Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-08-01

Perhaps you can hardly admit it; but where
was your son last night? Where was he
Friday night? Where was he THURSDAY
night? Wednesday night? Tuesday 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 q little further.
and | am sure you cannot. think if some
of you should try to break away You would
find a 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 strange and
crush. until the bones crack. and the blood
trickles. and the eyes start from their
sockets. and the mangled wretch cries. 70
God! o God! help! help!" But it is too
late: and not even the fires of woe can melt
the chain when once it is fully fastened.
l have shown you the evil beast. The
question is, Who will hunt him down and
how shall we shoot him? IaEswer first, by
getting our children right on his subject.
Let them grow up with an utter aversion TO
ter it even as medicine. If you find that
they have a natural love for it. as some
have. put in a glass of it some horrid stuff
and make it utterly nauseous.. Teach them
as faithfully as you do the Bible that rum is
. a tiend. 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 Il 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. intoxicated to madness, goes
through the street brandishing his fist.
disappearing Gods bowling. defying. shout
ing, reeling. raving and foaming maniac.
say to your son. Look: that man was once
a child like you" AS you so by the grog
shop 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 re-
wards, all counsels. lest in after days they
break your heart and curse your gray hairs.
A man laughed at my father for his scrupu-
lous temperance principles, and said: Il
am more liberal than you; always give
have been taking a drink" Three of his
sons have died drunhards. and the fourth is
imbecile through Incorporate habits.
Again, we will battle this evil by voting
there who can rise above the feelings of
partisanship and demand that our officials
shall be sober men?
l maintain that the question Of sobriety is
higher than the question of availability.
and that however eminent a mans services
is unfit for any office inthe gift of a Chris
tinn people. Our laws will be no better than
the men who make them. Spend Il few
days at Harrisburg or Albany or Washing
tCn, Ullu you VIII lllu Oul WHY upon tucSc
SUBJECTS it is impossible to get righteous
enactmentS.
Again, we will war upon this evil by or
ganized 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 Stratagcms set
at defiance public morals. Let us confront
them with organizations just as secret, and,
if need be, with grips and passwords and
I ~, C. ~, ~ S,f IN nrn orttto nnnn Sc ,-
need that our philanthropic societies tell
all their plans. [ I'M in favor of all lawful
strategy in the carrying on Of this conflict.
l wish to God we coul lay under the wine
casks a train which. once ignited, would
shake the earth with the explosion of this
monstrous iniquity!
Again. we will try the power of the pledge.
There are thousands of men who have been
saved by putting their names to such O
document. 1 know it is laughed at. but
once promised q thing, do it. Some have
broken the pledge" Yes; they were liars.
l do not say that it is the duty OF all persons
to make such signature. but / do say that it
would be the salvation of many Of you. The
glorious work of Theobald Mathew can
never be estimated. At his hand our mil
lions OF people took the pledge. and multi
tudes in ireland. England. Scotland and
America have kept it till this day. The
pledge signed to thousands has been the
proclamation of emancipation.
Again. we expect grcut things from in
ebriate asylums. They have already lone a
glorious work. I think we are coming at
last to treat inebriution as it ought to be
treated. namely. as an awful disease, self
inflicted, to be sure, but nevertheless a dis
ease. Once fastened upon Il MAJ m
won't cure him: temperance lectures will
not eradicate it,: religious tracts will not
remove it; the Gospel Of Christ will not ar
rest 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. A young man in prison
had such a strong thirst for Intoxicating
liquors that he cut off his hand at the wrist,
called for u DOW of brandy in order to stop
the bleeding, thrust his wrist into the bowl,
and then drank the contents.
Stand not when the thirst is on him be-
tween a man and his cups Clear the track
for him. Away with the children: 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
Away with heaven; he considers it worth
less as a straw. Give me the drink! Give
it to me! Though the hands of blood pass
up the bowl. and the soul tremblcs over the
pit-the drink! Give it to me! Though ii
be pale with tears; though the froth of ever
lasting anguish float on the foam-give it to
me! 1 drink to my wifc's woe, to my chill
dren's rags, to my eternal banishment from
God and hope and heaven! Give it to me!
the drink"
Again, we will contend againstthese evils
by trying to persuade the re-
spectacle classes of society to
the punishment of alcoholic bever-
ages. You who move in elegant and refined
associations; you who drink the best
liquors; you who never drink
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 beverage. and then
come out and give us Your head, your vote,
your prayers. your synpathies. Do tlut
and ] viii promise Shrrc things: First, tina,
YOU Win have found unspeakable happiness
in having lone your duty: second. YOU will
probably save somcbody-perhaps your
own child; third. you will not in your last
hour have IL regret that you made the sacri-
flee, if sacrifice it be.
AS long as youmake drinking respectable,
drinking customs will prevail. and the plow-
share of death. drawn by terrible disasters.
will go or turning up this whole continent
from end to end with the long. deep. awful
furrow of drunkards' graves.
;, Oh! how his rum lend would like to co
and hang up a skeleton in your beautiful
house, SO that when you opened the front