The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-08-17


against rich men, while he himself keeps two
dogs, and chews and smokes. and is full to
the chin with whisky and beer. Wilkins Mi
cawber said to David Copperfeld, Cooper
field, my boy. one pound income, expenses
twenty shilinss and six pence; result,
misery. But, Copperaeld. my boy, one pound
income, expenses nineteen shilinSs and SIX
pence; result. happiness" But, working
man of America. take your morning dram,
and your noon dram. and your evening dram,
and spend everything you have over Tor to-
bacco and excursions, and YOU insure pow
ertv for yourself and your children forever!
II by some generous fiat OF the capitalists
of this country. or by new law of the Gov
erument of the United States. twenty-five
DER cent. or fifty per cent. or one hundred
pez cent were added to the wages OF the
working classes Of America. il would be no
advantage to hundreds of thousands OF them
unless they stopped strong drink. Aye, un-
til they quit that evil habit, the more money,
the more ruin, the more wages, the more
holes in the bag.
Nv plea this morning is to those working
people who are In a discipleship to whisky
bottle, the beer-mug, and the wine-hask.
And what say to them will not be more ap-
propriate to the working classes than to the
business classes, aud the literary classes, and
the professional classes. and all classes, and
not with the people Of one age more than
of all ages. Take one good square look at
the suffering of the man whom stronA drink
has enthralled, and remember that toward
that goal multitudes are running The dis
ciple OF alcoholism suffers the loss OF SELF
respect.
Just as soon as man wakes up aud tnds
that he Is the captive OF strong drink. ne reefs
IL how rAnklasS h6
acts. He may say, 81 don't care; he does
caro-. He cannot look a pure man in the eye
unless it is with positive force OF resolution.
Three-fourths of his nature is destroyed;
his self-respect is gone; he says things ne
would not otherwise say; he does thugs
he would not otherwise do. When
man is nine-tenth5 gone with strong
drink, the first thing he wants to 40 lsto
persuade you that no can stop any time no
wants to. H. cannot. The Philistines nave
bound him hand and foot, and shorn his
lccks. and put out his eyes. and arc making
him grind in the mill OF a great horror lie
cannot stop. I will prove it. HeknoWs that
his course is bringing ruin upon himself.
He loves himself 1fhe could stop he would.
He knows his course is bringing ruin upon
his family. Tie loves them. He would stop
if he could. He cannot. Perhaps he could
ask him to stop for month. He cannot; he
knows he cannot, so he does not try.
I had q friend vino was for fifteen years
going down under this evil habit Ho had
large means. He had given thousands OF
dollars to Bible societies and reformatory
institutions Of all sorts. He was very
genial, very generous, and very lovable. and
whenever he talked about this evil habit he
would say, II can stop any time. But ne
kept going on. going On, down, down,
down. His family would say ~ wish you
would stop" "Why," he would reply, II
can stop any time ii I want to-" After q
while he had delirium tremens; he had 1t
twic.: and vet. after that. he said. 81 could
stop at any time if wanted to-" He is dead
now. What killed him? Rum! Rum! And
yet among his last utterances was, II can
stop mt any time" Hs did not stop 1t, be-
cause he could not stop it. Oh, there is
point in inebriation beyond which II man
goes he cannot stop!
One Of These victims said to q Christian
man, s'Sir. if we're told that [ couldn't get
a drink until tomorrow night unless had
all my fingers cut off, I would say, Bring
the hatchet and cut them off now" have
a dear frien:i In Philadelphia whose nephew
came to him one day, and, when he was ex-
hortei about his evil habit, said, "Unele, I
and it was loaded, aud glass Of wine were
set on the mouth OF that cauuon, and knew
that you would fire 1t off as came up and
took the glass, I would start, for must
have it"
Oh, it is sad thing for a man to wake up
in this life and feel that he is a captive! He
says, ''I could have got rid OF this at once,
but can't now. I might hayelived an hon
ora5lo life and died a Christian death; but
there is no hope for me now; there IS no
escape for me-. Dead. but not buried. am
a walking corpse, I am au apparltlon OF what
once whs. am Gagged i'm Mortal beating
against the wires OF my cage In this dtrec-
ton; beating against the cage until there IS
blood on ths wires and blood upon my soul.
yet not tble to got out. Destroyed without
remedy"
I go on, aud say that the disciple OF rum
suffers from the loss Of health.
The older men in the congregation may re-
member that some years ago DR.. Sewelt went
through this country and electrified the peo-
pie by his lectures, in which he showed the
effects of alcoholism on the human stomach.
He had seven or eight diagrams by which ne
showed the devastation OF strong drink upon
the physical system. There were thousands
OF people that turnel back from that ulcer
Gus sketch, swearing eternal abstinence from
everything lGat cOulu lnlONlcdtH.
God only knows what the drun6arl suf-
fers Pain files on every nerve. ard travels
every muscle, aud gnaws every bon". and
burns with every flame. and stings with
every poison. and pulls at him with every
torture. What reptiles crawl over his creep
ing limbs! What lenls stand by his mid
night pillow What groanS tear his ear!
What horrors shlver through his soul! Talk
of the rack. talk OF the InGuistion, talk OF
the funeral pyre. talk OF the crushing Jug
gernaut-he feels them all at once. Have you
ever been in the warl OF IN, hospital where
these inebriates are dying, the stencil OF their
wounds driving back the attendants, their
voices sounding through the night? Inc
keeper comes up and says, Hush, now, Dc
still! Stop making all this noise!' But 1t
is efrectual only for q moment, for as soon
as tho keeper is gone they begin again:
Give me rum! Help! Take them OF me!
Take them off me! Oh, God!' And then they
shrek. and they rave, and they pluck ont
their hair by handfuls. and bite their nails
into the quick, and then they groan, and
thew shrek. and they blaspheme, and they
ask the keeper to kill them-"Stab me!
Smother mel Strangle me! Take the devils
off me!' Oh, it is no fancy sketch! That
thing is going on now all up and down the
land, and tell you furtner tnat tnls ls 20,
ing to be the death that some OF you Will
die, know it. see it coming.
Again, the inebrlate suffers through the
loss of home.
do not care how much he loves his wife
and children, If his passion for strong drink
has mastered him, he will do the most out,
rageous things; and if he could not get
drink in any other way, he would sell his
family into eternal bondage. How many
homes have been broken up In that way nc
one but God knows. Oh, is there anythine
that will so destroy man for this life an
damn him for the life that is to come? hat
that strong drink. With all the concentrate
energies Of my soul hate 1t. d. no
tell me that man can be happy when h
Knows that heis breaking his wife's heart al.
clothing his children with rags. Why. ther'
are on the roads and streets of this land to
day little children. barefoote1, unwashed
and unkempt-Want on every patch of thei