The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1890-08-01

11St nlBntE hhere was ne fr1Qay nignt1
Where was he Thursday night? Wednes-
day night? Tuesday night? Monday
night? Nay, have not some of you in
your own bodies felt the power of this
habit?
have shown you the evil beast The
question is, who will hunt him down,
and how shall we shoot him? Ianswer,
first. by getting our children T ght on
this subject Let them grow up with
an utter aversion to strong drink. Take
care how you administer it even as
medicine. II you find that they have
natural love for it. as some have. put in
glass of it some horrid stuff and make
1t utterly nauseous- Teach them, as
faithfully as you do the Bible, that rum
is fiend- Take them to the almshouse
and show them the wreck and ruin it
works. Walk with them into the homes
that have been scourgeI by it II
drunkard hath fallen into a ditch, take
them right up where they can see his
face, bruised, savage and swollen, and
say: Look. my son. Rum did that"
Looking out of your window at some
| one who, intox Gated to madness, goes
| through the street brandishig his fist,
disappearing God, a bowling, defying,
shouting, reeling raving and foaming
maniac. say to your son: Look; that
man was once a child like you" As you
| go by the grogshop, let them know that
| that is the place where men are slain,
and their wives made paupers, and their
| children slaves Hold out to your
children all warnings, all rewards, all
counsels, lest in after days they break
your heart and curse your gray hairs
Again: We will battle this evil by
voting only for sober men. How many
men are there who can rise above the
feelings of partissnship, and demand
that our officials shall be sober men?
maintain that the question of sobri-
ETY. is higher than the question of avail
ability; and that, however eminent a
mans services may be. IL he have habits
of intoxication, he is unfit for any office
in the gift of Christian people.
Again: We will war upon this evil
by organized societies. The friends of
the rum traffic have banded together;
annually issue their circulars; raise
fabulous sums of money to advance
their interests, and by grips, passwords,
signs and stratagems, set at defiance
public morals. Let us confront them
with organizations just as secret. and if
need be with grips, and passwords, and
signs, maintain our position. There is
no need that our philanthropic societies
tell all their plans. l am in favor of all
lawful strategy in the carrying on of
this conflict
Again: We will try the power of the
pledge. There are thousands of men
who have been saved by putting their
names to such document know it is
laughed at; but there are some men
who, having once promised a thing, do
it. ''Some have broken the pledge" "
Yes; they were liars But all men are
not liars 1 do not say that it is the
duty of all persons to make such sigma
ture; but do say that it would be the
salvation of many of you.
Again: We expect great things from
inebriate asylums. They have already
done glorious work. l think that we
are coming at last to treat inebriation
as it ought to be treated, namely: AS an
awful disease, self-infiicted, to be sure,
but nevertheless disease. Once fast
ened upon a man, sermons won't cure
him; temperance lectures will not Grad
icate it; religious tracts will not remove
it; the Gospel of Christ will not arrest
it Once under the power of this awful
thirst the man is bound to go on; and,
If the foaming glass were on the other
side of perditiOn he would wade through
the fires of hell to get it
Stand not, when the thirst is on him,
between a man and his cups Clear the
track for him Away with the child
) rem; He would tread their life out.
Away with the wife; he would dash her
to death. Away with the cross; he
would run it down. Away with the
Bible; he would tear it up for the winds.
Away with Heaven; he considers il
worthless as straw. ''Give me the
drink Give it to me! Though the hands
of blood pass up the bowl, and the soul
trembles over the pit-the drink give
1t to me. Though it be pale with tears;
though the froth of everlasting anguish
float on the foam-giye it to me! drink
to my wife's woe, to my children's rags;
to my eternal Punishment from God, and
hope, and Heaven! Give it to me! the
drinkr'
Again, we will contend against these
evils by trying to persuade the respect
able classes of society to the Danish
: ment of alcoholic beverages You who
move in elegant and refined associa-
tions; you who drink the best liquors;
you who never drink until you lose your
J balance, let us look each other in the
face on this subject You have, under
God, in your power the redemption OF
} this land from drunkenness. Empty
your cellars and wine closets Of the bev-
erage and then come out and give us
your hand. your vote, your prayers.
your sympathies- Do that and l will
promise three things: First that you
will find unspeakable happiness in hav-
} ing done your duty. Secondly, you will
save somebody-perhaps your own child
Thirdly, you will not in your last hour,
have n regret that you made the sacri-
flee, If sacrifice it be.
AS long as you make drinking respect
able drinking customs will prevail, and
} the pillow share of death, drawn by the
terrible disasters, will go on turning up
this whole continent from end to end
! with the long. deep. awful furrow of
} drunkards' graves.
There is no home so beautiful but it
, may be devastated by the awful curse.
1t throws its jargon into the sweetest
! harmony. What was it that silenced
Sheridan, the English orator. and shat
tered the golden scepter with which he
swayed Parliaments and courts? What
foul sprite turned the sweet rhythm OF
Robert Burns into a tuneless babble?
What brought down the majestic form
of one who awed the American Senate
with his eloquence, and after awhile
carried him home dead drunk? What
was it that swamped the noble spirit of
one of the heroes of the last war, until,
in drunken fit he reeled from the
deck of a Western steamer and was
drowned? There was one whose voice
we all loved to hear. He was one of the
most classic orators of the century.