The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1885-08-13

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OF God and everyman in Kentucky is on
that way. Heaven is at one end of the
road-hell at the other, and the only ques-
ton is which direction shall you go. A
man on his way to hell, if he thinks min
ute, and will turn around right on the road
he is on he is in the road to heaven if he
is on the way to heaven and turns around
in that way he is in, he is on the road to
hell in less than Is seconds It is not a
question OF what your name is, or what
church you may belong to, or how YOU
have been baptized, but of which direction
on this road you go. / used to think, when
was a little fellow, and heard it preached
that the way to heaven was way over here
and the way to hell over there. 1 didn't
know they were the same road. Every
sinner on this camp-ground is on the road
to heaven and every Christian is on the
road to hell, for the way to heaven is the
way to hell-heaven is at one end and hell
at the other. Which way are YOU going !?
Is your back on God and your face toward
hell2 And as long as this is SO there are
not enough angels in heaven and enough
love in the heart of God to keep you outof
perdltlOn. AS true as the right course
will take you to heaven the man that goes
the wrong course will 60 to hell. There is
a great deal OF discussion in pulpit and
literature on this question of sin. Some
profess to have found the origin of evil,
but l am not interested III the origin of
evil. My God, the question l am inter
ested In, is. there any way out of it? |
never discuss the question of depravity as
to whether personal or total, whether it is
In the fall of Adam, or whether inherited
or whether it is progressive. never dis
cusS this feature. [ look every man in the
face and know he can be evil, and some
are even more greedy than | was in this
respect. The natural tendency of life is
downward and hellward. That's true.
We see this in the earliest development of
childhood. Anger is almost the first ex-
preston of a child; cOvetousnesS is the
next expression of its life, and so on; but
whether it is Unborn, or whether we are
pure at birth-and then depravity is pro-
gressive-I have nothing to do with it.
BY the time you are twelve you are solid
lump of meanness. [ found that out. Sin
is fearful in this world. If 1 have been
charged with anything, it is exaggeration.
They say Sam Jones speaks in hyberbole
and Jones exaggerates they charge me
with that frequently. / will tell you what
will do Il will go to some homes in Ken
lucky and some graveyards in Kentucky
where the poor drunkards are buried, and
l defy earth and hell to exaggerate the
picture. Will words paint anything
darker and more fearful than that
Things have have happened in Lexington
in the last ten years that | have referred
to-are they exaggerated Take that
husband in his downward course and
see him as he progresses in his ruin
for his wife; and then see the wife's feet
gradually being brought to the grave day
by day, and see the wife's heart as the
blood trickles from it drop by drop, hour
after hour, until it's last crimson drop is
exhausted, and she sinks into the grave
and the little children brought to shame
and desolation and want, and see that
whole family, and when you have, bring it
and throw it's shadow into one picture be-
fore your eyes-a ruined man, a ruined
soul, a broken-hearted wife and beggared
children and hope blasted forever. Is
there word painter i'll the universe of
God who can exaggerate that picture?
The only difference between the man who
has done that and you, brother, is that he
has gone little further than you. You
have the same disease, and unless 1t is
arrested in it's course you will reach the
same point before long. have been very
strong in my denunciationS of some things,
and | denounce a thing in proportion as |
see it is an evil as / see it ruin humanity,
/ denounce it in that proportion. have
said in the pulpit that no one but an in
fernal scoundrel would sell, and no one but
an internal fool would drink whiskey.
''That is strong language" they say
you ought not to say it." The liquor
dealers at Chattanooga said Damn it, he
insults a man to his facet ~ and have cuss-
ed about promiscuously about what l said
10 liza 7
about as much as discussed, too. | told
them too the next time they heard me to
meet me the next morning and go down
certain street with me until we arrived at
the desolate home and see that pallid
woman, and see themselves what horrid
wreck their trade has made OF once
happy home. See the wrecked fireside, the
wretched children on the floor, and then
ask that woman who was her father and
how was she raised, whom she married,
and what has become of her husband, and
then place your ear to her heart and hear
the blood dripping, dripping from it-and
then see the besotted form and bleared
eyes of the bloated man lying drunk on
the floor in the back room and then say if
| exaggerate. A man in Tennessee wrote
me the other day about as follows: Jones,
| understand you have offered five hun
take oath before Justice of the Peace
and sign his name that he doesn' It want to
go to heaven, and if you will write me | IL
meet you and take the oath, and get the
money!" | would be a fool to offer five
hundred dollars for such man and such
an oath. | can get them all over this
country for q dollar, and some even for
fifty cents, and some would sell out for
nothing and board themselves. Look at
the picture OF course never made such
proposition. A fellow saw it in the
newspapers and the only thing | have
against them is that everything they pub
lish is true. That's the only objection l
have in the world. You can bank on any
thing you see in the newspapers-tha is,
Southern newspapers. That's horrld
picture there isn't it? A man offers to
| sell his soul for $500, and sign, seal and
deliver the instrument. My God! what
farce is this? Every man that sells
whiskey and every man that makes whis-
| key in this country is after the same thing
! for which that fellow wanted to take an
oath for five hundred dollars. The worst
enemy of God and the race, and the best
friend of the devil is the man who makes
whiskey. '.They are generous, +" you say.
Well, they ought to be. They will make a
pauper out Of a husband, widows out of
wives, and send man to hell, and then
this generous whiskey dealer will send
his widow sack of flour! Amt that
generous? Amt that nice? Don't you
think it is the kindest thing you ever
heard of in your life? They will take
your members and debauch them, and
damn them, and help pay you to preach!
My God, what sort of kindness is that ?
Let me tell you another thing. l have a
good deal to say about the fellow that
drinks whiskey, for the other fellows are
rascals, while you are fools of the first
order. Yes, you are. Aye, hear that !
/ know what L am talking about. I've
been thar / know what I'm talking
about-nobody but fool will touch it.
No, there's a bigger fool than that, and
that's the woman who will stir teddy
for her husband. Laughter.l
Whenever you don't like my talk you
can back out. man is fool that drinks
whiskey. Yes, he is, too. In GAINESVILLE,
Ga, few weeks ago, the jailor walked
into the Jail one morning and man woke
, up and looking around, said, Where am
lip" ''You are in jail" I'm jail =
f"Yes.n What for p ''For murder. =
"For murder?" Yes" Who. have l
! killed % Your wife and sister," my
God, is that so? Tell them don't want
a Judge, don't want jury, don't want a
! trial-take me out and hang me to the
| first tree you can find" 1t looks like a