The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-12-02
ISTHEYOUNG MAN SAFE?
REV. J. W. RoGAN POINTS OUT TIE
DANGERS THAT BEsET Hin.


Gambling Vice and Sporting Houses
-skepticism and Irreligton-A Cal
for the Enforcement OF the Laws
Better Examples Needed for Yonns
Men.
Rev. J. W. Regan preached a,sermon ad
Presbyterian church last night. There wa
"a large number Of young men present.
Z The preachers text was: SIS ths'young
Anan Absaiom safeg' After skstching ths
career Of Absalo1n, he spoke of some of tn,
changers which beset the young men of Sa
Sannah.
sAnd the first mention" he said, sis the
drinking saloon. / put this first not because
lit is the only danger, but because it is the
smost potent, because it ruins more souls
than any other evil, and because it is the
kparent Of other kinds of vice. Let any man
tonce become a habitue of the drinking
saloon and become enthralled by it's power,
and care not what his character may have
sbeen in the past, he thereby surreHders his
manhood and renders himself liable TO be
lied into any form OF vice. 1t is not neces-
zsary to remind you that our city, like every
vother place Of any size, abounds with these
sink-holes of iniquity. We see them staring
i.
taud sometimes standing along the prominent
ithoroughfares two and three abreast. We
have 25 churches and some $50 places licensed
Ito sell liquor.
TEN SALOONS TO ONE CHURCH.
In other words, where there is one place
devoted 10 the worship of God and the saw
sing of souls, there are about ten devoted,
more or less, to the worship of the devil an d
sthe running of souls. Nor do we get the ex-
act state of affairs till we push the compari-
sson one step farther. The churches are
sopen only two or three hours on the Sab
kbath and an hour or two during the whole
t.of the other days of the week, while the sa-
s1oons are open through six days of the week
from early morn till dewy eve, and from
dewy eve till early morn again, and, judg-
ing from the reports of the police court, the
articles that have been appearing III the
MORNING NEWS, and from other informa-
tion, there are quite a number of them that,
alot content with plying their business dur
ling the six days for which they have a
license, keep the back or side door open,
an defiance Of the law, on the Sabbath.
While many of these are such miserable
shoies that they would not afford attraction to
sApy except the very poorest, or those upon
whom the drink habit has already tightly
Fastened itself. others Of them are fitted up
an the most elegant style that money can
every accessory in the way of games and
samusements to detain for awhile those who
have been decoyed behind their swinging
doors.
THE FREE LUNCH.
And If they can attract young men In no
hother way they advertise tempting lunch,
Dor it may be furnish lively music. When
these places are so abundant upon every
thand, and when young men have already
r1n1 fba to- "a Af 1nfA IL osu1
bgathering, or it may be have become fond
Fof 1t through their connection with their
military company, or through some club,
sand when they are likely, ss they are, to be
lnvited to take social glass by every other
acquaintance they meet, or perhaps by
every two out OF three, it is readily under
stood that their danger is great.
1t has been estimated that there fall in
the United States, victims to strong drink,
1000 each year. OF course the places Of
those who have been cut off must be sup
piled, or the result will be that some of the
saloons will have to close their doors, and
those who are keeping them will be
thrown out of businets. Savannah is fur
nishing its pro-rata of this immense num-
Der, and you may anxiously ask about your
boy ana the young men of your acquaint-
ance, SIS the young man safeY'-safe from
the demon Of strong drink9
THE GAMBLING VICE.
Another peril of which the Young men
stand in danger is the temptation to gamble.
This Is one OF the most prevalent sins of the
day. 1t matters not whether the amount
staked is large or a small one; or whether
1t is on game of cards OF the turn of the
die, or on horse race, or a game of base
ball, or the issues of an election, or what
not, the principle and the danger are the
same. OF very close kin are all lotteries
r1ats
in futures which has become so common in
the financial world. Men are not willing to
take the time TO accumulate wealth. as their
fathers did, and as some do to-day, il ways
the legitimacy of which are unQuestioned,
but they must resort to chance or to wild
schemes of speculation. Especially do young
men flnda temptation in this direction, from
the fact that, as rule, their incomes will
not support the style of living they desire
to maintain, and to supplement- their sal
aries they too often turn to the gaming
table.
THE LAST RESORT.
4 How often is it that instead of making
they lose, and thereby become more and
Snore involved, and then, in order to meet
their increased obligation, they defraud
their employer, aud then the matter comes
out, and they have to skip or go to Jail, or
at may be, as the final act in the tragedy,
WIN Nndi ICtoI EOuC dIAA
staring him in the face. the poor fellow,
driven to despair, ends his existence by an
overdose of morphia, or by putting pistol
to his head and blowing out his brains.
Those who enter this way are sure to bring
trouble on themselves. Let the fires of this
passion once become ignited in your souls
and you cannot tell when or how they shall
be quenched. but in all probability they
will burn higher and fercer until they have
consumed every vestige of the good that
was once in you, and leave you a total
ruin. "Is the young man Absalom safe
as regards this sinG
THE SPORTING HOUSES.
There Is another source Of danger &c
young men upon which l wish to touch, bu,
from the nature of the subject it must b.
handled with the greatest delicacy. l have
In view a class of houses, which, though
not as distinctly marked and as generally
known as the liquor saloons are, yet whict
are familiar to many who find their way tC
them under the cover of darkness.
prefer to let Solomon paint this danger il
some extracts. I select from what he has &c
say on the subject, Proverbs 1853; 5:3-5
7:25-27; 2:1S- 10. do not know how true it is
but have beard some startling Statements
made In regard to the young men of
Savannah in connection with this sin here
limited at. Certainly it is well for al
raranfx and for al xuh0 aro iDtarae%ad 4,