The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-11-06
Col. Ingerson on Alcohol.

The following is from the report of
| Col. II. q. 1ngersolPs speech before the
supreme court, in Chicago, in the IA
nous Whisky Ring case five years
ago:
L am aware there is a prejudice
against men engaged in the manufac-
ture of alcohol. | believe from the
time it issues from the cOiled and poi
sonous worm in the distillery until it
empties into the hell of death, that it
Is demoraliZing to everybody that
touches it, from the source to where
it eadS. do not believe that anybody
can contemplate the subject without
being prejudiced against the crime. All
they have to do is to think of the
wrecks on either side of the stream of
death, Of the suicides, of the insanity,
of the poverty, of the destruction, of
the little children Juggling at the
breast OF weeping and deSpairing
wives asking for bread, Of the man
struggling with imaginary serpents
produced by this deViliSh thing; and
when you think of the jails, of the
almshouses, of the asylums, of the
prisons, and of the scaffolds, on either
bank, L, do not wonder that every
thoughtful man is prejudiced against
this vile stuff called alcohol.
Intemperance cuts down youth in its
Vigor, manhood in its strength, and
age in Its weakness. 1t breaks the
fathers heart, bereaves the doting
mother, eXtinguishes natural affec-
ton, grasses cOnjugal love, blots out
filial attachment, blights parental
hope, and brings down mourning age
in sorrow to the grave. 1t produces
weakness, not strength; sickness, not
health; death, not life. 1t makes wives
widows, children orphans, fathers
fiends, and all of them paupers and beg
gars. Itfeeds rheumatism, nurses govt,
welcomes epidemicS, invites cholera,
imports pestilence, and embraces con-
sumption. 1t covers the land with
idleness, poverty, disease and crime.
1t fills your Jails, supplies your aims
houses, and demands your aSylums.
II engenders controversies, fosters
Quarrels and cheriSheS riots. 1t crowds
your peritentiarieS, and furnishes the
victims for your scaffolds. 1t is the
life blood of the gambler, the aliment
of the counterfeiter, the prop of the
highwayman, and the support of the
midnight incendiary. 1t countenances
the liar, respects the thief and esteems
the blasphemer. 1t violates obliga-
ton. reverences fraud and honors in
fanny. 1t defames benevolence, hates
love, scorns virtue and ISLANDERS inno-
cence. 1t incites the father to butcher
his helpless offspring, helps the hus-
band to massacre his wife, and aids
the child to grind the parricidal ak.
1t burns up man and consumes
woman, detests life, curses God, and
despises heaven. 1t suborns wit
nesses, nurses perjury, defiles the jury
box, aid stains the Judicial
ermine. 1t brides voters, disquaIifies
votes, corrupts elections, pollutes
our instructions, and endangers cur
government. 1t degrades the citizen,
debases the legislator, dishonors the
statesman, and disarms the patriot.
1t brings shame, not honor; terror,
not safety; despair, not hope; misery,
not happiness. And with the marc
violence of a fend it calmly surveys
its frlghtful deSolations, and, lnSatiat-
ed with havoc, it poisons felicity, kills
peace, ruins morals, blights confidence,
Stays reputation, and wipes out ma
tional honor, then curses the world
and laughs at its ruin.
1t does all that and more. 1t MUIR
ders the soul. 1t is the sum of ali vii
lanies, the father of crimes, the mother
of all denominations, the curse of ours
es, the devils best friend, and Gods
worst enemy,