The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-10-23
WALKING OVER THE DEAD.


WALKING OVER THE DEAD.
This the Saloon-Keeper Is Doing for the
Glittering Dollar and Rather Than Sur
render His "Liberty."
1--WE will kill every preacher, burn
every church, massacre every member
of every Temperance society and all
praying women before we will surren-
der our liberty or give up our lawful
business" A sentence, and quite an
expressive one too, from a letter writ
ten recently by "Saloon-keepers" to a
respectable American citizen, who is
informed that unless he complies with
their conditions he has mot got many
more days to live Terrible though
this language be, it need not occasion
surprise 1t is the echo of the old cry:
'Sirs, We know that by this craft we have
our wealth" The temple of Diana is
among the things that were, and 'sa-
loon-keepers may console them
selves with the thought that the day
is almost at hand when breweries,
distilleries and saloons will take
their place with it. Demetrius had
no great love for ''this Paul" and
''saloon-keepers'' have no great love
for this Paul's'' successors. The bust
ness that pauperizes our country, robs
men of all natural feeling One even
ing during my ministry in South Chi
cago l was startled by the awful news
that peaceable citizen, whose beset-
ting sin was intemperance, had been
murdered. I went to the morgue to
view his remains. A few hours before
he had been drinking in saloon; in
front of that saloon he was killed, from
that saloon, unprepared, his soul
passed out into eternity 10 meet a holy
God. Strong drink brought death to
his body and to his soul. Would YOU
wish to know some of my thoughts
while l stood in that gloomy spot
beside the dead? | felt sorrow
which tongue could not describe
There was a man whose earthly race
was ended. He was my brother The
man who sold him drink was his
brother; for we are all children of the
same great father. With Cough 1 could
truly say, as | looked at that poor life
less man: 80 God, as l shall answer
to Thee in the day Of Judgment, l
would rather be the verIest sot that
ever reeled through the streets, than |
would be the man who sold him his
liquorr' What will be the sur
prise of the readers of the
Northwestern when | affirm that
that saloon-keeper on the day of the
inquest asked young lad, one of my
Sunday-school scholars, into his saloon
to give him a glass of beer! To that
invitation, the dealer of death received
an unmistakable '.No."
Again | assert: The business that
pauperizes our country robs men of all
natural feeling. In the summer of
1880, while travelling in Minnesota
during my vacation, Imet in one of the
leading cities of that State, a fine
looking, intelligent. well-preserved
man in the middle of life who was in
the wholesale liquor business. To me
that man was an anoma ly. He had
the easy manner, the grace and polish
of cultured gentleman. and yet he
had heart as cold as an iceberg and
as hard as the neither milestone. His
was nature entirely devoid of the milk
of human kindness. Over the bodies of
dead men, with smile on his face, he
would have walked for the glittering
dollar. Are you inclined to think that
] exaggerated If so, give ear to the
following facts: In a drunkard's
grave, side by side, that mans two
sons lay. They were his own flesh and
blood, and their fathers damnable
business had hurried them into the
presence of the Judge. That mans
wife besought him with tears to give
up the business, but neither the plead
ings of the woman whom he had prom
ised to cherish and love, nor the awful
thought that he himself had been the
eXecutioner of his own sons, produced
the slightest effect upon him. VIII his
illgotten wealth hide him from the
wrath of righteously offended GodP
A murderer of his own sons! A viler
character than the man to whom the
Almighty said: "a fugitive and vag-
abond shalt thou be in the earth" If
God gives him not 'space to repent
he will bear the brand of murderer for
ever Let us look no longer on such
an awful picture. Req. John Lee, IN
~ W. Christian Aduocdte.