The record-union., 1891-05-04
ALCOHOL AND IT'S EVILS.
They are Graphically Described by
Luther Benson.
An Interesting and Eloquent Lecture
Last Evening on the Subject
of Temperance.

The SiXth-street Methodist Church was
crowded last night to hear Luther Ben
son of Indianapolis, Ind, lecture on
temperance. 1t is impossible to give a
connected synopsis of the lecture. Mr..
Benson is said to be the most rapid
speaker in the United States, speaking
more than two hundred words minute
For more than one hour he held the
closest attention Of his audience. His
lecture was pathetic and humorous, and
the audience alternated between tears
and smiles. He abuses no one; indeed,
so full of charity is his lecture that it
would not be inappropriate to call it a
lecture on kindness.
He said there were two things for
which he had never had a regret-he had
never regretted any kind word that he
had ever spoken, nor any kind act that
he had ever done, but that he had tossed
on his pillow through the long hours Of
the night and WOOed and wOOed in vain
one moments sleep because of some
mean, cruel, hard word, or some unkind
act that had wounded, hurt or offended
some man, woman or child: and he
thanked God he had learned a better
way.
He said while he would be very kind,
ne would be very plain--that he would
call things by their right names, and that
the sooner we commenced to call some
things by their right name the better it
will be for the morality and the religion
OF the country.
'If you will call tiger a butterfly" he
said, " that will not take the glare of the
tiger out Of his eye, the strength from his
jaw, nor the bloodthirstiness from his
heart. He viii be tiger still, with the
spring of tiger, the jaw Of tiger, and
the grip Of tiger, even though you call
him by the beautiful name of butterfly.
You may go out into your graveyard
tomorrow morning and make afresn
your gravel walks, plant your shade trees,
rear your Parain marble until it is lost
amid the blue vaults of the sky. Then
plant your flower beds, and call your
graveyard Mount Hope, or Mount Au-
burn-but the awful fact remains that it
is q graveyard still; and down beneath
those blooming flower beds the worms
are holding their horrid feasts upon the
dead.
And so it is with intemperance. I do
not care by what name you call the drink
wine, ale, beer or hard cider-if it con-
tains one drop of alcohol, just to that ex-
tent il contains eternal DEATH | am here
10 talk to you about an evil. 1t is an evil
that has this whole world for its home
the devil for its father, and the flesh for
its mother. 1t stands out in gigantic and
fabulous proportions; it has no head, and
cannot think; it has no heart, and cannot
feel; 1t has no eyes, and cannot see; it has
no ears, and cannot hear the dying
shrieks Of its murdered victims, as they
beg and cry and pant and plead for
mercy. 1t has an instinct with which to
plan, a coil with which to bind,
a fang with which to sting. It is as
sly as the fox, as strong as the OK, as
brave as the lion, as ferocious as the tiger,
and as merciless as the hyena; and
wherever goes this foul moloch of hell it
is as though the scourge of God had
swept over the land, destroying all that
| is fair, bright and beautiful"
His descriptions Of the appetite for
strong drink, and how it deceives men.
were powerful. He said that it was as
deceptive as the calm before the hurri-
cane, as quiet and still as the waters upon
the vergeIof the cataract, and as beauti-
! full as the rainbow-the daughter of the
Storm"
II have lectured,r he said, sin thirty
five States. and / have never been in one
place that 1 did not find some man who
did not say, I can drink or let it alone
If you will show me a man in this city
who says he can drink or let it alone, /
will show you a man who drinks and
does not let Ii alone. Another man will
say, Benson, | am smarter than YOU and
| just drink now and then, right along.
Show me a man who drinks now and
then, and | will show you a man who
drinks oftener now than then
'Often little man with a pigeon-head
about the size and shape of my fist, will
say to me, i am sorry you are SO weak
minded. Just look at mel am strong
minded / drink more or less all the
time. You show me man who drinks
more or less, and l will show you man
that drinks more than he does less. IT is
not question of ofinteIlectuaity; If it was,
the plumed giants OF the land would not
have had their brains turned to dust by
this accursed thing. Liquor is stimu-
liant that creates an appetite for Itself.
Bread satisfies hunger, water satisfies
thirst, but liquor never satisfies-it creates
thirst that will kindle fires for
eternity"
Mr.. Benson's remedy for the evils of
intemperance is education. He gave a
number of illustrations of impressions
made in early childhood, and how they
endured all throughlife. He said the inn
pressions made on a baby's brains and
nerves when it is one hour old will re-
hour old and walk the floor with it that
night, and if you haven't three years
Job on your hands, then your baby is
different from mine. Put light where a
baby is when it is one hour old, and the
baby will cry for light. The time to
make good impressions is in childhood"
Mr. Benson will deliver another and
different free lecture at the same place
this evening, but on the same subject.
Staudfno of tba (1ubS