The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-02-20

Dy drunkenness. But III is u hopeless lask.
These men and boys are scarcely out of
one scrape before they are in another. 1t
is a repetition of yielding to base appe-
tites, lawlessness, disturbance ofthe peace,
arrests, Imprisonment payment of fines
hoping no one will hear of their misdeeds,
and then the same thing over. Promises
of reformation, who that has tried them
has found them to amount to anything ex-
cept in the case of men who have changed
the whole tenor of their way by Christian
life and through Divine help A rope of
sand, that strongest emblem Of instability,
is as good as any promise made by one
who holds to the old companionships, the
old haunts the old weak, aimless liie. A
father helping his son out of difficulties
brought upon him, without some evidence
ofsturdy manhood in the boy, some down
right energetic reformation in all direc-
tions that will build up his moral founda-
tions, is worse than useless. When i'm
prisonment comes, or the payment OF
fine, or the publicity OF his name in the
police court, the offender begins to whim-
per and plead off on account of his fam
lily, and what they will have to suffer. But
when the opportunity to get drunk is
sought for, premeditated, deliberately
planned, who is going to believe that he
cares for his mothers tears, for his fathers
heart ache ? That is nonsense. He does
not care. The son who has repeatedly
been bought off from the penalty of his
crimes cares indeed for his fathers purse,
and likes the industry and thrift Of the "old
folks" and counts upon their long-suffer
ing and relies upon their forgiveness, and
knows that there is no limit to what they
will bear from him, and what they will do
for him. But what they continue to suf-
fer for him does he care for that No in
deed If he did would he not pause at
the threshold of temptation and turn about
and 90 where he would be safe The one
who has repeatedly disgraced his family,
been deaf to entreaty, insensible to kind
ness, ungrateful for lifelong devotion to
him; who has broken every vow made to
them, has long ceased to respect their sor-
row, or to care what trouble or disgrace he
brings to his home.
Vice hardens, bad habits demoralize,
base appetites destroy natural affection.
There is little conscience left where prom
ises have habitually been broken. Would
we then have all prisoners brazen-faced
and fearless, and unregrettul, and take no
stock in the word of penitence We
would help any weak soul to tide over the
slippery places in his pathway, lend him
hand with which to steady himself,
but he would have to straighten up and
make some little effort in his own behalf.
We would not think it wise to shoulder
him. A young man who can't tell the
truth, has not stability enough to make a
promise of any kind and keep it, who
cannot say that he will do thing and do
it, is not worth wasting great deal of
moral suasion upon. One promise lived
up too is more touching and great deal
more convincing than any amount of cry
ing. Backbone is better than tears, boys,
and if you cannot keep your good resolu-
tons no one can save you.
The saloons are bad enough, and ought
to be exterminated, but it is the silliest of
sentimentalism to charge all the blame
there. The saloon is no temptation to
straight, clean, manly man, or to boy of
right principles, and he can pass it as easy
as one can pass machine shop, who has a
taste for mechanics, The young man who
is brought up in home where comfort
and elegance and plenty abounds, where
the fires are bright, the meals are good and
prompt, where books and music and good
cheer are always accessible, where integ-
rity, purity and grace are lived and taught,
and yet seeks low companions, and gets
drunk, and lives life of degradation and
Of unredeemed pledges, does so because he
chooses 10. He slips down the easy path
way of his lowest instincts because it re-
quires effort to resist these inclinations,
and he will not make the effort 1t costs
every one many a hard struggle to over
come weaknesses of character, and to hold
to high-toned line of principle and con-
duct, costs some more than others, but ev-
cry grand or good man or woman has con-
quered Incidence, and his or her base ap-
petites. Either we rule these appetites or
they rule us. We decide which it shall
be rather early in life if we make much of
ourselves. But this worn-out excuse,
of every weakened, jellyfsh Of a drinker
who refuses to be man and resists every
influence that can help him to be one, and
tries to lay the blame upon his ancestors,
or his father and his mother, or his home,
or the short comings of the church mem
bers, and last of all upon the saloon is the
DEVILS own suggestion and hits wide Of
the mark. II he is so weak as he claims,
he ought to be put with the feeble minded