Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-03-20

quick enough at figures TO estimate now
many mothers there are waiting for some
thing to be done? Ay, there are many
wives waiting for domestic rescue. ne
promised something different from that
when, after the long acquaintance and the
careful scrutiny of character, the hand anu
the heart were offered and accepted " nat
a hell on earth q woman lives IN VINO mas
drunken husband! 0 death. ho" lovely
thou art to her and how soft and warm
thy skeleton hand! The sepulcher at mid
night in winter is a kings drawln2-room
compared with that woman's home. 1t Is not
so much the blow on the head that hurts as
the blow on the heart.
TIE rum fiend came to the door or that
beautiful home, and opened the door and
stood there and said: Il curse this dwelling
with an unrelenting curse. L curse tnat
father into a maniac, l curse that mother
into pauper. l curse those sons into Vaga-
bonds / curse those daughters into prohlg-
acy. Cursed be bread tray and cradle.
Cursed be couch and chair, and family Bible
with record of marriages and births ana
deaths. Curse upon curse" Oh, how many
wives are there waiting TO see II something
cannot be done TO shake these frosts OF the
second death off the orange blossoms! Yea,
God is waiting the God who works through
human instrumentalities, waiting TO see
whether this nation is going to overthrow
this evil, and if it refuse TO do so God will
wine out the nation as Re did Ph9nicia, as
Babylon
Ay, He is waiting to see what the church
of God will do II the church does not do
its work, then He will wipe 1t out as He did
the church of Ephesus, church of Thyatira,
church of Sardis. The Protestant and Ro-
man Catholic churches to-day stand idle by
side with an impotent look, gazing on this
evil, which costs this country more than a
billion dollars a year to take care of the 3OO,-
600 paupers, and the 315, 900 criminals. and
the 80, 900 idiots, and to bury the $4,000
drunkards. Protagoras boosted that out OF
the sixty years of his life forty years he had
spent in running youth; but this evil may
make the more Infamous boast that all Its
life it has been running the bodies minds and
souls of the human race.
Put on your spectacles and take candle
and examine the platforms Of the two lead
ing political parties of this country, and see
what they are doing for the arrest of this
evil and for the overthrow of this abomina-
ton. Resolutions-oh! yes, resolutions about
Mormonism! It is safe to attack that or
gained nastiness two thousand miles away.
But not one resolution against drunkenness,
which would turn this entire nation into one
bestial Salt Lake City. Resolutions against
political corruption, but not one word about
drunkenness which would rot this nation
from scalp to heel. Resolutions about pro-
lection against competition with foreign in
dustries, but not one word about protection
scalding, blasting, all consuming. damnlng
tariff of strong drink put upon every finan-
cial, individual, spiritual, moral, national
interest.
look in another direction. The Church of
God is the grandest and most glorious institu-
ton on earth What has it in solid phalanx
accomplished for the overthrow of drunken
ness? Have it's forces ever been marshaled?
No, not in this direction. Not long ago
great ecclesiastical court assembled IN New
York, and resolutions arraigning strong
drink were offered, and clergy men with
strong drink on their tables and strong
drink in their cellars defeated the resolu-
tions by threatening speeches. They could
not bear to give up their own lusts.
tef1 thiI audience what many of you may
never have thought Of that to-day-not in
the millennium, but to-day---the church
holds the balance of power in America; and
If Christian people-the men and the women
who profess to love the Lord Jesus Christ
and to love purity and to be the sworn enc
mics of all uncleanness and debauchery and
by side and shoulder to shoulder
this evil would soon be overthroWn.
Think of three hundred thou
sand churches and SundaY-schools in Chris
tendon marching shoulder to shoulder! How
very short time it would take them to put
down this evil, if all the churches of God,
transatlantic and cisatlantlc, were armed Oh
this subject?
Young men of America pass over into
the army OF teetotalism. Whisky, good to
preserve corpses, ought never to turn you
into a corpse. Tens of thousands Of young
men have been dragged out or repectability
and out of purity, and out of good char
acter and into darkness by this Internal stuff
called strong drink. Do not touch it! Do
DOT touch it!
In the front door OF our church in Brook
iyn, a few summers ago, this scene occurred:
Sabbath morning a young man was entering
for divine worship. friend passing along
the street said, Joe, come along with me;
[ am going down to Coney Island ana Wen
have gay Sunday" NO" replied Joe; Il
going to attend service here" 'Oh, Joe" his
friend said, you can go to church
any time! The day is bright,
and We'll go to Coney Island, and
we'll have a splendid time" The temptation
was too strong, and the twain went to the
beach, spent the day IN drunkenness and
riot The evening train started up from
Brighton. The young men were on 1t. Joe,
In his intoxication, when the train was IN
full speed tried to pass around from one seat
to another and fell and was crushed.
Under the lantern, as Joe lay bleeding his
life away on the grass he said to his COM
rade: "John, that was a bad business, your
taking me away from church; 1T was very
bad business. You ought not to have done
that. joan. want you to tell the boys to
and Sabbath breaking did this for
me. And John. while you are telling
them I will be in hell, and it will be your
fault" Is it not time for me to pull out from
the great organ of Gods word, with many
hanks of KEYS the tremolo stop? 'Look not