Smyrna times., 1885-06-24
For the Smyrna Times
TO THE CITIZENS OF SMYRNA.

In walking home from a place of
worship recently my eyes beheld a sad
sight that panied my heart. A daugh-
ter was leading her father home after
his having spent the evening in place
of vice. He had been drinking of that
cup which will send loving father to
the scatlold, Il dutiful son to the prison
cell and a brokcn-healted wife and
mother to paupers s grave. Why do
we tolerate such dens of iniuuitv in
our midst? Three licensed hotels in
town! Reflect a mOment-three IL
censed hotels in a town of three thOus-
and inhabitants dealing out the deadly
influence of King Alcohol to hundreds
of persons whom God modelled after
His image, whom He has crowned with
the laurels of an immortal soul. We
have five churches in the town, but,
oh what block to the wheels of the
chariot of Christianity drawn forward
by these five churches do these three
ruts of crime become. They exert
in our town influences of the most de-
grading description! From them our
youth and future hope, the coming
generation, the shOuld-be nerve and
sinew of the community, come to mans
estate mental, moral and physical
wrecks; creatures without a will, fitted
only to be willing tools in the hands of
men of all shades of character; having
given themselves up to temptation they
have forfeited their rights to the sub
lime title of ireemen and stigmatized
themselves with the title of moral
slaves; they have lost ambition, future
hope, love and fear of God, love of
mother and father. 1t matters not to
them how their mothers weep and
pray, their fathers threaten and groan
in agony, they have lost all Of their
former deferential respect for their
| parents, care not for pleasant home
surroundings, in fact, love nothing but
alcohol and disregarding the warnings
of true friends, rush with reckless
laughter and looks of confidence into
the vortex of this mighty maelstrOm
| the power of which they feel, alas too
late. Thus does alcohol, distributed
from our three hotels, rob us Of the
true mental life and energies of our
| rising generatiOn-it is the ruin Of our
yOURg men.
As long as the devOtees of the cup
are hOnored sought after and exhib-
tied by the fashionable young ladies Of
| our town, thereby being encouraged in
their evil pursuits, just so long will we
! have in our midst numbers of fashion
able young drunkards. Just so long
as our ladies tolerate such dissipated
and irresponsible company in good
society, Just so long is the moral peace,
honor and welfare of our daughters
threatened by the wiles of this insid-
eous foe. Let the pampered social
drunkards be regarded as social lepers,
let drunkenness be made uniashiOn-
able, let it become to be regarded as an
almost inexcusable breach of social eti-
quette, and our daughters will be more
safe-dlcohOl depriCeS man Of all sense
OfhOnor and thus threatens or ddUgh-
ters.
What consistency is there in man
driving from our State an iniidel for
goddess blasphemy" and yet using
his political power and influence to re-
tain within its borders a curse that
creates one hundred times more con-
verts, thousands of times more god
less blasphemy," and hundreds more
to the depths of hell daily than Col.
Robert Ingersoll ever did, can or will
do? If he could Danish from our bOr-
ders Col. Robert IngersOll for dissent
mating to the people of Delaware his
"godless blasphemY," if he felt so anX-
iOus for the moral welfare of the in
habitants of the State as to drive from
its borders a curse Which would prOba-
bly, have consigned to hell one soul and
not more, why does he not exert his
! judicial authority and influence to
Ir9vr NJ "A st1p EnnnG
thousands of souls to the depths, fills
our prisons with criminals, our aims
houses with paupers, our pOtters
fields full of unmarked graves and OuI
, homes full of broken-hearted wives and
mothers? What glory is there to be
: wasted upon that official who drives
: from our State mole hill of vice and
allows to remain NesuVius of sin
which is constantly spreading and
growing more fierce under the foster
) ing care of government and society
, But they will find that they are warm
) ing serpent which will eventually
destroy both unless they unite il
stamping out its life by prohibitOry
enactments. What praise is due sucl
man? none-aicohol has chOked all o
the consistency, reason and p0Uer ont Q
both justice and society,"
Danish the bar-roOms attached to on
. hotels, let their books be examined ant
= the bewildering disprOportionablenes
T of their expenditures and receipt
, beshown to their victims and they vii
!, behold the enormity of the sums c
@ money they have expended and bee
cheated out of to the eternal disadVan
y tage of themselves and their families
, from nothing but touching the cup.
/ Touch not the cup
j You will be caught in snare;
Touch nOtthe cup though the path seems clear,
o Touch not the cup il will ruin thy soul;
l., Touch not the cup, touch it not.
a CHORUS.
4 Touch not the cup. touch not the cup,
81 Touch not the cup it Will ruin thy soul,
m Touch not the cup touch il not.
If Touch not the cup,
Though it SparkleS with glee:
10 | Touch not the cup though it's tempting for the