The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-10-20

/ hath forgotten the covenant or mel
God, and around the city and around the
continent and around the earth seething,
boiling surge hings its hot spray into the
face OF long-sufering God. And the ship
captain damns his crew, and the merchant
damns his clerks. and the maseer-builder
damns his men, and the hack-driver damns
his horses and the traveller darnn' the stone
| that bruises his foot or the mud that soils his
! shoe OF the defective time-pisce that gets
! him too late to the railway trains. / Iarraign
! profane swearing and blasDhemy, two names
! for the same thing as being one Of the gigan-
tic crimes of this land, and for its extirpation
it does seem as if it were about time for God
to rise.
enness Whether you live in Brooklyn or
New York, or Chicago, or Cincinnati. or
Savannah, or Boston, or in any OF the cities
of this land, count up the saloons on that
street as compared with the saloons five
years ago, and see they are growing far out
of proportion TO the increase Of the popula-
ton. You people who are so precise and
particular lest there should be some impru-
dence or rashness in attacking the rum traf-
tc, will have your son pitched into your
front door dead drunk or your daughter will
come home with her children because her
husband has by strong drink been turned
into a demoniac. The rum fend has de-
spoiled whole streets of good bones in all our
cities. Fathers, brothers, sons on tn, fu-
neral pyre of strong drink. Fasten tighter
the victims! Stir up the flames Pile on
the corpses More men, women and children
for the sacrifice! Let us have whole genera
tions on fire of evil habit; and at the sound
of the cornet, harp, sackbut, psaltery and
dulcimer let all the people fall down and
worship King Alcohol, or you shall be cast
into the fiery furnace under some political
platform!
indict this evil as the fratricide, the pat
regicide of the century. Yet under what in
nocent and delusive and mirthful names al
coholism deceives the peoplel Iti a ''cor;
dial" 1t is sbitters" It's an ''eye-opener.n
1t is an appetizer" 1t is 'digester." 1t
is an ''invigorator" 1t is Settler" 1t is
q ''nightcap." Why don't they put on the
right labels: Essence Of perdition, Con
ACHE Tears Of orphanage, "Blood of
SOULS" "Scabs Of an eternal leprosy,"
venom of the worm that never diese' Only
on ce in a while is there anything in the title
of liquors to even hint their atrocity as in the
case of sour mash, that see advertised all over.
1t is an honest name and any one can under
stand it. Sour-mash! That is, it makes
mans disposition sour and his associations
sour and his prospects sour; and then it IS
good to mash his body and mash his soul and
mash his business and mash his family. Sour
mash! One honest name at least for an in
soxicant. But through lying labels Of many
of the apothecarie5' shops good .peope who
are only q little undertone in health, and
wanting of some invigoration have unwit-
tingly got on their tongue the fangs OF this
cobra that stings to death so large ratio OF
the human race.
Others are ruined by the common aud all
destructive habit of treating customers. And
it is a treat on their coming to town and
treat while the bargaining progresses, and
treat when the purchase is made, and treat
as he leaves town. Others, to drown their
worst trouble. Oh the world is battered
and bruised and blasted with this growing
evil. Il is more AMI more entrenchel and
fortified. They have millions of dollars sub
scribed to marshal and advance the alcoholic
forces. They nominate and elect and gov
ern the vast majority Of the off1ce-holders
of this country. On their side they have
enlisted the mightiest political power of the
centuries, and behind them stand all the
appollyonic, and diabolic. 1t is beyond all
human effort to throw this Eastile Of de"an-
te-s or capture this Gibraltar Of rum jugs.
And while approve OF all human agencies
of reform would utterly despair if we had
nothing else. But what cheers me is that our
best troops are yet to come. Our chief artil-
lery is in reserve. Our greatest commander
has not yet fully taken the field. If all hell
is on their side, all heaven is on our side.
Now "let God arise, and let His enemies be
scattered"
Then look at the impurities Of these great
cities Ever and anon there are in the news
papers explosions Of social life that make the
story Of Sodom quite respectable such
things, Christ says, were more tolerable for
Ill h tl,,, fo,. fhar rhnr
and Bethsaidas Of greater Ii ght. 1t Is no un-
usual thing in our cities to see men in high
positions with two or three families, or re-
fined ladies willing solemnly to marry the
very swine of society if they be wealthy.
Brooklyn, whose streets fifteen years ago
were almost free from all sign Of the social
evil, now night by night rivaling upper
Broadway in its hamboyant wickedneis.
The Bible adams lame With iifa dsaunc,ation den taSsa
fourths of the American ministry ut
tering not one point-blank word against
this iniquity, lest some old libertine throw up
his church pew. Machinery organized in all
the cities Of the United States and Canada
by which to put yearly in the grinding mill
of this iniquity thousands Of thu unsuspect-
ing Of the country farm houses, one procuress
confessing last week in the courts that she
had supplied thu Internal market with $50
PttH Mall Gazettes in America to swing
open the door of this laZar-house Of social
corruption! Exposure must come before e1-
tirpation.
While the city van carries the scum Of this
sin from the prison to the police courts morn
ing by morniug, it is full time, il we do not
want high American life to become like that
Of the court Louis XIV, to put tbs millionaire
Lotharios and the Pompadours Of your brown
stone palaces into van Of popular indigua-
ton and drive them out Of respectable as
sociations. What prospect of social puri6ca-
tion can there bs as long as at summer
watering places it is usual to see young
woman Of excellent rearing stand and simper
aud gigsle and roll up her eyes sideways be-
fore one of those irst-class satyrs Of fashion
able life and on the ballroom floor join him
in th, square dance, the maternal chaperon
meanwhile beamiug fro the wall on ths
scene. Natches are made in heaven, they
say. Not such matches, for the birthstone
indicates the opposite region.
The evil is overshadowing all our cities.
By some these immorals are peccadiloes,
gallantries, eccentricities, and are relegated
to the realm Of jocularity, and few efforts
are being made against it. God bless tho
"White Cross" movement, as it is called, the
excellent and talented Miss Frances Willard,
its ablest advocate on this side Of the sea, an
organization making q mighty assault on
this evil God forward the tracts on this
subject distributed by the religious tract
societies Of the world God help parents in
the great work they are doing in trying to
start their children with pure principles;
God help all legislators in their attempt to
inhibit this crime.
But is this alla Then it is only question
of time when the last vestige Of purity aud
home will vanish out Of sight. Human arms,
human pens, human voices, human talents
are not sufficient. begin to look up, listen
Juo DouIeyarus or heaven 1 watch TO see II