The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1893-01-26

THAT HORSE IS NOT CLEAN
ESCAPED THAT DRAGs TIE
HALTER"
CHon. 1. s: Cotiin. In Trainmen's Iournal.) !
Somewhere, quite number of years
ago, when q good deal younger than
now, the writer heard the expression ut
the head of this article, and it made a
deep and lasting impression upon his
mind. If, Bro. Editor, you may think
can help fill up the space in the Jour-
nal, left for another purpose, but tile
bottom of which purpose has, through
poor, frail humanity, dropped out, las
you and understand) and by so doing
be of some help to your readers and my
friends, as am proud to say, l will
take that expression for my text, hop.
ing may help fasten this quaint, but
pregnant expression upon some men,
bers of the Brotherhood, and that it
may do them:good, as it has me. There
is world of meaning In that short SEN
tence-"That horse is not clean escaped
that drags the halter" Picture to the
mind,a grand, noble horse: he has
been tied up for days and weeks in his
stall and is ready for run. BY some
means his halter becomes loosened
from where it is tied, he finds himself
loose, the door of the stable is open
and out he bounds, and up and down,
all over the field lie races. How free
he feels himself. and how he scorns the
puny efforts Of his master to catch
him. He realiz,s his 8; ;rength and his
speed. How weak and slow is human
strength and motion compared to his.
lie is to be caught and confined again?
Not much. If he coald speak how he
would boast of his freedom and of his
strength and agility to keep forever
free. But he drags Il halter. That
halter will eventually lead to his cap
ture. Either the owner will steal up
gently when lie is off his watch and
grasp the dragging end, or it may get
tangled around his legs and fetter him.
Could that halter have been left in the
manger; could he but contrive to slip
it off entirely, then he would be indeed
free; but, poor fellow, he drags that
which, sooner or later leads to his CAP
tnre. So true it. is, "That horse is not
clean escaped that drags the halter"
Now what is there in this simple, but
true picture from life for us all to
learn? Simply this: There is no mid
die ground between bad habits and ab-
sol"te freedom and safety. The Broth
erhood has taken high constitutional
ground for sobriety. No one can STAY
in the order who habitual'y transgress-
es the laws Of sobriety. Yet how many
think they are perfectly safe to take u
drink onca in Il while. They know
that drink can never catch and conquer
them. They know When to stop and
how much they can stand. They can
quit aay time. This confidence, this
once in Il while, is the dragging halter
that by an 10y will lead to capture.
Changing the words, that man is not
clean escaped from the powers and
chains of strong drink that drnes the
halter Of modern drinking. Today, in
the city where write this, two young
men stood on the sidewalk and saw 4
man i'll middle life go staggering past.
They looked at him for u moment and
then at each other, when one remark
ed: "What \ fool that man is to make
such beast Of himself; he ought to
know enough to stop when lie has
enough" A few minutes afterwards
| saw. those two young men go past m+
in the hotel and 90 to the bar and
drink. Oh, yes, they know when to
stop. My observation is that no man
is 50 positive that lie knows where to
stop and that he will do 50 before hp
gets full, as the man that has two or
three glasses in him already. Before
he takes any he is very doubtful wheth-
er he dare take oae glass; by the tune
he has two he begins to feel strong and
knows that lie can take another and
not show it, and can stop there; but,
when three are down he is stronger
yet, he can drink three or four more
times and stop right there, but he
doesn't do it. The dragging halter capl
lures him. No, brothers, slip the bal
ter entirely over the head; leave it drag
it no more and then you are free, you
can't be caught. How many bright
young men I have seen dragging this
halter. Talk with them and they flusl,
up at once: "What! you think l will
ever let liquor get the best of me? No
never. can stop anytime" Why
didn't they? That halter caught them
They got tangled up in it. Oh no y
many have seen drag that halter to
their graves. Brothers, put on the
''white button" 1t tells to all that
yen are free-that you drag no halter.
Rigit here let me say one word on the
white button movement. Some have
gotten the idea that wearing the white
button is proclamation that the wear
er has reformed; that, as a matter of
course, he was, before putting it on, a
dissipated man, and that it is a sort of
humiliating thing to wear one. That
is not the idea at all; it was not the
design. It is token, a sign, showing
what the principle of the wearer is
now and how la Wanta his influenza To