The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1883-11-08
Profsibition From a Moral
n ndpOint,

As there is much excitement in some
quarters on the Prohibition question, and
"a we are being put In fslse light before
the public, | ask space in your valuable
paper for this article. which isnOt in reply
to anything that has been written by
"bush- whackers" propose dealing with
this subject on principles Of christianity
aud this within itself will forbid my reply
ing to anything written from behind
stump. Neither will l reply to anything
which may be written from q certain
quarter in reply to this article. IL paper
is cheap, think il extravaganza tn waste
it in noticing what some people say. -----
An inspired apostle says, "lt is good
neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine nor
anything whereby thy brother stumbleth."
This text must either go out of the Chris
tian Bible, OF whisky must 80 out of Lin
coin county. The text will not move,
therefore whisky must.
The inherent wrong in using intOxica-
ting drinks is two-fold:
LIST. The man who hampers with it is cx-
posed to danger; for 10 man was ever posi-
lively assured by his Creator that he could
play with the ladder" that lies cOiled i'll
the wine cup without being stung by it.
2nd. 1t puts stumbling block i'll the
way of him whom we are commanded to
love as ourselves.
Here we lay down the opposition that
no man has moral right to engage in
thing, the influence of which is certainly
hurtfnl to his neighbOr. | have the legal
right to do many things which, as Chris
tian, cannot do. There is no law to pro-
hibt people taking arsenic or strychnine,
but | haven't the moral right to destroy
myself in this way. | have u legal right
To no N n
stands at the doors to exclude me, or dares
to eject NE while my conduct is orderly
and becoming. But Christians have not
the moral right to go there; not simply be-
cause | may see and hear things that may
soil nay memory for years to come. but be-
cause that whole glitte"ing establishment
with its sensuOus attractions, is to many
young person, the gaping whirlpool of
hell! The entrance fee which | paid at
the box office is my contribution toward
sustaining an establishment whose dark
foundations rest on the murdered souls of
thousands of my fellow-creatures. Their
blood stains its walls, and from that pit
they have gone down to another pit where
no sound of mrth ever comes. In the Fame
of the God of Heaven, | ask, what right
have | to enter q place where the tragedies
| that are played off before me by painted
| the tragedies of lost souls that are enacted
| in some parts of that house every night9
| What right have / to give my money and
my presence to sustain that moral slaugh-
ter house. and, by walking into the thea
tire myself, to aid in decOying others to
| follow met
| Now, we ''soreheads" Cmade "sore" by
the ravages of Prince AlcohOD feel called
upon to act, not upon the principle of self
preservation merely, but to avoid that
which is dangerous to others. And upon
| this principle | conclude that we have ne
| right to sustain those fountain heads OF
death, where drink poison is sold that il
is wrong to advocate their license, and to
patrOnize their traffic, or even in any way
| to abet the whole. system of drinking alcO-
hOlic stimulants at home or abroad. 1t 4
glass of wine on my table will entrap some
one who is inclined to dissipation, then
am setting a trap for his life. l become
| his tempter. induce him to partake OF
the bottled demon that sparkles so seduc-
lively before him. If the contents of that
sparkling glass cause my brother to Stun
| BILE, he stumbles over me. If he commit
some outrage under the effects of that
stimulant, / am, i'll great measure, gull
! ty of that outrage. | have "a partnership
| in every blow he strikes, i'll every oath he
utters, in every bitter wound he intlicts OF
! the hearts of those he loves, while under
this direful influence of my glass of "Cog
nae" or "Burgundy." gave him the fire o.
| hell which causes him to do what other
wise he would not have done.
| The man who puts the bottle to hi
neiwhbOr's lips, is accountable for every
oath that comes from those lips under the
influence Of the dram, and is accountable
too. Tor every outrage that the murdered
victim of the cup may perpetrate during
his temporary insanity.
In viewing the question from this stand
point, is it asking too much of every love-
of humanity that he will wholly abstain
from everything that will intoXicate?
For the sake of your children, you
brother, your husband, your friend; TO
the sake of those who will rise up ant
plead your example after your cheeks hav'
grown pale in death and your voices hush
ell i'll silence; for the sake of frail, tempted
ones who haven't the moral courage t,
say, No! for the sake of your tellowtravel
Ter to Gods bar, and to the eternal world
touch not the bottled devil, "under who's
shining scales damnation hides its adde
sting"
We do not plead for law prohibitin!
men from drinking the sOul-damning stuff
bnt we do plead for law prohibitin:
the sale of the hydra headed monste
in our own borders. AS free citizen
of America we claim this right. Thi
is AN enterprise in which Methodists
Presby terians, Episcopalians, Catholic
and Baptists; Democrats and Re
publicans and Independents Gun all marcel
hand in hand, and shoulder to shoulde
without any sacrifice of religious or politi
cal principles. May God speed the da.
when the shout of victory will echo from
every hilltop and plain. The movement
no going on by these "Faithful PrOhibi
tionists" Ga name given us by our enemies
which fear we are not worthy to bear) il
causing this Monster of Iniquity to roll hi
glaring eyeballs, gnash his teeth ant
threaten instant death to those who OPP
pose him; but all that is necessary to hur
this demon from his throne, is for thes5
Faithful Prohibitionists" to render them
selves worthy of their good name by III
scribing, Excelsior on their banner NJ
march to the polls with an emblem o
peace in one hand, and a motto of libert.
in the other.
In conclusion would say, let every pull
pit, and every platform thunder forth the
old warning cry: "LoOk not on the wine
when it is red, when it glveth its colo
in the cup, for at the last it biteth like ;
serpent and stingeth like an adder" ga
the last at the last!" But oh! who cal
tell W hen that "last" will ever endP WheI
will the victims last grOan be heard