The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-18

A strong sermon on prohibition was
preached by Rev. DR.. Mabry at the
First Methodist church yesterday
morning. His text was Proverbs 14-24
righteousness eXalteth nation
but sin is a reproach to any people"
He said that in these times thought
full men are asking is the civilization
of this country to be permanent:
The history of nations shows they have
risen to the zenith of their power and
glory. Then vice and corruption has
crept in. They have decayed. The end
of decay has been death. Is our great
nation to follow that courseo
He believed not. Old civilization elus-
tered around one man, who was su-
preme and worked his will. AS time
went on and people became more en-
liShtened the one man civilization be-
came known less, and the civilization
of the people took its place. Examine
into the history of Napoleon and you
will find his fall was due to an attempt
TO make an one man civilization. The
people were too strong to permit this
retrogression. But it is in this nation
that the civilization of the people has
reached its highest form and therein
rests our safety. We may rest assured
that this civilization will endUre-un-
less some great vice shall sap its
strength.
The great vice of the American peo-
pie is the Incorporate use of intoX-
icating liquors. This alone is enough
to rot our civilization unless we rise
above it. How can nation expecT to
exist when it has such vice. hardly
think sane man can be found who
will deny that it is destructive and
crime. That part of it needs no argu-
ment. The question before the people
of the nation and, at this moment,
particularly before the people Of Utah
is, What shall we do with it?
Once when he addressed the W. G.
T. u. he had had dream. His eyes
were open, but still he had dreamed.
He saw a dark, turbulent, resistless.
merciless river, sweeping down toward
a cataract whose sullen roar. portend-
ing destruction, came to the ears of
those standing on the banks far above.
And these watchers saw thousands of
their fellows swept on in the dark
stream toward that terrible brink. Here
and there life saving stations were es-
tablished and many were snatched
from the tide. But all could not be
saved. So when this river had been
flowing for centuries it occurred to
some to go up the stream and find how
it was that so many of their fe lows
had been caught in it. These searchers |
found that some interested persons +!
had stretched a bridge across the river.
They would inveigle the unwary onto
it by all sorts of schemes and then |
would throw them off.
The stream of intemperance is not |
by miles. but by centuries. |
We have seen fathers, sons, brothers, !
and even sisters, swept in it mercile sly |
TO the bOttOmleSS pit. Here and there |
the Sons of Temperance, w. c. T. u. |
and other organizations have establish
ed life saving stations. But the task |
does not lie with them. We should /
have this state admitted with that /
bridge torn down.
He denied that capital is invested in
the liquor traffic Capital is something
saved from immediate consumption for
future production" Alcoholic liquor is
Something made for immediate con-
sumption for future destruction" It
can produce only vice and crime. The
of its use means national
In eight years the Ameri-
cans drink UP the equivalent of all
he products of the country for any
1ne year. How can a people who thus
rink themselves up save themselves
rom bankruptcy?
In Salt Lake city alone the drink bill
amounts to S615.000 annually. Give him
hat and he would pay all amounts
hat would be lost from license; keep
Up the police, fire. water and lighting
departments and pave the sidewalks,
md have a great bank account left.
Talk of hard times. Give him the drink
ill and he would be able to see that
here was no suffering in the city.
Men say prohibition is failure.
Why, then, are all those who are in
he liquor traffic arrayed solidly
Lgainst it? But it is not a question of
success with him. 1t is a question of
uccess. Blackstone says, Law is a
ule of action, prescribed by the SUI
IRENE power, commanding what is
light, and prohibiting what is wrong"
f that is correct, then there can be no ;
God argument against prohibition
slavery was shaken off, intemperance
an be. Perhaps it is designed that the
eople of this intermountain country ]
hall lead the way to better things.