The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1895-06-28
That Crank Joshua
BY HON. JOHN p. ST. JOHN.


We hear a great many men to.
day say if such and such things
are right, God will give them to
us. So many expect God to do
everything. Let me tell you,
citizens, that God never does
anything for us that we can do
for ourselves. God hates a loafer;
God hates poor, weak, misera.
Bile, moral coward. God expects
US to use all the instrumentalities
that we possess under Divine as
we'll as human law for the up
building of His kingdom among
men, and whenever we have ex-
hausted all those instrumentali-
ties, and still seem to fail to
reach the summit. then it is that
God puts His hand under US and
lifts US up to glorious victory,
No sooner had we struck down
African slavery than our govern.
ment went into partnership ten
fold worse than slavery ever was,
and it continues that partnership
to day; it is the power that stands
behind the law that legalizes
245.oo0 retail liquor houses in
this nation.
Slavery fed It's victim; it cloth
ed him. ii furnished him shell
ter; it did not destroy his hope in
immortality; for the poor slave,
withhis back SCARED and bleed.
ing, fresh from the lash of his
master, could lie down in the
swamps and jungles Of the South
and die and his soul go to God
who gave it.
But the legalized saloons of
this nation rob their victims of
shelter, rob them of clothing.
rob them of bread; they rob the
nation of its manhood. and the
mother OF her boy. And, worse
than all, if we are to believe the
teachings of this blessed Book
land | FOR one do) it robs its vic
tim of all hope in immortality,
Tor the Bible tells US that No
druukard can enterinto the king
dom of Cod.
Saloons make drunkards. They
are the creatures of the law, and
law is the creation of the voters
Of this nation; we live III repub.
lie where all law is the crystalliz,
ed will OF the people. The PEG.
pie. in republic like ours. are
supreme. They can make and
unmake constitutions and laws;
they can make and unmake re.
publics; they have Just such a
government today as they want;
they have the power to change ii
at their will.
| propose in the name of com.
mon decency and behalf of tLe
wives and mothers and children,
and in behalf of the poor besotted
drunkards of this nation, to keep
up this fight, and wish the help
of the American people and the
blessing Of God, to never cease
until the last saloon goes down
and out OF sight for ever.
remember the story ofJoshua.
You remember how he marched
around Jericho, and how a lot of
politicians stood there and said
Look at him, that fool is not fit
TO command a corporal's guard:
he is an impractical crank, dema-
gogue and fanatic, ne will bank
rupt the government :" But
Joshua marched around again.
and the crowd of grumblers in.
creased. and they said Why,
he will simply make fool Of
himself Does he think that he
can tear down great stone walls
by marching around them and
blowing ram horns Rams
horns have been tried, and they
have proved failure always.
The only way to tear down a
stone wall is to stand back and
flip regulation beans at it. and in
the course of thousand years
you will wear hole that a mouse
could crawl through" But
Joshua marched on. He did not