The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-07-28

see it banging from the wall; and, when you
opened your bedroom, you would find il
stretched upon your pillow: and, waking
at night, you would feel its cold hand pass
ing over your face and pinching at your
heart.
There is no home so beautiful but it NAV
be devastated by the awful curse. 1t
throws Its largon into the sweetest har-
moDy. What was it that sienced Sheridan,
the English orator, and shattered the golden
scepter with which he swayed parliaments
d courtsf What foul sprite turned the
sweet rhythm of Robert Burns into u tune
less babble! What brought down the ma
jestic form Of one who awed the American
Senate with his elOquence and after awhile
carried him home dead drunk. What was
it that swamped the noble spirit of one of
the heroes of the last war, until, in Il
drunken fit, he reelad from the deck Of a
western steamer and was drowneds There
was one whose voice We all loved to hear
He was one OF the most classic orators of
the century. People wondered why a man
of so pure a heart and 80 excellent a life
should have such sad countenance always.
They knew not t1at his wife was sot.
| call upon those who are guilty of these
indulgences to quit the path Of death. o.
| what a change il would make in your home
7
! desolated. Would you not like to bring
back Joy to your wife's heart, and have
your children come out to meet you with as
much confidence as once they showed!
Would you not like to rekindle the home
lights that long ago we're eXinguishedl 1t
is not too late to change. 1t may not en-
tirely obliterate from your soul the MEM
DRY Of wasted years and a ruined reputa-
ton, nor smooth out from your anxious
brow the wrinkles which trouble has
plowed. 1t may not call pack unkind words
uttered, or rough deeds done; for perhaps,
in those awful moments you struck her 1t
may not take from your memory the bitter
thoughts connected with some little grave.
But it is not too late to save yourself and
secure for God and your family the re-
mainder of your fast-going life.
But perhaps you have not utterly gone
astray. may address one who may not
have quite made up his mind. Let your
better nature speak out. You take one side
or the other in the war against drunken
ness. Have you the courage to put your foot
downright, aud say to your companions and
friends: II will never drink Intoxicating
liquor in all my life: nor will countenance
the habit in othersg' Have nothing to do
with strong drink. 1t has turned the earth
into place of skulls, and has stood open
ing the gate to a lost world to let in vic
tins, until now the door swings no more
upon its hinges, but, day and night, stands
wide open to let in the agonized procession
of doomed men.
Do / address one whose regular work in
life is to administer to this appetite? For
Gods sake get out of that businessl If a
woe be pronounced upon the man who gives
his nelghbor drink, how many woes must
be hanging over the man who does this
every day and every hour of the day.
Do not think that because human govern
ment may license you that therefore God
licenses you. ] am surprised to hear you
men say that they respect the Original
package" decision, by which the supreme
court of the United States allows rum to
be taken into states like Kansas, which
have decided against the sale of in
toxicants. / have no respect for a wrong
decision. | care not who makes it. The
three judges of the supreme court who
gave minority report against that decision
were right, and the chief justice was
wrong. The right of a state to defend
itself against the rum traffic will yet be
demonstrated, the supreme court notwith-
standing. Higher than the judicial bench
at Washington is the throne of the Lord
God Almighty. No enactment, national.
state or municipal can give you the right
to carry on a business whose one effect is
destruction.
God knows better than you do yourself
eno AuhhDot VI oi AhhS JOu nave pOurou OuO
You keep list; but more accurate list
has been kept than yours. You may call it
Burgundy, bourbon, cognac, Heidsieck.
sour mash or beer. God calls it strong
drink. Whether you sell it in low oyster
cellar or behi I'd the polished counter of
first-class hotel, the divine curse is upon
you. l tell you plainly that you
will meet your customers one day when
there will be no counter between you.
When your work is done on earth, and you
enter the reward of your business, all
the souls of the men whom you
have destroyed will crowd around you, and
pour their bitterness into your cup. They
will show You their wounds, and say, ''You
made them" and point to their unquench-
able thirst. and say, "You kindlei it." and
rattle their chain, and say, "You forged
it" Then their united groans will smite
your ear :, and with the hands out of which
you once picked the sixpence and the
dimes, they will push you off the verge of
greaU precipices; while rolling up from be-
Meath, and breaking among the crags of
death. will thunder: "Woe to him that
giveth his neighbor drink"