Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-08-22
A NATIONS CURSE.
MORAL AND PHYSICAL LossEs
Taimage Describes the Sorrows and
Doom of the Drunkard.

TEXT: "Who sIeW all thsseT'-H Kings
L, 10.
see a long row Of baskets coming up to-
ward the palace Of King Jehu. i am sOme-
what inquisitive to find out what Is in the
baskets. look in and find the CORY heads
Of seventy slain Princes. As the baskets
arrive at the gate Of the palacs, the heads are
thrown into two heaps one on either side the
gate In the morning the King comes out,
and he looks upon the bleeding, ghastly
heads Of the massacred Princes. Looking on
either side the gate, he cries out with ring
ing emphasis: "Who slew all theseY'
We have, my friends, lived to see q more
fearful massacre. There is no use Of my
taking your time in trying to give you sta
tistics about the devastation and ruin and
death which strong drink has wrought in
this country. Statistics do not seem 10 mean
anything. We are so hardened under these
statistics that the fact that fifty thousand
more men are slain or fifty thousand less
men are slain, seems to make no positive i'm
preston on the public mind Suffice it to
say, that intemperance has slain an in
Vulnerable company OF Princes-Ghe children
of Gods royal family; and at the gate of
every neighborhood their are two heaps Of
the slain; and at tho door of the household
there are two heaps of the slain; and at the
door Of the legislative hall there are two
heaps of the slain; and at the door of the
university there are two heaps Of the slain;
and at the gate Of this nation there are two
heaps of the slain. When / look upon
the desolation l am almost fran
tic with the scene, while
cry out: "Who slew all theseN can answer
that question in half minute. The minis
ters OF Christ who have given no warming,
the courts Of law that have offered the licen-
sure, the women who give strong. drink on
New Years day, tbs fathers and mothers
who have rum on the sideboard the hundreds
of thousands of Christian men and women in
the land who are stolid in their indifference
on this subject-they slew all thesel
Ipropose in this discourse to tell you what
think are the sorrows and the doom of the
drunkard, SO that you to whom speak may
not come to torment.
Some one says: "You had better let those
subjects alone." Why, my brethren, we
would be glad to let them alone if they would
let us alone; but when have in my pocket
band, pray for my son, pray FOR my brother,
pray for my friend, who is tho captive of
strong drink" reply, we are ready to let
that question alone when it is willing to let us
alone; but when it stands blocking up the
way to heaven, and keeping multitudes away
from Christ and heaven, I dare not DO silent,
lest the Lord require their blood at my
hands. .f.f.
think the subject has been kept back
very much by the merriment people make
over those s;Ain by strong drink. used to
be very merry over these things having
keen sense of the ludicrous. There was some
thing very grotesque in the gait of drunk
ard 1t is not SO now; for saw in one of the
streets of Philadelphia a sight that changed
the whole subject to me. There was young
man being led home. He was very much in
toxicated-he was raving with intoxica-
tion. Two young men were leading
him along. The boys hooted in the
street, men laughed, women neered;
but happened. to bo very near the door
whore he went init was the door of his
mothers house. I saw him 60 up stairs.
heard him shouting hooting and blasphem-
ing. He had lost his hat, and the merTi-
ment increased with the mob until he came
to the door, and as the door was opened his
mother came out When heard her cry
that took all the comedy out Of the scene.
Since that time when l see man walking
through the street, reeling the comedy is all
gone, and it is tragedy Of tears and groans
and heartbreaks. Never make any fun
drunkard. Alas for his homel
The first suffering of the drunkard is in
the loss of his good name. God has SO ar
ranged it that no man ever loses his good
name except through his own act. All the
hatred Of men and all the assaults of dt ills
cannot destroy mans good name if he
really maintains his integrity. If a man is
industrious and pure and Christian, God
looks after him. Although he mo DO bom-
barded for twenty or thirty years, MS integ-
rity is never lost and his good name is never
sacrificed. No force on earth or in hell
can capture such Gibraltar. But when il
is said Of a man, "He drinks" and it can
be proved, then what employer wants
him for workman? what store wants him
for clerk? what church wants him for a
member? who will trust him? what dying
man would appoint him his executor? Ht
may have been forty years in building W
his reputation-it goes down. Letters o.
recommendation, the backing up of bushes!
firms brilliant ancestry cannot save him
The world SHES off. Why? 1t is whispered
all through the community, "He drinks; hi
drinks That blasts him. When man lose
hisreputation for sobriety he might as well b
at the bottom of the sea. There are mel
here who have their good name as their onl,
capital You are now achieving your owl
livelihood, under God, by your own righ
arm. Now look out that there is no dout
of your sobriety. Do not create any SUI
picion by going in and out Of immoral place
or by any od0r Of your breath, or by an
~-N>-
of YOUR cheek. You cannot afford to do II
for your good name is your only capital, AM
when that is blasted with the reputation O
taking strong drink, all is gone.
Another loss which the inebriate suffers
that of self respect. Just as soon as NAL
wakes up and find that ne is the captive o
strong drink he feels demeaned. l do nc
care how reckless he acts. He may say. "
don't care;" he does care He cannot look
pure man in the eye, unless 1t is with posltiv
force of ofresolution. Three-fourths of his natur
is destroyed; his self respect gone; he say
things he would not otherwise say; he doe
things he would not otherwise do. When
man is nine-tenths gone with strong drink
the first thing he wants to do is persuade 70
that he can stop any time ne wants to; d
and foot and shorn his locks and put out hi
eyes, and are making him grind in the mill
a great horror. He cannot STOP will prov
&c, He knows that his course Is bringing dis
grace and ruin upon himself. He loves hin
self, If he could stop he would. He know
his course is bringing ruin upon his family
Ho loves them. He would stop il he coult
He cannot. Perhaps he could three month
or year ago; not now. Just ask him
stop for month. He cannot; he knows b
cannot, SO he does not try. had frien
who for fifteen years was going down undt
this evil habit. He had large means. He ha
given thousands of dollars to Bible societi,
and reformatory institutions of all sort
He was very genial and very gene
ous and very lovable, and whenever he talke
about this evil habit he would say: 81 ca
stop any time" But he kept going on, goin
on, down, down, down. His family woul
say: II wish you would stop" "why," l
would reply, Il can stop any time if I wal
TO-" After while he had delirium tremeni
he had II twice; and yet after that he sait
81 could stop at any time il wanted to-
He is dead now. What killed him? Run