The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1892-08-12
W. q. q. u. Column.
The Slaughter of the Innocents.

The slaughter OF the lnnocents.
The Herald of Health gives the fol-
lowing startling result of study of the
posterity in ten families of drinkers and
ten families of non drinkers:
"The direct posterity of the ten
families of drinkers included57 children.
OF these 25 died in the first weeks and
months of their life, six were idiots, in
five children striking backwardness
Of their longitudinal growth was ohserv
ed. five were affected with epilepsy, five
with Unborn diseases. One boy was
taken with cholera and became idiotic
Thus OF the 81 children of drinkers
only ten, or 57.5 per cent. showed
normal constitution and development
The ten sober families had 81 children,
five only dying in the first weeks; four
we're affected with durable diseases of
the nervous system; the only presented
Unborn defects The remaining So
Sl.9 per cent.-were normal in their
constitution and development"
This is a striking revelation. Out of
81 children in ten families Of drinkers
only ten showed normal constitution,
the rest revealing epilepsy, idiocy, in,
born diseases of various kinds, while
out Of 81 children of non drinkers there
were but II that did not show a normal
development. Think OF what this
means for the nation, for the world.
We do not need to assume that these
statistics, CLEANED from comparison of
20 families only would hold precisely
true if careful investigation were
made on an extensive scale; but we
know that the conditions revealed in
this comparison do hold true, in an
appalling degree, wherever the drink
habit has fixed itself
If there is living outrage anywhere
upon Gods green earth it is child
born with such heritage. It is an
affront to nature, a libel upon God
Nothing more pitful, no injustice more
cruel, is known among the children of
men. The custom Of the Hindoo
women who threw their children into
the Ganges to be devoured by crocodi!es
was almost like a harmless civilized
pastjme compared to this widespread
custom of transmitting epilepsy, idiocy,
and general constitutional depravity to
the children of Christian America.
Who is to blame for it? The false
teachers and leaders of the land. The
doctors who recklessly prescribe. the
women of fashion who are passing the
cup and fixing the customs of society,
the preachers who dwadle over this evil
with few words now a then OF forced
grief aud protest, and above and beyond
all the four million professed followers
of Christ who are voting year after year
to perpetuate and protect the system that
does this thing. Followers of Christ
Why, it was Christ who took little
children in his arms and blessed them.
1t is damnable blasph envy to speak OF
the course of these men, helping to fix
this unutterable curse upon the child.
hood of America, dead to the wall OF
despair born of ignorance that rises
from the great dark slums. self blinded
by craftsmanship, self deafened by pre-
judice-it is damnable blasphemy to
speak of such course as following
Christ. Let the Sunday schools stop
for few years teaching about the
horrors of Buddhism or Mohammed-
anism and teach the horrors of what
passes for Christianity.-We poice.