Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1890-08-09


this battered and bruised wretch that was
picked up by the police and carried in.
drunk and foul and bleeding? Did I call
him the second? He is man the f1rstl Rum
transformed him. Rum destroyed his
prospects. Rum disappointed parental ex-
pectation. Rum Withered those garments
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
cannet cure. Again it swings its scythe
and ministers of the Gospel fall from the
heights Of Zion with long resounding crash
of ruin and shame. Some of your OWL
households have already been shaken
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
In your own bodies felt the power of this
habit? You think that you could stop? Are
you sure you could? Go on a little further
and | am sure you cannot. | 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 strange and
crush. until the bones crack, and the blood
trickles, and the eyes start from their
sockets. and the mangled wretch cries. 20
God! 0 God! help! help!" But it is toe
late; and not even the fires of woe can melt
the chain when once it is fully fastened.
| 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 subject.
Let them grow up with an utter aversion to
strong drink. Take care how you admins
ter it even as medicine. If you find that
they have 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
f1end 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 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
that" Looking out Of your window at some
one who. intoxicated to madness, goes
through the street brandishing his fist,
disappearing God, "a bowling, defying, shout
ing, 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
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. l always give
my children the sugar in the glass after we
have been taking drink" Three of his
sons have died drunkards, and the fourth is
imbecile through incorporate habits.
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?
1 maintain that the question of sobriety is
higher than the question of availability
and that however eminent a mans services
may be, if he have habits of intoxication he
is unfit for any office in the gift of Chris
tian people. Our laws will be no better than
the men who make them. Spend few
days at Harrisburg or Albany or Washing
ton 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
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 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.
l wish to God we could lay under the wire
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
document. I know it is laughed at. but
l know there are some men who, having
once promised thing, do it. Some have
broken the pledge" Yes; they were liars.
| 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 four 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 great things from in
ebriate asylums. They have already done a
glorious work. l think we are coming at
last to treat inebriation as it ought to be
treated. namely, as an awful disease, self
inflicted, to be sure, but nevertheless a dis
ease. Once fastened upon man sermons
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 strong thirst for Intoxicating
liquors that he cut off his hand at the wrist.
called for bowl 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
crnCS. he would RIM il dnun AWAY with