Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1890-07-28

I
him man the secondS He is man the frstl
Rum transformed him. Rum destroyed
his prospects Rum disappointed parental
expectation. Rum withereI those garlands
of commencement day. Rum cut his lip.
Rum dashed out his manhood. Rum-ac-
cursed rum
This foul thing gives one swing to its
scythe and our best merchants fall Their
stores are sold and they sink into dishon-
ored graves. Again it swings its scythe,
and some of our best physicians fall into
sufferings that their wisest prescriptions
cannot cure Again it swings its scythe,
aad ministers of the gospel fall from the
heights of Zion, with long resounding
crash of ruin and shame Some of your
own households have already been shaken
Perhaps you can hardly admit it, but
where was your son last night? Where
was lac Friday nightf Where was he
Thursday night? Wednesday night2 Tues
day night? Monday night? Nay, have not
some of you in your own bodies felt the
power of this habit You think that you
could stop? Are you sure you could? Go
on little further, and am sure you can
not. | think If some of you should try to
break away you would find chain on the
right wrist and one on the left; one on the
right foot and another on the left. This
serpent does not begin to hurt until it has
wound round and round. Then it begins
to tighten and strangle and crush until
the bones crack, and the blood trickles,
and the eyes start from their sockets, and
the mangled wretch cries, 30 Godl o Godl
help! helpp' But it is too late, and not
even the fires of woe can melt the chain
VIII IN once it is fully fastened.
WHO WILL HUNT HIM DOWN?
have shown you the evil beast. The
question is, Who will hunt him down and
how shall we shoot him? | answer first,
by getting our children right on this sub
ject. Let them grow up with an utter
aversion to strong drink. Take care how
you administer it, even rs medicine II
you find that they have natural love for
it, as some have, put in glass of it some
horrid stuff, and make it utterly nauseous.
Teach them as faithfully as you do the
Bible that rum is Attend. Take them to the
almshouse and show them the wreck and
ruin it works. Walk with them into the
homes that have been scourged by it. If a
drunkard hath fallen into ditch take
them right up where they can see his face,
bruised, savage and swollen, and say:
look, my son. Rum did thatp' Look
ing out of your window Mt some one who,
intoxicated to madness, goes through the
street brandishing his fist, disappearing
God, n 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 grog shop let
them know that that is the place where
men are slain, and their wives made pau.
pers, and their children slaves Hold ont
to your children all warnings, all rewards,
all counses, lest In after days they break
your heart and curse your gray hairs A
man laughed mt my father for his scrupu
lous temperance principles, and sad; II am
more liberal than you. | always give my
children the sugar in the glass after we have
been taking drink" Three of the sons
have died drunkarls and the fourth is i'm
beetle through Incorporate habits.
VOTE RIGHT.
Again, we will battle this evil by voting
only for sober men. How many men are
there who can rise above the feelings of
partisanship and demand that our officials
shall be sober men?
maintain that the question of sobrety
is higher than the question OF availability,
and that however eminent mans serv-
ices may be, if he have habits of intoXica
ton he is unfit for any Office In the gift of
n Christian people. Our laws will be no
better than the men who make them
Spend n few days mt Harrisburg or Albany
or Washington and you will find out why
upon these subjects it is impossible to get
righteous enactments.
Again, we will war upon this evil by or
gained 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, pass words, signs and stratagems set
at defiance public morals. Let us confront
them with organizations just as secret,
md, if need be, with grips and pass words
and signs maintain our position. There
is no need that our philanthropic societies
tell all their plans, | am in favor Of all
lawful strategy in the carrying on of this
conflict wish to God we could lay under
the wine casks u train which, once ignited,
would shake the earth with the explosion
of this monStrous iniquityl
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,
promised thing, do it. "Some have
broken the pledge" Yes; they we're liars,
But all men are not liars. | do not say
that it is the duty of all persons to make
such signature, but do say that it would
bo tbs salvation of many of you. The
glorious work of Thecbald Mathew can
never be estimated. At his hand four
millions of people took the pledge, aud
-, a
and America have kept it till this day
The pledge signed to thousands has been
the proclamation OF emancipation.
lNEBRIATR AsYLpMs.
Again, we expect great things from In
ebriate asylums. They have already done
a glorious work. think that we arc com
ing Mt last to treat inebriation as it ought
to he treated, namely, as an awful disease,
self inflicted, to be sure, but nevertheless
disease Once fastened upon n man ser
mons won't cure him; Temperance lectures
will not eradicate it; religious tracts will
not remove 1t; the Gospel of Christ will
not arrest it. Once under the power of
this awful thirst the man Is bound to 20
ON; and if the foaming glass were on the
other side Of perdition he would wade
through the fires of hell TO get it. A
young man IN prison ma Sueh strong
thirst for Intoxicating liquors that he cut
off his hand at tho wrist, called for bowl
of brandy in order to steh the bleeding,
thrust his wrist into the bowl, and tbeH
frank the contents.
Stand not when the thirst Is on him be-
tween man and his cups. Clear the track
for him. Away with the children; he
would tread their life out. Away with ths
wife he would dash her to death. Away
with the cross: he would run it down