Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1886-10-08
THE HOPE OF THE COUNTRY,
IL Lies In the Young Men-Influence
OF neutrality-suspicious. Of q
Lifetime.

lMaJor VIM. j. Sykes, in National Temperance
Advocate.
Young men are the hope of the country.
Whatever may be expected in the way Of
moral, physical, industrial, or intellectual
improvement must come from the young
men. How vast, then, are their RESPONSE
bilities, and how great their opportunities!
Will they be equal 10 them? God grant
that they may. Nothing has SO much
lnterfered with gifted and talented young
men as the habit of intemperance, which
mas crept upon them so gradually and SO
lnsidiously that before they were aware of
Their danger they were almost beyond hope.
Habits formed in early life are seldom
abandoned, and when these habits are
strengthened by appetite it requires al
most superhuman effort to break loose
from them, or, as the General Assembly of
the Presbyterian Church says, with SO
much force and truth: "When the char
acter of drunkenness is fully formed the
unhappy victim is lost to those motives
which ordinarily influence all other classes
of men. In this state of things nothing
but miracle of divine grace can effect his
reformation. The certain and acknowl-
edged prospect of the wreck of his family,
the ruin of his immortal soul, is not suffi-
Gent to arrest his course, and yet, perhaps,
the same man may formerly have been in
such state of equilibrium or INDIGESTION
upon the subject that the smallest motives
might have prevented the formation of a
habit which in its maturity becomes so ire
sistible. This consideration is certainly
sufficient to justify an effort for saving our
fellow-men from the domination of SO
destructive vice. For this purpose we
earnestly recommend to the officers and
members of our church to abstain even
from the common use of ardent spirit"
No young man ever commenced drinking
with the view of becoming drunkard; but
oh! how many have gone that way. The
young men are not SO much to blame.
Those in what are called high circles have
laid the snare for them by Offering them
the wine-cup in the social circle or at the
family gathering. Would that those who
out intending any wrong, would heed the
advice of the great apostle to the Gentiles:
ut is good neither to eat flesh, nor to
drink wine, nor anything whereby thy
brother stumbleth, OF is offended, or is
made weak;
do not undertake to say that those who
use intoxicating liquors in what they call
moderation are guilty of crime or a sin.
I judge no man. "Who art thou that
judgest another mans servant? to his own
master he standeth or falleth." But I do
say fearful will be the responsibility of any
one who by his example leads q young man
into the depths Of intoxication.
Although q man by his strong nerves and
determined will may be able to walk upon
the brink of aprecipice with safety, this
furnishes no excuse for his leading others
there whose nerves are less strong, and who
will go over into the raging gulf below.
Sometimes young men attempt 10 induce
those Of their associates who are striving to
reform and to overcome their bad habits to
go backward and to sink in the slough Of
drunkenness and dependency. This may
often be done thoughtlessly and without
any malicious intent. Even then it is bad
enough; but when it is done Of purpose, in
order to pull down those who are trying to
rise, it becomes the work Of a demon, and
shows heart fatally bent Oh mischief.
trust there is not such a young man in
Maury County. 1t is hard enough for o
man to abandon the habit of drunkenness,
when he has once become its victim, with
all the assistance and encouragementhe can
receive, but to be pulled down when at
tempting to rise makes it truly fearful.
OF all Young men whom I knew in early
life who INDUCED i'll the wine-cup or in
the social glass-many of whom were my
dear friends-but few have escaped and
most of them have fallen victims to this be-
witching habit. I could give you many sad
examples, but I refrain. My heart sickens
at the remembrance of them.
If there is to be any effective temper
ance reform, it must be brought about by
the active efforts of young men. They
must have the manliness and the courage
to resist the temptations, no matter how
alluring, even when held out by those who
should set them better example. If men
Of character, position, and influence, in
church or state. will persist i'll the use of
Intoxicating drinks. show them that You
can no longer be led astray: if lovely wom-
en- hand you the wine-cup, dash it from
you rs if you saw the coiled serpent in the
sparkling glass, for it will be TO you as the
differing serpent is to the Inflated bird
it charms only to destroy.
Young men can save the country by their
talents and by their determined will. None
others can. May God of His infinite
mercy save you, and put it into your hearts
to save your young associates by a lofty
courage and by manly self-denial!
PHASES OF THE SALOON BUSINESS.
How the Agreeable Proprietor Systemati.
As