Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1884-07-12
"Take a Drink 2" "A Cigar 2"

"You are not going to give me a
temperance lecture, are your" I asked
him.
Eyes, am" said the doctor, "a
temperance lecture of one sort. l am
going to talk to you about the young
business man who makes a habit of
keeping himself up on brandy; who
becomes so used to it that he does not
feel comfortable unless by the close of
day he is pretty we'll soaked with
alcohol-'comfortably loaded as
he often expresses it. And about
that other young business man, still
more unfortunate, who takes the BRAN
dY without wanting it, knowing all the
time that it will make him miserable,
and still keeps on taking it because he
is in a fast set that he cannot afford
to break with. The man who goes
down town in the morning determined
to drink nothing and is persuaded to
take an appetizer before lunch, and
afterwards feels the need of another,
and by the end of the day feels so mis-
cradle from them that he must have
one more to strengthen him, which he
takes with the determination that
it shall be the last, thevery last,
on that day or any other, and who
does the same thing the next day and
every day. Do you knowhim ?"
Thousands of him." l replied.
81 suppose there are young business
men in the city," the doctor went on,
"who keep on drinking day after day,
determined that each drink shall be
the last, than the wisest temperance
apostle has any idea of. l would be
the last one, as you know, to interfere
with any mans having glass of BRAN
dy or wine when he wants it. 1t often
does a man good. But what l com.
plain Of that thousands of business
men in this city are compelled to take
it when they don't want it-not COM
PEELED, of course, with a club held over
them or at the muzzle of revolver,
but compelled in ways equally effective
by continual inviting and urging by
fatigue caused by overwork, and by
having the means constantly kept be.
fore them. And when / speak Of
business men / do not mean only those
who buy and sell, but all that great
army of we'll dressed well behaved
people who live up town and come
down below the Campus every day to
their work-brokers, clerks, merchants
editors, lawyers, reporters-all the
thousands you see down town every
day, who leave home with breakfast in
the morning, return to it for supper at
dark, and lunch down town."
81 don't see," l interrupted, "why
they are any more likely to drink toe
much brandy than other people"
Don't you 2" said the doctor, 81
will try to show you. consider my
self quite competent to talk on thi'
subject, because l can speak from ex'
perience. l was in business down towr
for FIVE years, and l remember very
we'll how many times have gone home
at night grumbling at the circumstan
stances that made me drink, and drinl
and smoke, and smoke myself half t,
death every day. Don't tell me, ny
dear boy. could find you regimen
of such men, who would hail with de
light any plan of salvation from brand,
and cigarsi Not that they are drunk
ards. The proportion of drinkers VIII
cannot control themselves sufficient,
to keep sober is very small. But the,
are forced to drink enough every da,
to make them feel uncomfortable, ant
to smoke enough to make them fee
still worse. They know all the tim
that they are hurting themselves, ruin
ing their health, and are continuall
swearing off, but it does no good
They cannot get out of the net. Cir
cumstaAces hold them tight, and the,
are forced to go on"