The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-06-30
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Fifth Discourse Of the Series on
'The Labor Question"

DtPosg Drink the Worst Foe Of the
Laborer-Ths Penalties Inseparabls
From the Indulgence Of the Habit
Tho Advantages Of Abstinence.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage took for the
subject Of the fifth discourse of his series
On 1.-THE labor Question" "Strong Drink
the Worst Foe Of Labor, }" and illustrated II |
from the following text:
He that earneth wages. earneth wages to
put It into bag with holes-[Haggai, L,s.
DR.. Talmsge said: In Persia, under the
reign Of Darius hystaspes, the people did
not prosper. They made money, but did
not keep II. They were like people who
have . sack In which they put money, not
knowing that the sack is torn or eaten of
moths or In some way made incapable of
holding valuables. As fast as the coin
was put In one end of the sack it dropped
out of the other. It made no difference
how much wages they got, for they lost
themi
What hes become Of the billions and
billions Of dollars In this country paid to
the working classes? Some of these moneys
have gone for house rent, or the purchase
of h0nsstsads or wardrobe, or family OK.
psnses or the necessities Of private life, or
to provide comforts in old age. What has
become Of other billions! Wasted in fool.
ish outlay. Wasted at the gaming table.
Wasted in intoxicants. Put into bag
with . hundred holes.
Gather up the money that the working
classes have spent for rum during the last
thirty years and I will buy for every
workingman house, and lay out for him
garden, and clothe his sons in broad.
cloth and bis daughters in silks, and stand
at bis front door prancing span Of sor.
rels or bays, and secure him policy Of
life insurance, SO that the present home
may be we'll maintained after he is dead.
The most persistent, most overpowering
enemy Of the working classes Is intoxi.
eating liquor. Il is the Anarchist of the
centuries, and has boycotted and Is now
boycotting the body and mind and soul Of
American labor. It 10 to it q worse foo
than monopoly and worse than associa ted
capital. Il annually swindles industry
out Of large percentage of its earnings.
II holds out its blasting solicitations to the
mechanic or operative on his way to work,
and ct the noon.spell, and on his way
home ct even tide; on Saturday, when the
wages are paid, it snatches large part Of
the money that might come to the family
and sacrifices it among the saloon.keepers.
Within eight hundred yards of Sand Street
Methodist Church, Brooklyn, it has fifty.
four saloons and is plotting now for an
other. Stand the saloons of this country
side by side, and II is carefully estimated
that they would reach from New York to
Chicago. forward march, says the rum
power, "and take possession Of the Amer.
lean Nation"
The rum business is pouring its vitriolic
damnable liquids down the throats of hun
dreds and thousands of laborers, and while
the ordinary strikes are ruinous both to
employers and employees, proclaim .
universal strike against strong drink,
which, II kept up, will be the relief Of the
working classes and the salvation of the
Nation. will undertake to say that there
Is not . healthy laborer in the United
States who, within the next ten years, If
he will refuse all Intoxicating beverage
and be saving, may not become q capital
ist on small scale. Our country in year
spends $1,600, 050, 900 for rum. OF course
the working classes do aIg reat deal of this
expenditure. Careful statistics show that
the wage.earning classes Of Great Britain
expend in liquors $500 ,OOO.0OO year. Sit
dowE and calculate. o, workingman, how
much have you expended in the direc-
tionsi Add 1t all up. Add up what your
netghbors have expended, and realize that
instead Of answering the beck Of other
people you might have been your own
capitalist.
& When you deplete workingmap's phys.
icsl energy you deplete his capital. The
stimulated workman gives out before the
unstimulated workman.
My father said: ~ became q temperate
man in early life because noticed in the
harvest that, though I was physically
weaker than other workmen, could hold
out longer than they. They took stimu'
lants; l took none"
A brickmaker in England gives his ex'
psrience In regard to this matter among
men in his employ. He says, after in
vestigation: 1.-THE beer drinker who mad,
the fewest bricks made $4,000; the alb
stainer who made the fewest bricks, 746,.
900. The difference In behalf of the alb
stainer over the indulger, $780,"
There came q very exhausting time il
the British Parliament. The session wa
prolonged until nearly all the members go
sick or worn out. Out of $50 members only
two went through unchanged; they wer,
teetotallers.
The following circumstance came un de
our observation: A young man WORKED
hard to earn his $500 or 500 yearly. Mar
riags day came. The bride had inherited
500 from her grandfather. She spen
every dollar Of II ON the wedding dress
Then they rented two rooms in the third
story. Then the young man took extr
evening smployment-almost exhauste
with the days work, yet took evening EN-
ploymsnt. It almost extinguished hi
eyesight. Why did he add even
ing employment to the day employ
ments To get money. Why did
want to get money! To lay up some
thing for q rainy day. No. To &c
his life insured, 30 that in case of his deaf
his wife would not be beggar! No. H
put the extra evening work to the da.
work that he might get one hundred an
atty dollars to get his wife . sealsk
coat. The sister of the bride heard Of thi
achievement and was not to be eclipsed
She was very poor and she sat up workin
nearly all the nights for great while un
ell she bought a sealskiu coat. I have no
heard of the result ON that street. tn
street was full of those who are on SINAI
In ..,,,,aa. h,,A I sunpnaa fhA confa ni0