Nevada County picayune., 1886-08-25
TEMPERANCE COLUMN.
Conducted by Rev. T. w. Hays
Arraignment of Alcohol.

Col. Robt c. Ingcrsoll in ad- dressing jury in case which involved the manufacture Of alco- hol repeated the following terrible arraignment of the demon. No one can gainSay his truth and no one can read it without a shndder: am aware that there Is a p"eju- dice against any man who manu- factures alcohol. l believe that from the time 1t iSsnes from the coilcd and poisonous worm in the distillery until it emptics into the jaws of death, dishonOr and crime, it demoralizes everybody that touches it from it's source to where it ends. I do not believe that any body can contemplate the object without being preludiced against the liquor crime. All we have 10 do. gentlemen, is to think of the wrecks on either bank of the stream of death, of the suicides, of the ignorance, of the dcstitntion, of the little children tugging at the l faded and withered breast of weep. ing and despairing mothers, of wives asking for bread, of the men of genius it has wrecked, the men struggling with imaginary serpcnts produced by this devlish thing; and when you think of the jails, of the almshouses, of the asylums, of the prisons, of the scatfold5 upon either bank, do not wonder that every thoughtful man is prejudiced against this damnablc stuff called alcohol. lutemperance cuts down youth in it's vigor, manhood in it's strength and old age in it's wcak- ness. IL breaks the fathers heart, l bereaves the doting mother, eXtln- gnishes natural affection, crases conjual attachment, blights parcn- tai hope, aud brings down mourn ing age in sorrow to the grave. It produces weakness, not strength; ; sickness, not health. death, not life. ] It makes wives widows, children orphans, fathers fiends, and all of them paupers and beggars. It feeds rheumatism, nurses sout,
 welcomes epidemic, invites chol- era, imports pestilence and embra- ces consumption. It covers the land with idleness, misery and crime. It fills your jailS, supplies your sand demands your asylums. It engenders controver' ses, fosters quarrels and cherish es rio ts. It crowds your peniteE- tiaries and furnishes victems for your scaffolds. It is the life blood of the gambler, the element of the 1 burglar, the prop of the highway
 man and the support of the mid night incendiary. It countenan' ces the liar, respects the thief, estecms the blnsphemer. It vio- latcs obligation, reverences fraud and honors infamy. It dcfames benevolence, hates love, scorns virtue and islanders innocence. It incites the father to butcher his helpless offspring, helps the hus- band to massacre his wife and the child to grind the parricidal ax. It burns mp men, consumes Wo' men, detests life, curses God, de- spises heaven. It suboms witness es. nurses perjury, detiles the jury box and stains the judicial ermine. It degradeS the citizen, debases the legislature, dishonors states men and disar,ns the patriot. It brings shame, not honor; terror, not safety; despair, not hope; mis- cry, not happiness; oni with ma levolence of iierd calmly surveys it's frightful dcSolaton and unSa;i- ated havoc. It poisons felicity, kills peace, ruins morals. blights confidence, stays reputation, and wipes out national honor, then curses the world and laughs at its ruin. II does all that and more.
 1t murders the soul. Itis the sum of all villainics. the fother ot all crimes, the mother of all abomina- tions, the devils best friend and Gods worst enemy.
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