The Opelousas courier., 1884-08-16
or High License i?
Which ?
OPELoUsAs, La, Aug. l3. "a
M D
ANOs 81.

the great, still waters of human thought
In our midst, through your interesting
weekly columns, on the above named
subject, | have waited with some pa
Gence, hoping that competentintellec-
tual force would send III qa twisting
wind over this stagnant sea or cast
into 1t burning mountain and lash it
into fury upon this colossal subject.
But as it has not been done, permit
me to throw another small boulder in
to this "sea of glass" I wish it were
something larger; but we are taught
not to despise the day of small things.
1t is SAID that when the Romans un-
der Gen'l Regulus were making cam
paign through the jungles of Africa,
they were confronted by monstrous
serpent. Though they felt that they
were not sent to fight serpents, yet as
this one was in their way and would
not move, and had really assumed
defiant and warlike attitude, that they
would attack and destroy him before
they resumed their march, which thing
they did and sent the hide, which meas
ured one hundred and twenty five feet
in length, to Rome.
Now it is known that we claim to be
a more civilized and enlightened peo-
pie than the ancient, idolatrous Ro
mans; yet we have not acted so wise
ly and so well. For in our
march through the tangled forests
of ignorance and folly, towards the
great sea of higher and better state
of existence, we have encountered
more dreadful worm-a horrid ser
pent of more gigantic proportions. He
has many heads, and every head has a
capacious mouth, and every mouth is
armed with terrible fangs and at the
upper end of each fang, there is IL sack
of deadly poison.
Some of his chief heads are lifted up
here in Opelousas; and then he has one
or more heads in every town and neigh
borhood of our large and beautiful par
ish. We counted almost two dozen be-
tween our town and Bell-Cheney
Springs, few days since. His pom
derous body lays all along the bounda-
ries and inside of the entire parish.
He has already devoured many houses
and lots, numerous plantations, horses
and cattle-much gold and silver. He
has snatched from men their health,
manly strength and glory. He has
robbed unnumbered families of their
food and clothing, and filled their
pathway with thorns. He has crushed
and devoured many OF our fathers, our
husbands, our sons and our brothers,
and even the souls ofmen.
In addition to these frightful and
soul freezing facts, he has taken from
the majority of men left i'll our midst,
every high and exalted principle ;
/ and now there is neither honor or hon
esty left to them. Then he has filched
from them and many others, all then
manly fear of the great God all love
for the Sabbath as day of sweet, de-
licious rest; aud all true sympathy for
their fellow men. He has also filled
the parish with idleness, want a
thrift, and poverty. He has produced
all kinds of drunken quarrels aud or.
gies base love of gambling and all
such exeesses; all manner OF coarse
/ profanity and horrid blaspheny, lewo
& and filthy language and habits. He
has sent home into icated fathers, nus
bands. brothers ana sons, to abuse, out
rage, beat and murder mothers, wlve:
Il and HELPLESS little ones He has made
young men here blight and curse t
q their parents and ioathsome stain Il
humanity. He has filed jails, poor
houses, state prisons, assignation dens
aud insane asylums with victims. H'
has converted lovely and happy home
into charnel houses. He has crowded
he'll with the damned, and made mul
titudes worse than devils.
And now, what are we doing to des
troy this mighty destroyer of our race
Nothing! absolutely nothiny Wha
+ are we proposing to do as parish
! So far, nothing aohateuer .
!. Our politicians are afraid to lift "
!. their voice against this grim monste
!, lest ii should overthrow their election
Yea! they even encourage the presenc
and worship of this monster snake, o
becoming conductors of the poison,
one way and another, to the delude
!, masses about them, to gain their SUP
mort. Our lawyers are too busy wit
the numerous cases which this dev
has brought forth to say even on
! word unfavorable to his hellish reg
!, over ia. To crush him would be
! take away from them nearly, or qul'
4 three fourths of their profits. Our do'
! ! tors as a class, stand near his snake
shin to recommend and pour down b
{ poison, fresh from his fangs, and WI
{ not learn the misery and shame Til
s are inaugurated about them, as the Y
snlt Our farmers and hirellngs fe
!, that he is friend to them, although
] ! costs them their cotton bales and nj
|. : nnfreonently their last acre. Our NJ
! |. chanics are SO absorbed in rubbing ar
I smnothing his fiendish sides al
= drinking the fiery fumes OF his breat
: : that fhey see not his destructive met
= dds and their own danger. Our TOW
= : and parish officials are in hip va
: Winkle sleep, and hear not the thu
! ders and the wild, dashing waves
s human woe at their very doors. "
= ladies. dear creatures, in the great m
I, = iority of cases, bow to this aecurs
!. :: baast and contribute more for his su
= ! mort than they do for the reign
j j Christ and the spread Of the gosT
4 among men. I,
. While our preachers Of Jesus a.
E the resurrection seem to oe pGaG
- their dreadful silence in this nome
4 tons hour. They act as though tn
a a have closed their eyes and stopp
nf i. their ears, lest they should see the q
a ing multitudes about them, and ht
Te the walls and lamentations OF weepi
!. widows and fatherIess children. Th
=, rroclain,ing q velvet gospel lin