The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-06-15
TEMPERANCE NOTES.
KING ALCOHOL IN AFRICA.
The Ruin Being Wrought In the Dark
Continent by Drink.


The Ruin Being Wrought In the Dark
Continent by Drink.
Among the students of Lincoln uni
versity is native African, Mr.. George
b. Peabody, of the Bassa tribe, who is
being educated by the Presbyterian
church for mission work among his
own people in Africa. In recent paper
read before the Inter-Seminary Mission
airy alliance at Gettysburg, Pa, on
"The Liquor Traffic in Africa" he
writes:
Wherever the steamship has gone.
car. ing for IFS cargo the missionary of
Christ and the fabric of civilization,
the King Alcohol has gone with
thesr, to destroy. to undo and defeat
whatever good would otherwise result
for the comfort, happiness and saliva
ton of humanity. He is present
wherever the bugle of Christ is being
sounded by the heralds of the cross.
He goes, like Satan with job, TO the
house of God, seeking occasions where
by he may fill the body with sores and
boils and deepen the miseries of man
kind. He makes the trader, politician
and voter bow to his behest. He runs
the polls on election day, elects his
men to make laws upon the authority
of which he may sap the life-blood of
the sons and daughters of liberty and
food and drown benighted Africa.
All travellers to the west coast
of Africa have witnessed the appalling
scene of the liquor traffic there. Some
African tribes call it fire water" My
own tribe-the Bassas- call it ''crazy
water" 1t is only.the scarcity of rum
or missionaries would not be able
to maintain their work. II is hard
enough to try to civilize the savage
African; but when filled with rum, who
can manage him? The missionaries
cannot creditably maintain their work
alongside of the liquor traffic Those
engaged in the traffic know its diaboli-
cal effects upon the natives. The demi-
Johns, the quart and pint bottles in
which these poisons are conveyed to
Africa, are hailed by these simple
minded Africans as omens of happy
times The steamer has sounded the
signal gun, the row-boats containing
these cabbage-shaped demijohns and
blue and red boxes of gin bottles are
aearing the shores. The semi-nude
Africans, unsolicited, wade in the water
to bring them to shore, with shouts and
jubilant songs. They come, returning
from the boats with boxes and demi
Johns upon their heads. They would
perhaps laugh to scorn needy mis-
sionary asking for help But gin and
rum are their masters. Their savage
minds have been poisoned, ruined by
the white mans rum. The god Cir
they serve. Bacchus is welding scep
ter seemingly mightier than that WELD
ed by the prince of the tribe of Judah
n The childlike heather accepts
almost with equal mind the Bible ant
the liquor from the white man; assum
ing that he is the source of all relative
good to him. But the Bible points hi
soul upwards and to God; the liquor Leads
the soul into perdition. Hence some
observers of Africa's evangelization arr
parading the system of Islam as tn
best for Africa. Christianity has liquor
Islamism, total abstinence. If tn
powers of evil are greater than that o
Christianity then she must always b
contented to be subordinate to tn
greater powers, and allow the work o
grace to be extinguished by the flood
ing liquid of alcohol
See the African king who has spen
a day at one of these trading dram
shops, and has bought liquor with othe
goods, and has returned home. Tha
night is the night of Belshazzar in hi
home. He drinks; his court, wives, an
subjects drink. The chief begins
boast of his power. Recounting HI
dealings with other chiefs, he notes HI
offenders and gives threatenings. II
swears, under the influence Of liquor
to burn their towns. His tlatterer
tempting him, call him liar and
coward They will say: "You al
afraid of your offenders; you are the
subject" Being irritated, he AYERS
burn his neighbors' towns the next da,
This oath is sealed with the devil-lav
The next day he becomes sober, but /
has sworn, and he cannot retract. Il
must make war with the offenders u
less they retract. Thus the viii
mans rum kindles the strife and h
guns and powder put it out.
1t is enough, says one, that this
cursed evil blights all hope of the pre-
ent generation; that even those wi
had begun to gather about them Il
comforts of civilization have gone baC
to barbarism; that women who h;
learned something of modesty hi
again discarded clothing, that all the
resources may expended for drin
But this evil is not confined to the pre-
ent. 1t incapacitates the people f
future commerce aud thrift. 1t casts
blight upon those hopes which hi
been formed of central, eastern al
western Africa as great fields of col
merce and of bright prospects for sol
for the masters kingdom. -Nation
Temperance Advocate.
a BAD AMERICAN HABIT.