The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1886-12-31
Written for the MONITOR
INTEMPERANCE OUR NATIONAL SIN.

enness was not the sin that it is in our day
| The ancient Israelites and Romans were as
totally depraved and prone to sin as we
Americans are, but they had not the same
| temptations that we have. The intoxica-
| ting bowl with them was not so strong, non
SO fearlully adulterating as it is with MS.
During the life of Christ, He travelled over
| Palestine many times. He saw many suf-
| ferers and almost all sorts of sinners. He
saw the blind, the lame, the dumb, the
deaf, and healed them. But we nowhere
read that He saw drunken man, or wo-
man. Had Christ witnessed in Palestine
what may be seen in any OF our rum.
| cursed populous cities of the present day,
the rebukes upon hypocritical lawyers
would appear mild when compared witt
the more scathing denunciations He would
deal out upon the men now engaged in the
acursed traffic of rum and who are.legislat-
ing in its interests.
know men say, ooh, give us the good old
times of our forefathers, when the wine
was on the FANNY table" But we, to.
day, are reaping the legitimate harvest oil
drunkenness sprung up from the seed sown
by their unwise practices. Like disease,
the habit has become chronic and fastened
its grip on us as individuals and as ma
ton. And this sin of drunkenness with lbs
as people has become simply enormous.
1t has taken many of the best from the
| family, and in its Shiny trail it has en-
| tered Christ's church and robbed it OF
| some OF its most useful members. 1t has
! entered the halls of Congress and dragged
down some of our most gifted senators. 1t
has even entered the sacred desk and clos
ed the lips Of some of the most useful and
eloquent ambassadors Of the cross, and
brought disgrace on the church of Christ.
| true to Keep silent when this great evil is
SO rapidly increasing. | believe almost
every sin ever thought of by his satanic
majesty is practiced in this nation, but in
proportions and power for evil the sin of
intemperance towers high above all others.
Drunkenness is emphaically our ma
tional sin and when the rum barons at
Chicago in national congress assembled,
declared by vote and resolution that the
whiskey business was moral, Il temper
ate and respectable business then, if
never before, this fearful business became
a public question, IA state question, ma
tonal question. And am glad To know
that the nation has undertaken to grapple
with this great evil And no nation can
disregard such pest and live. 1t is not
only a shame and a reproach to the nation
that suffers it to exist, but 4 viper in its
bosom that will sting it to death; curse
that will blast and wither every thing
that is fair and beautiful. But AS the
whiskey men have made it a political and
a national question, it must and will be
decided by our ballots, and now that the
battle is being fought there is one i'm
perisllable consolation TO every pure mind
ed person and that is God and right are on
the side Of home and temperance. Then
intemperance is our national sin, because
it is The only sin which the nation publicly
and openly licenses and protects by law;
and from which sin it receives a revenue.
This nation is Il stakeholder in every Ii
censed saloon in the land And the nation
is responsible before God for making such
an evil business, and blighting curse le-
ultimate.
1t is known that a large per cent OF the
nations wealth is sunk or more than
wasted in this nnholy copartnership.
Four ilths of the crime results from this
business Wipe ont the traffic and you
will close two-thirds of our prisons. The
liquor traffic is the greatest enemy oil this
nation. Ii adds nothing to its wealth or
happiness and it promotes no national
good. 1t does not develop the resources of
the nation. 1t provides no schools; it
POUNDS no colleges; it builds no churches;
it edncates no orphans; it is not guilty
of instituting any reforms. 1t re-
CARDS not the sanctity of the Sabbath, but
tramples rough shod over every command
ment. 1t observes no law, but trangresses
ALL both human and divine. And these
things are not done in a corner, nor in a
heather land, but In this union of States
and IL the light Of this nineteenth century.
This work of corrupting, defrauiing and
cursing the people is going on under the
very shadow ofsurchurch spires, and with
in the sound of tue gospel. Now the Mas
ter says "woe unto him that giveth his
neighbor drink but this n-tion says you
may give him drink, if you will give me a
revenue. Thus as a nation, we are in con
troversy with God; He says thou shalt not
and We ale saying we will This nation
must cease to contradict the great Ruler
and disposer Of all nations, or else it must
be destroyed. This nation must stop her
sale of indulgences, and her farming out
the right to few, to sell liquid poison,
to destroy chara cter, property and life, or
else prepare for the fate of Sodom.
repeat it, drunkenness is our national
sin. and drink is our national curse.
GYMNASTIC EXERCISES.