The Press., 1888-03-29
TEMPERANCE COLUMN.
Conducted by the W. e. T. .Ul
WHY DON'T rHE CHRISTIANS HELP

WHY DON'T THE CHRISTIANS HELP?
 The words were intense with pleading. shall never forget how all else paled into Insignificauce b fore that cry of a soul just on the border of the heavenly land. l The pleading of a sister, beloved. She thought great pit lay in the paths of men, and they were constantly falling in. The grass grew up to its edge, the fl 'wers dropped over. It had no barriers, or lights of warning. "Th+re," she would call, "the dearest friend had slipped in, and you never tried to stop him. And a boy went over, and you never told him ther- was pit there. Can't you save that girl 2' she cried. "Oh the world goes by, the great thoughtless world, and it jostles peo. pie in. Where are the Christians? Where are the Christians? Why don't the Chris tians help?
 "H l could live" she said, in calmer tones, "If I could liUe, I would spend every day of my life keeping people out of that pit. would build wall so high no little child could climb over, or would cover 1t so deep that none could fall in. " Then looking at me with eyes luminous with the light of the world beyond, she clasptd my hands and said, Sister, sister, won't you try and keep people out of that plt?"
 l It has come to me far over the years, and 8 power I cannot resist, impells the 1 sending out of her warning cry, with the hope that some one may be saved from the pit by the friendly hand of the one who reads 1t. Brothers, sisters, we know the pit is there, right in the way of life. What are we going to do about it?
 Us 1t pit grassed over, hIwer- -decked | Do birds sing in the archways, and beauti- &@I- I, AL ( offended the sight are brldgpd over. The great pit is made respectable by law. It IS the high-license saloon. Christians, have you uttered no warning cry9 Where are the danger signals? Must the young men, the pride of our lives, go unwarned ? Will it be less death of manhood if buried beneath the costly Molochp Will the home be less shadowed because the tax that made the saloon lawful, swelled the states resources?
 But the danger lies not only here. Look, opening on every side, quicksands of inn purityl Nay, We see not, we cannot be- heve there are pits there. Yet who that reaches them, comes up the same? Per maps the steps were impure pictures and stories, hidden books, idle conversation, foolish company sinful amusements. They were such little steps, just down plane outside of mothers or fathers care, where the Sunday school did not reach, and away from the teachers guidance. Such little deviations from the right way. But the boy ''went over, and you never told him there was pit there, and you never tried to "ssve the girl"
 What can be done to make safe paths for our children ?-is the great question of | to-day. The friends of education are building a wall of knowledge so high that little child will not climb over to the pit of ignorance. Warning lights are burning all along the way that science treads Are the Christians as aroused to see that the Sunday schools and the churches stand shoulder to shoulder with tue teachers on thls question?
 1 Iu some states the people are to decide whether or not their boundaries shall be 1 fre+d from the curse of the saloon, the dstillery aud the brewery, whether a wall shall be built between the home and the enemy of home, or the pits of temptation l still be open to lure unwary feet. In this nOur of decision, "where are the Chris. ti4ns ?" The battle will be sharp, and victory must depend much upon the acts and influence of the Christian men and women.
 Does the fact of only 200, 900 Christian women banded together III the Woman 's Christian Temperance Union, to defend the home from the saloon by organized ef- fort, which means right home framing, right education of head, heart and hand, and righteous laws enforced, that shall both warn the young feet away from the pits of temptation, and in time take away the temptation itself, touch not your heart, oh, Christian woman, not yet en- rolled in the glorious army? Where are the millions of mothers and home. keepers who can arise in the majesty of woman hood aud say, ''The saloon shall no more tempt our sons and destroys our daugh- ters 2" t-.--
 The emergency of the hour, the knowi- edge of our national and social danger, call for action. To-day we can help; to, morrow, it may be too late.
 Dear Christian brother and sister, "won't you try and keep people out oi that pit ?"-Mrs. Esther z! Housh.