The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-07-15

lessly Improvldent.
Ihave no sympathy for skin-fiint saw
ing, but plead for Christian prudence.
You say it is impossible now to lay up
any thing for rainy day. knowi it, but
we are at the day break of National pros
perity. Some people think it is mean to
turn the gas low when they go out of the
parlor. They feel embarrassed if the door
bell rings before they have the hall light
ed. They apologize for the plain meal il
you surprise them at the table. Well, it Is
mean il IL is only to pile up miserly
hoard. But If it be to educate your chill
dren, if it be to give more help to your
wife when she does not feel strong, II 1t be
to keep your funeral day from being hor-
rible beyond all endurance because it is to
be the disruption and annjhilation of the
domestic circle--if it be for that, then it is
magnificent.
There are those who are kept in poverty
because Of their own fault. They might
have been well off, but they smoked or
chewed up their earnings, or they lived
beyond their means, while others on the
same wages and on the same salaries
went on to competency. / knew a man
who was all the time complaining of his
poverty and crying out against rich men,
while he himself keeps two dogs and chews
and smokes, and is full to the chin With
whisky and beer. Wilkins Micawber said
to David Copperfeld
"Copperfield, my boy, one pound In.
come, twenty shillings and sixpence ex-
penditure; result misery. But, Copper
field, my boy, one pound income, nineteen
shillings and sixpence; result, happi-
ness"
But, o working men Of America, take
your morning dram, and your noon dram,
and your evening dram, and spend every
thing you have over for tobacco and ex-
cursions, and you insure poverty for your
self and your children for ever. II by
some generous fiat of the capitalists of this
country, or by a new law Of the Govern
ment of the United States, twenty live
per cent or fifty per cent or one hundred
per cent were added to the wages of the
working classes of America 1t would be no
advantage to hundreds of thousands of
them unless they stopped strong drink.
Aye, until they quit that evil habit, the
more money the more ruin; the more
wages the more holes in the bag.
The disciple of alcoholism suffers the
loss of his self-respect. Just as soon as
man wakes up and finds that he is the
captive of strong drink he feels demeaned.
do not care how reckless he acts. He
| may say: az don't care.n He does care.
He can not look pure man in the eve un-
less 1t is with positive force of resolution.
Three-f ourths of his nature is destroy ed !;
his saf-respect is gone; he says things he
would not otherwise say, he does things
he would not otherwise do. When a
man is nine-tenths gone with strong drink,
the first thing he wants to do is to
| persuade you that he can stop any
| time he wants to. He can not.
The Philistines have bound him hand
and foot, and shorn his locks, and put out
his eyes, and are making him grind in the
milf OF q great horror. He can not stop.
will prove it.. He knows that his course is
bringing ruin upon himself. He loves
himself. If he could stop he would. He
knows that his course is bringing ruin upon
his family. He loves them. He would
stop il he could. He can not. Perhaps he
could three months or a year ago, not
now. Just ask him to stop for a month.
He can not; he knows he can not, so he
does not try. l had friend who for If
teen years was going down under this
| evil habit, He had large means He had
given thousands of dollars to bible socie-
ties and reformatory Institutes of Il sorts.
He was very genial, very generous and
very lovable, and whenever he talked
about this evil habit he would say:
II can stop any time" But he kept go-
ing on, going on, down, down, down. His
family would say:
VI wish you would stop.o
why" he would reply, 81 can stop any
time il want to-"
After awhile he had delirium tremens:
he had it twice; and yet, after that he
said:
II could stop at any time If wan ed
| tor
He is dead now. What killed hims Rum
Rum! And yet among his last uttsrances
| was:
II can stop at any time"
he did not stop it be because he could
not stop it. Oh, there is a point in lnebria-
ton beyond which if man goes, he can
not stopl
One of these victims said to a Christian
man:
"Sir, II were told thet couldn't get
drink until tomorrow night unless had
all my fingers cut Off, would say: Bring
the hatchet and cut them off now.'"
have dear friend IN Philadelphia
whose nephew came to him ons day, and
when he was exhorted about his evil
habit, said:
"Uncle, I can't give it up. If there
stood cannon and it was loaded, and a
glass of wine werexset on the mouth of
that cannon, and knew you would fire it
of just as 1 came up and took the glass. 1
would start. for must have it.n
Oh, it is sad thing for a man to wake
up in this life and feel that he is captive |
He says:
could have got rid Of this once, but
can't now. might have lived an honor
able life and died Christian death; but
there is no hope for me now: there is NO
escape Tor me. Dead but not buried. I am
waking corpse. am an apparition of
what once was. ] am u Gagged immortal
beating against the wires of NV cage in
this direction; beating against the cage
until there is blood on the wires and blood
upon my soul, yet not able to get out.
Destroyed without remedy!"
| i go on and saw that tho d;so;nto - -