Sharp County record., 1890-08-14
THE CURSE OF DRINK.
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage in Brooklyn.
The Fearful Evils of Intemperance Foroi-
bly, Depicted-The Power OF Organ
lied Effort to Stem the Tide
of Wreck and Ruin.

Ihe following ulScOuTSo was ucll'
cred by Rev. II. Dewitt Talmage in the
Brooklyn Academy of Music, from the
text:
1t Is my sons coat; an evil beast hath
devoured him.-Gcn. xxxyiL, 33.
Joserh's brethren dipped thcir broth
er's coat in goats blood, and then
brought the dabbled garment to their
father, cheating him with the idea that
ferocious animal had slain him, and
thus hiding their infamous behavior.
But there is no deception about that
which We hold mp to your observation
to-day. A monster such as never
ranged African thicllet or Hindostan
Jungle hath tracked this land, and with
bloody NAV hath strewn the continent
with the mangled carcasses of whole
generations and there are tens OF thou
sands Of fathers and mothers who could
hold up the garment of their slain boy,
truthfully cxclaiming. at is my sons
coat; an evil beast hath devoured him."
There has, in all ages and climes, been
tendency TO the improper use of slim
ulants. Noah, as if disgusted with the
prevalence of water in his time, took to
strong drink. BY this vice Alexander
the Conouoror was conquered. The
Romans at their feasts fell off
their seats with intoxication. -Four
hundred millions OF our race are opium
caters. India, Turkey and China have
groaned with tho desolation; and by
it have been quenched such lights as
HALEY and De Quincy. One hundred
millions are the victims of the betel nut,
which has specially blasted the East
Indies Three hundred millions chew
hasheesh, and Persia, Brazil and Africa
suffer the delirum. The Tartars en-
ploy murowa; the Mexicans, the agave;
the people at Guarapo an intoxicating
quality taken from surgar-cane; while
q great multitude, that no man can
number, are tho disciples of alcohol. To
1t they how. Under it they arc tram
pied. In its trenches they fall. On its
CHASTITY holocaust they burn. Could
the muster roll of this great army be
called, and they could come up from
the dead, what eye could endure the
reeking, fostering putrefaction and
beastliness? What heart could endure
the groan of agony?
Drunkenness: Does it not jingle the
burglars key? Does it not whet the
assassin's knife? Does it not cock the
highwaymans pistol? Does it not wave
the incendiary's torch? Has it not sent
the physician reeling into the sick
room; and the minister with his tongue
thick into the pulpit? Did not an eX-
qusite poet, from the very top of his
Game, fall a gibbqring sot, into the gut
tor, on his wl.--e----ssS W2rrtea a-tSh9na-.at
u.la- -av- the very hour tho bride was
decking herself for the altar; and did
he not die of delirium tremens, almost
unattended, in hospital? Tamerlane
asked for ono hundred and sixty thou
sand skulls with which to build q pyra-
mid to his own honor. He got the
skulls, and built the pyramid. But II
the bones of all those who have fallen
as prey to dissipation could be piled
up it would make vastor pyramid.
The Sabbath has been sacrificed to
the rum traffic. TO many of our people
the best day is the worst. Bakers must
keep their shops closed on the Sab
bath, 1t is dangerous to have loaves of
bread going out on Sunday, Tho shoe
store is closed; severe penalty will at
tack tho man who sells boots on the
Sabbath. But down with tho window
shutters Of the grog-shopl Our laws
shall confer particular honor upon the
rum tranlckers. All other trades must
stand aside for these. Let our citizens
who have displaced themselves by trad
Ing in clothing, and hosiery, and hard
ware, and lumber and coal, take off
their hats to tho rum seller elected to
particular honor. 1t Is unsafe for any
other class Of men to be allowed license
for Sunday work, But swing out your
signs, oh ye tratllckors in tho peace Of
families and in tho souls OF immortal
men Let tho corks fly and tho beer
foam, aud tho rum go Saring down tho
half-consumod throat Of the inobriate.
God does not soc Docs he? Judgment
will never come? win it,
! do not know but that God is deter
mined to let drunkenness triumph, and
the husbands and sons of thousands of
our best families be destroyed by this
vice, In order that our people, amazed
and indignant may rise up and demand
the determination of this municipal
crime, Thcro is way of driving down
the hoops of barrel SO tight that they
break We have, in this country at
various times, tried to regulate this
OWL by tax on whisky, You may rs
well try to regulate the Asiatlc cholera
or tho smallpox by taxation. Tho men
who distil liquors are, for tho most
part, INSCRIPTIONS, and tho highor tho
TAX the moro induccmort to Illicit dis.
tillation.
OH the folly Of trying to restrain an
evil by Government tariff II every
gallon 4 whisky mOdo-if ovory flask
OF wine produced, should be taxed
thousand dollars, II would not be
enough to pay for tho tears It has
wrunv from the eyes OF widows and