The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1888-04-20

much right to swear - he has with his
large incomei" Employers swear, and
that makes so many employees swear.
The habit also comes from in3rmity OF
temper. There are = good many people
who. when they arc ut peace, have right
eousness OF speech, but when anRered they
blaze with imprecation. Perhaps all the
rest OF the year they talk in q right lam
guage. but now they pour out the fury of a
whole year in one red hot paragraph Of five
minutes. I knew Of a man who excused
himself for the habit, saying: Il only
swear once in great while. I must do
that just TO clear myself out"
Tue habit comes also from the profuse
use Of bywords. The transition from Q by
word which may be perfectly harmless to
'mprecat'on aud profanity is not q very
large transition. 1t is my starsv' and
"mercy on mer' and ''good gracious!' and
"by George!" and ''by JoveP aud you 60
on with that little while and then you
swear. These words, perfectly harmless
IN themselves, are next door to imprecation
and blasphemy. A profuse use OF bywords
always ends in profanity.
The habit is creeping up into the highest
styles Of society. Women have no patience
with fat and unvarn:shed profanity. They
will order a man out OF the parIor induig-
ing in b'asphemy, and yet you will some
times find them with fairy fan to the lip,
and under chandeliers which bring no
blush to their cheek. taking on their lips
the hottest Of names in utter trivialIty.
Why, my friends. the English language is
comprehensive and capable Of expressing
all shades OF feeling and every degree OF
energy. Are you happy, Noah Webster
will give you ten thousand words with
which to express your exhilaratiOn. Are
you righteously indignant, there are whole
armies in The vocabulary, righteous vocab-
Ulary-whole armies Of denunciation, and
scorn, and sarcasm. and irony, and carl
cature, and wrath. You express yourself
against some meanness or hypocrisy in all
the Oaths that ever smoked up from the
pit, and will CINE right on after you and
give q thousandfo.d more emphasis Of de-
nnnciatiOn to the SINE meanness and the
same Hypocrisy in words across which no
slime has ever trailed, and into which the
fires Of he'll have never shot their fOrked
tOngueS-the pure, the innocent, God
honored Anglo-SaxOn In which Milton
sang, and John Bunyan dreamed, anu
Shakespeare dramatized.
There IS no excuse for profanity when
we have such . magnificent language
such flow Of good woods, potent words,
mighty words. words Just to SUIT every
crisis aud every case. Whatever be the
cause OF it, profanity is on the increase, and
II you do not know 1t 1t is because your ears
have been hardened by the din Of impreca-
tons so that you are not stirred and moved
as you ought to be by profanities in these
which a 20 O. n hrlnur
cane OF fire like that which consumed
SOdom.
Do you know that this trivial use OF Gods
name results in perjurya Do you know
that people who take the name of God on
their lips in reckessness and thoughtless-
ness are fostering the crime Of perjuryl
Make the name Of God football in the
and IL has no power when in
court room and legislative assembly it is
employed in solemn adjuration. See the
way sometimes they administer the oath:
''S'help you God-kiss the bookP' Snug
Cling, which is always q violation of the
oath. becomes in some CIRCLES q grand joke
You say to q man: "How is it p 'sslbl,.
for you to sell these goods so very cheap!
l can't understand it, '.Ahp he replies,
with . twinkle OF the eye. ''the custom
house tariff Of these goods isn't as much as
it might be-" An oath does not mean as
much as it would were the name Of CID
used in reverence and in snlemnity. Why
IS it that soOften jurors render unaccount-
able verdicts, ana judges give unaccounta-
bic charges, and useless railroad schemes
pass in our State capitals, and there are
most unjust changes made In tar ffs-tarifY
lifted from one thing and put upon an
otherl
What is an oathi Any thing aolemnl
Any thing that calls upon the Almighty!
Any thing that marks AN event in q mans
hlstoryl o, mol It is kissing the book
There is no habit, tell you plainly-and l
a. X to hundreds and thousands Of men to-
lay who will thank me for my utterances
Il tell you, my brOther-I talk to you, no;
but as one brother talks to
another on some very important theme
tell you there is no hab that so depletes
, mans nature as the habit Of profanity.
When the Mohammedan finds piece Of
paper he can not read, he puts it aside very
for fear the name Of God may
be on 1t. This is one extreme. We 60 the
,ther. Now what is the cure of this habit?
It is mighty habit. Men have struggled
Tor years to get over it. There are men in
his house Of God who would give half
heir fortune to got rid Of it. An aged man
was in the delirium Of y fever. He had for
many years lived Q most upright life, and
vas honored in the community; but when
ne came into the delirlum Of this fever he
vas full Of imprecatiOn and profanity, and
hey could not understand it. After he
zane to his right reason he explained it.
He said: when was xyoung man was
1ery profane. I conquered the habit, but
had to struggle all through life. You
haven't for forty years heard me say an
improper word, but it has been an awful
struggle. The tiger is chained, but he IS
live yet"
II you would get rid Of this habit want
you, my friends. to dwell upon the useless
less OF it. Did volley Of oaths ever start
neanness from customerl Did they ever
oothachel Did they ever stop the ;winge
If the rheumatisml Did they ever help
rou forward one sep in the right direc-
.lon1 Come now, tell me, ye who have had
he most experience in this habit, how
much have you made out Of III Five thou
,and dollars in all your lfel No. One
iollarl No. One cent? No II the habit
70 so utterly useless, away with It
But you say: Il have struggled to over
,ome the habit . long while and have not
,eeu successful" You struggled in your
,wn strength. my brother. II ever = man
wants God it is in such . crisis OF his
God alone ~ His grace can
,mancipa,e you from that trouble. Call
lpon HIM day and night that you may
,e delivered from this crime. Remember |
Ilso in the curse Of this habit that it arouses
}od's indignation. The Bible reiterxtes
rom chapter to chapted, and verse after
rerse, the fact that it is accursed for this |
lie and that It makes q man miserable for |
eternity. There is not . sin in all the
a, a iouno TINT ia an often perem liz and