Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1885-10-10
Centennial Temperance Day in Nashville.
The Issue

The reform cause made a great adj
vance in cur beautiful city on last
Sunday. The pulpits responded to
the call most loyalty and eloquently.
Public opinion against the rum cause
Is being rapidly concentrated against
dram-drinking and the liquor-traffic.
We give below only excerpts from
the many strong appeals made;
DIR. Graham, of Christ Church:
How many are worn-ont wrecks OF
manly power through the vice Of
drunkenness? We want to have a
crusade preached against it. We
need men fired with the thought that
they are called by Christ to be the
saviors of society from the sins that
are wasting it, TO render to their
country and to humanity the noblest
service by fighting with voice and
hand against these deadly foes that
nlenace,our very life. and will, il they
are allowed to run riot, inevitably
drag us down to the pit Lift up
against such a vice the standard of the
cross. Be known as Christ's soldiers,
banded and pledged to its overthrow.
DIR. C. II. Strickland, OF the first Bap
tist Church: Intemperance wins the
body, wins the mind; even the very
strongest succumb; soldiers and states
men alike fall. 1t is death to hope
hope OF the parent, hope OF honor, hope
of pecumiary gain, hope OF heaven 1t
is slow death by torture. He is
criminal who kills such a beautiful
creature as hope, with eyes as doves
ewes. with unstained wings, with feet
washed in the river OF the water OF life.
1t is death to the hope of wife, death to
home, death to the soul. And yet men
live by the ruin and woe and death OF
Others. There will be a tremendous
retribution.
DR.. NJ. B. De Witt, of the Cumber
land Church: Such denominations
are the Protestant Episcopal Church,
the Primitive Church, and possibly
some others. The Presbyterian Church
in the United States of America, the
Methodist Episcopal Church, the Nj. E.
Church, South, the Cumberland Pres
byterian Church, the Congregational
churches, and others have taken high
ground i'm opposition to the whole al
cOhOl business for drink. We
need prohibition, and we seek a pro-
hibitory amendment to our State Con-
sttution that the organic law may for
ever abolish the fearful curse 1t fosters
by license and approves by free whis--
kew. All good citizens are exhorted
to stand by this living issue and see
that the people have the opportunity
to speak their will on this vast ques-
ton, untrammelied by partisan poll
tics, and at time when all good men
of all parties may freely act together
for the common veal and the future
welfare of society and the individual.
DIR. w. H. Strickland: Look at the
amount of death thus annually pro-
duced. From this picture we turn
away appalled,. We stand before a
scene more dreadful than Waterloo.
Sedan, Gettysburg, MurfreesbOro
Paris mid the madness OF the Com
mune, New Orleans and Memphis with
the yellow fever, Chicago and Boston
wrapped in flames, fail 10 give us, all
taken together, an adequate picture OF
the misery, disease, death produced by
this monster evil Statistics show that
in the United States 100000 die annu-
ally, in Great Britain 10000, not to
speak Of other civilized lands. One
hundred thousand a year in the United
is 274 each day, eleven each hour:
this Is the actual death rate; no esiI
mate is here made for those who are
left diseased, impoverished, diSgraced,
bestialized.
Mr.. Strickland sustained his posi-
tons by illustrations and arguments,
closing with an urgent appeal IN favor
of prohibition.
DR.. Gross Alexander, West End Nj.
f. Church: He gave a strikingly sim
pie object lesson, the white OF an egg
mixed with alcohol to show the cook |
ing effect OF the poison upon the albu- |
minous body of the BRAIN. Not only |
the mind, but the physical, moral, so |
cial man were all directly involved in |
the ruin produced by rum. He adj |
vanced argument and quoted authori- |
ties to show that alcohol units man
for all kinds of manual and intellectu- |
al labor Moreover, it debauches the
spiritual part of man; degrades and
bestializes the highest elements OF be- |
ing. He called upon young men to
resist the first invitation to drink. 1t
will require courage, but say "No," and
be true to it. Total abstinence Is the |
only safeguard against the tempter.
DIR. Alexander warned mothers
against the use of wine as a family bev- |
erage, and narrated thrilling incident
a drunken son cursed his |
mother for pressing the cup to his lips.
He referred to the terrible conse- |
quences that follow the hereditary
whiskey faint in the blood OF children. |
He denounced the personal liberty |
plea in the use of wine us an outrage
upon the spiritual dignity of men. In |
the evening he thoroughly Endorsed
prohibition, and urged his people to |
sustain it by their influence and votes
Dr. Barbee: III we can legislate one
evil out of our way, we can legislate all |
evils from our midst. But to legislate |
againstsu evils you must
tone up the moral sentiment of the |
community.
Other ministers also made bold de- |
Rev. Dr. Witherspoon's |
was such-and some ministers were
absent from the city.