Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-07-31


was your son last night7 Where was he
Friday night2 Where was he Thursday
night? Wednesday night?. Tuesday night?
Monday night2 Nay. have not some Of you
In your own bodies felt the power Of this
habit2 You think that you could stop7 Are
you sure you could2 Go on little further.
and am sure you cannot think II 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 ii has wound round and round.
Then 1t begins to tighten and strangie and
crush. until the bones crack. and the blood
sockets. and the mangIed wretch cries. 20
Godi o Godl helpl helpl' But It Is too
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 viii hunt him down and
how shall we shoot him2 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 1t even as medicine. II you find that
they have natural love for 1t, as some
have, put in glass Of 1t some horrid stuff
and make IL utterly nauseous. Teach them
as faithfully as you do the Bible that rum is
a fiend. 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 1t. 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 Goo. La bowling. defying. shout
ing. reeling, raving and foaming maniac,
say to your son. Look; that man was once
N q hu ha
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: 4
am more liberal than you. 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 menl
maintain that the question Of sobriety Is
higher than the question OF availability.
and that however eminent mans services
may be, II 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
subjects tits 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. am in favor Of all lawful
strategy in the carrying on Of this conflict.
wish to God we could 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
document. know it is laughed at, but
know there are some men who, having
once promised a thing, do it. Some have
broken the pledge" Yes; they were liars.
/ do not say that it is the dnty OF all persons
to make such signature. but do say that it
NOutu Do bu0 SdltdtIOH OI MtIly Ol yOu. Iu0
glorious work Of Theobald Mathew can
never be estimated. At his hand four mill
lions Of people took the pledge, and multi
tudes in Ireland. England, Scotland and
America have kept it till this day. Tie
pledge signed to thousands has been the
proclamation of emancipation.
Again, we expect great things from in
ebriate asyiums. They have already done
glorious work. I think we are coming at
Ia CT to- f.-na inn nj fol ha
treated. namely, as an awful disease. self
inflicted. to be sure, but nevertheless dis
ease. Once fastened upon a 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 1t. Once under the power Of this awful
thirst the man is bound to go on, and If the
foaming glass we're 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 bowl of brandy in order to stop
the bleeding. thrust his wrist into the bowl.
and Ren drank the contents.
Stand not whenthe thirst is on him be-
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
the Bible; he would tear it up for the winds.
Away with heaven; he considers 1t worth
less as straw. Give me the drink Give
it to mel Though the hands Of blood pass
up the bowl, and the soul trembles over the
pit-the drink Give it to mel Though it
be pale with tears; though the froth Of ever
lasting anguish float on the foam-give it to
mel drink to my wife's woe, to my chill
dren's rags, to my eternal banishment from
God and hope and heavenl Give it to mel
the drink"
Again, we will contend againstthe evils
by trying to persuade the re-
spectacle classes of society to
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 hand, your vote.
your prayers, your sympathies. Do that
and will promise three things: First, that
you will have found unspeakable happiness
in having done your duty; second. you will
probably save somebody perhaps your
own child; third, you will not in your last
hour have regret that you made the sacri-
fee, II sacrifice it be.
As long as you make drinking respectable,
drinking customs will prevail. and the plow-
share of death. drawn by terrible disasters.
will go on turning up this whole continent
from end to end with the LONG, deep. awful
furrow Of drunkards' graves.
Ohi how his rum fend would like to GO
and hang up a skeleton In your beautiful
house, so that when you opened the front
door to 60 id you would see it in the hall;
and when you sat at your table you would