The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-05-24
THE LECTURE.
John B. Cough on the Plat.
form.


hear the fam us orator John B.
Cough deliver his lecture OF tenn
perance.
The raising of the curtain dis.
played to view Mr.. Cough sitting
with Mr.. Anderson ana surrounded
by members Of the Temple Of Honor
in their uniform, and several ladies
seated in the centre.
Mr.. An 1ersou introduced Mr..
Cough who apologiZed for severe
hoarsene.s which found him in poor
trim for lecturirg Entering at once
upon the subject of temperance
he mainte ined the undivided
attention of the audience
for an hour and forty-five minutes;
in teispersipg his extempordueous
address with humorous ard pathetic
stories. He at intervals grew elo-
qnent in his appeals for manhood to
assert itself in totally abstalning
from the use of alcohol. His word
LECTURES were fine efforts, and aided
by his gesticulatiops and dramatic
powers, appealed to the sympathies
of the audience, drawing forth fire.
quent rounds of applause. Wecan
not do justice in mere outline of
the lecture, which must be heard to
reslize its true worth AMI character.
He said it was forty-one years ago
last October SIEGE he signed the
pledge ia Worcester, Mas. He had
nothing particularly new to present
on the subject. but would present
one or two points. Intoxicating
drinks fle considered entirely use-
less and unnecessary, and the use of
them was the greatest injury that
the body could DE punished with.
If he knew all the arguments of his
audience in opposition to temper
ance, he would endeavor to meet
them; but not knowing them he
could only state his own PROPOSE
tions. The argument OF mod
GRAFTON was the most frequent
one used in opposing temperance.
Mr.. Cough then demonstrated
plainly that moderation had no
standard or foundation to dwell
upon; simply because what was
moderation with one person was
excess with another. Numbers of
Christian moderate drinkers were
going around each day, imbibing
enough alcoholic drinks to make
other men pronounced drunkards.
and bring upon them the ostracism
OF society and the church.
Then excess simply meant
persons inability to drink alcoholic
liquors without becoming drunk.
The constitutional strength and
temperament of men had every
thing to do in dec ding whether
they were simply moderate drink
erS, or drunken nufcasts- While
alcohol merely made the man Of
phiegmatic temperament jolly,
warm and fall, it went to the brain
Of the nervous man and fred him
up TO deeds that his nature other
wise would not have tolerated.
Total abstinence is the only safe
guar against the evils of alcohol.
Some claimed that the grace of
Gcd, through their religious obliga-
lions, would save them from be-
Coming other than moderate drink
ers. This Mr.. Cough denied,
illustrating bis position with very
pointed and forcible comparisons.
Appealing TO the young men, to
make their record clear and stain
less now, by abstaining from sin,
he made a brilliant peToration on
the nobility of mans Godllke char
scter, when unsullied by any
unlawful qualification of inGulg-
ences. Tempefance with him was
the lawful qualification of a nat
ursl desire, showing that men in.
herited desires abnormally, which
they could not a1nihilate, it was
only left for them TO fight them,and
vindicating their manhood become
conquerOrs of passions which would
otherwise enslave them.
The advocates Of temperance
were endeavOring to reclaim the
drunkard Outcasts, who were
only beasts when alcohol
made them so. He advised
all who favored temperance to con-
tinue rapping at the door OF entrance
to the hearts of the drunkards, until
they found that spot or place of
feeling which existed in every one,
which when aroused would impeI
the slave to usu-p the right Of the
demon drink to control him.
He had been accused, sometimes
by the clergy, of not making Christ
ians of the reformed ones. How
ever he had the consciousness of
assisting to roll away the stone
which impeded their progress, and
place them in the path which had
no divergence.
He considered himself simply a
story teller and was proud to remain
as such, in the noble works Of tenn
pefance. The story he told wears
ago, he had lived to see a realiza-
ton.
Coughs faculty in Imagery and
word painting is something b2rder-
ing an the miraculous. TO saw that
be IS che of the gfes eS' orators OF
The day would be an Idle expression:
he has been on the record as such,
in all civilized nations for many
years.