The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1888-11-02
OUT OF BONDAGE.
stranrcr.s SfnrY.

CSLNDllollICllb w ltlG Tue NTltpT was WORK
ing and asked us if we wanted to buy a
pair Of spectacles. Nobody in the shop
wanted any glasses, so he tried us on a
variety Of useful articles, of whichhis caba
was packed fnli. There was nothing in
all his stock of merchandise that we want
ed. turned away from the door to go on
with my work. expecting to see no more of
the peddler, but to my surprise he follow
ed me into the factory and commenced
asking questions about our business. We
answered his questions cheerfully. After
awhile he asked for a drink of milk. 1t
was given him and as he returned thanks
for the treat he remarked, that's better
than lager beer" This remark from the
stranger surprised me not a little for he
looked like a man who would not speak a
word against the use OF strong drink. But
he did, and that is the reason why | am
penning this article for the MONITOR. AS
our conversation proceeded he narrated
bits of his own personal experience while
in the bondage Of the cup, and how he
saved himself from a drunkard's death.
He described the different kinds of whis-
kies, brandies and wines, and told how
they are colored and adulterated. Whisky
manufacturers, he said, never adulterate
their liquors; it is done by the retailers
who sell by the quart OF glass. Pure corn,
or proof" whisky, as he termed it, is al
most tasteless and causes no unpleasant
feeling in the mouth or throat, but when
adulterated with fusil oil it sears the throat
and will soon entirely destroy the coating
Of the stomach. Hardly one habitual
drinker in a thousand knows the difference
between good whisky and bad. The very
worst kind, "rot gut, " is what many think
is the best because it has such a fiery
taste, and is therefore the most injurious
to the system. Speaking about himself,
the stranger, whose talk had become quite
interesting, said:
"My father was one of the largest wills
key manufacturers in the country. He
lived in the State of Maryland. My grand
father was also a distilier to large extent,
and | have heard my folks say that in the
year 1912 he had eleven six-horse teams
carting whisky to Baltimore for the Gov
ernment. In those days, you know, the
soldiers of the army and navy received a
regular allowance of whisky. My father
and all Of US were hard drinkers and on ac-
count of hard drinking my father and
brother died before their time. l was left
eighty-one thousand dollars. made three
times that sum-, but squandered it all.
Of course, | have not drank eighty-one
thousand dollars worth of liquor, but have
spent my fortune in the various ways that
money is wasted in a life of dissipation.
For twenty years | was full Of whisky al
most continually. OF course, | was not
staggering drunk all that length of time,
rum. l got SO that | took a half a pint of
liquor to bed with me every night and l
actually had to take it through the night
to make me sleep. I continued in the
liquor business until l found that l would
have to quit it and handle the stuff no
more, or it would kill me sure. When.
while out travelling for orders, l became
too drunk to properly attend to business,
l would hand my caba of samples to the
proprietor Of the house where l was stop
ping and order him to keep It for me, and
when sobered up | had nc recollection Of
where | had left it, but as soon as l got
l. q =, =, -, ~, in ~ tlap 7 ap,anaharad
where I had left my caba. Not long ago
there was a man hung for numbering his
wife while he was drunk. That man said
he had no recollection of killing her. Some
people may have disputed that, but judg-
ing from my own experience | believe that
that man who committed murder while
under the influence Of rum told the author
tiles the plain truth when he said that the
commission of that crime was all blank to
him. Well, l wanted to break off from
drinking, and after | had had the mania
potu twice | asked friends advice about
going to the Franklin Reformatory Home
for a while. He thought I had better try
it, so | ven there and stayed two weeks.
This Home is for the cure of drunkards.
Men whom you would not think of go
there to cure themselves of the habit of
drinking. Lawyers, judges and young
men of the best families are among the
patients"
"Do the inmates Of the Home undergo
medical treatment" l asked.
'FYes; the first two days they are kept in
a small room or cell alone and given bro
mide potassium to make them sleep. After
that they are given all they want of the
very best and tempting food that can be
prepared. They have all the good reading
they want and religious exercises are held
at stated hours"
"Was your craving for strong drink
broken when you left the Home?"
mo. like liquor yet, but it Is by will
power that I let liquor alone. lam feeling
better now since I quit drinking than |
ever did in all the twentY-three years of
| slavery to the bottle. The liquor traffic is
a curse to the country. 1t is becoming
more and more unpopular and the sooner
it is wiped out Of existence the better it
will be for the nation. Some time ago l
was on the Grand Jury in Philadelphia,
| and of the one thousand c. ses presented to