Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-18

] w ensl Ter SdlQs " II tlbse men must SLlbkt
/ let them take the horse she'd"
one reason why there are 50 many the
victims OF this habit is because there are
| so many ministers of religion who smoke
and chew. They smoke until they get the
bronchitis, and the dear people have 70
pay their expenses to Europe. They
smoke until the nervous system breaks
down. They smoke themselves to death.
| could name three eminent clergymen
who died of cancer in the mouth, and IN
every case the physician said it was to-
baccO. There has beer many clergy
man whose tombstone was all covered up
with eulogy, which ought to have had
the honest epitaph 'Killed by too much
caVendish !" Some Of them smoke until
the room is blue and their spirits are
blue and the world is blue and
everything is blue. Time was when God
passed by such sins, but 1t becomes now
the duty of the American clergy who in
dulge in this narcotic to repent. How
can man preach temperance TO the peo-
pie when he is himself indulging in an
appetite like that? / have seen a cuspa-
dOre in pulpit where the minister should
drop his cud before he gets up TO read,
blessed are the pure in heart" and to
read about "rolling sin as a sweet morsel
under the tongue" and in Leyitcus to
read about the unclean animals that chew
the cud. l have known presbyteries and
general assemblies and general synods
where there was a room set apart for
ministers to smoke in.
Oh, tits sorry spectacle-a consecrated
man, holy man of God, looking around
for something which you take to be look
ing for larger field of usefulness. He is
rot looking for that at all. He is only
looking tor some place where he can dis
charge mouthtul of tobaccojuice! am
glad the Methodist Church of the United
states in nearly all their conferences have
passed resolutions against this habit, and
ii is time we had an antl-tObaccO reform
in the Presbyterian Church and the Epis-
copal Church and the Baptist Church and
the Congregational Church. About sixty
years ago young man graduated from
Andover theological Seminary into the
ministry. He went straight to the
front. He had an elOquence and per-
sonal magnetism before which nothing
could stand; but he was soon thrown into
the insane asylum for twenty years, and
the doctor said it was tobacco that sent
him there. According to the custom then
in vogue he was allowed a small portion
of tobacco every day. After he had been
there nearly twenty years, walking the
floor one day he had a sudden return of
reason, and he realized what was the
matter. He threw the plug of tobacco
through the iron gates and said "What
brought me here? What keeps me herey
Whv am here? Tobacco Tobacco! 0,
God! Help, help, and Pll never use it
again." He was restored. He was
brought forth. For ten years he success
fully preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ,
and then went into blissful Immortality.
There are ministers of religion to-day in
dulging in narcotics, dying by inches, and
they do not know what is the matter with
them. | might in a word give my own
experience. 1t took 10 cigars to make a
sermon. | got very nervous. One day |
awakened 10 the outrage | was inflict-
ing upon myself. | was about to change
settlements, and a generous Wholesale TO-
baccOnist in Philadelphia said If ] would
only come to Philadelphia he would, all the
rest of my life, provide me with cigars
free of charge. / said TO myself, If in
these war times, when cigars are so costly
and my salary is small ! smoke more
than l ought to, what would do if | bad
gratuitous and illimitable supply? And
then and there, "A years ago, | quit
once and forever. 1t made a new
man of me, and though | have since then
done as much hard work as any one, |
think | have had the best health God ever
blessed a man with. minister of reli-
giOn cannot afford to smoke. Put into
liH manu- lut AtAOltt = NdoitN III tFbaENO
in Brooklyn and | will support three or
phan asylums as grand and as beautiful
as those already established. Put into
my hand the moneys wasted in tobacco
in the United States Of America and
will clothe, feed and shelter all the suffer
ing poor on this continent. The American
church gives 81 600, 900 for the evangelical
ton Of the heather and American Chris
tians expend $1,000. 900 in tobacco.
Now | stand this morning not only in
the presence of my God, to whom | must
ave an account of what l say to-day, but
l stand in the presence of a great multi
tude of young men who are forming their
habits. Between II aud % there are tens
of thousands of young men damaging
themselves irretrievably by tobacco. You
either use very good tobacco or cheap to-
baccO. If you use cheap tobacco l want
to tell you why it is cheap. 1t is a mix
ture Of burdock, lampblsck, sawlust,
coltsfOot, plantain leaves, fuller's earth,
lime, salt, alum, and little tobacco.
You cannot afford, my young brothers, to
take such a mess as that between your
lips. If, on the other hand, you use
costly tobacco, let me say, l do not
think you can afford it. You take
that which you eXpend and will expend,
If you keep the habit all your life, and put
1t aside it will buy you farm TO make you
comfortable in the afternoon of life. A
merchant Of New York gave this testi-
mony: Gin early life | smoked six cigars
a day at 6% cents eaoh-they averaged
that. l thought to myself one day, I'll
Just put aside all the money | am con-
Stunning in cigars and all would consume
if kept on in the habit, and will see what
II will come to by compound interest -
And he gives this tremendous statistic I:
Last July completed SO years since, by
the grace of God, was emancipatcd from
the filthy habit, and the saving amounted
10 the enormous sum Of 800, 102 03 by COM
pound interest. We lived in the city, but
the children who had learned something
of the enjoyment of country life from
their annual visits to their grandparents
lOnged for home among the green fields.
l found a very pleasant place in the coun-
try for sale. The cigar money now came
into requisition and found il amounted
10 a sufficient sum TO purchase the place,
and it Is mire. Row, boys, YOU take your
understanding without home or home
without smOking."
Listen 10 that, young men. and take
another thing into consideration and that
is, vast amounts Of property are destroyed
every year indirectly 10y this habit. An
aaent of an Insurance company says
"One-half our losses come from the spark
OF the pipe ana the cigar" one Young
man threw away his cigar in one of the
cities and with IL he threw away three
millions Of dollars worth Of the property
OF others that blazed up from that spark.
H. s. -. 4