing; the man really has no wife, nor the
son any mother, but the political preacher
has beautiful sister of all-work in his
church.
Johnny is now 80 years old He commenced
knocking his toes off against stones; he is
now knocking his brains out against alcohol,
and mother is pursuing the same course
she wants Bro Garfield and tramp Tracy to
whip alcohol as she did the stone for hurting
her johnny.
fro BE CONTINUED