Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1895-12-13

that lady's hand has kindled the
young mans thirst for strong drink,
and long after all the attractions of the
holiday have passed that same woman
crouches in her rags, and her desola-
ton, and her woe under the uplifted
hand of the drunken monster to whom
she had passed the fascinating cup on
New Years Day. II we want to go to
ruin let us go alone and not take others
with us. Can we not sacrifice our feel
ings IL need be? When the good ship
London went down the captain was told
that he might escape in one Of the life
boats. mo-" he replied, "I'll go down
with the passengers" All the world
applauded his heroism. And can we
not sacrifice our tastes and our appe-
titles for the rescue of others? Surely
1t Is not very great sacrifice. Oh, mix
holiday the poison of adders! Mix not
with the white sugar Of the cup the
snow Of this awful leprosy! Mar not
the clatter Of the cutlery Of the festal
occasion with the clank of a madman's
chain. Pass down the street and look
into the pawnbroker's window. Ele-
CANT watch, elegant furs, elegant flute,
elegant shoes, elegant scarf, elegant
books, elegant mementoes. You some
times see people with pleased coun-
tenance looking into such window.
When look into pawnbroker's win
dow, it seems to me as IL had looked
into the window of hell! To whom did
that watch belong? To drunkard. To
whom did those furs belong? To
drunkard's wife. To whom did those
shoes belong? To drunkard's child.
l take the three brazen balls at the
door way Of pawnbroker' shop, and
clank them together, sounding the
knell of the drunkard's soul. A pawn
brokers' shop Is only one of the eddies
in the great torrent of municipal drunk
enness. "Oh," says someone, II don't
patronize such things. Ihave destroyed
no young man by such influences:
only take ale, and it will take great
amount of ale to intoxicate." Yes; but
l tell you there is not drunkard in
America that did not begin with ale.
The winter season is especially full
of temptation, because of the long even
ings allowing such full swing for evil
indulgences. You can scarcely expect
a young man to go into his room and
sit there from seven to eleven o'clock
in the evening, reading Motley's Dutch
Republic" or John Fosters essays. It
would be very beautiful thing for him
to do, but he will not do it. The most
of our young men are busy in offices,
in factories, in banking-hous in
stores, in shops. and when evening
comes they want the fresh air, and they
want sightseeing, and they must have
ii, they will have it, and they ought 70
have it. Most of the men here assem-
bled will have three or four evenings of
leisure on the the winter nights. At
ter tea, the man puts on his hat and
coat. and he goes out. One form OF
allurement says, Come in here" Sa-
tan says, 1T is best for you to go in; you
ought not to be so green; by this time
you ought to have seen everything"
and the temptations shall be mighty in
dull times such we have had, but which,
| believe, are gone; for l hear all over
the land the prophecy of great pros
perity, and the railroad men and the
merchants, they all tell me Of the days
OF prosperity they think are coming,
and in many departments they have
already come, and they are going to
come in all departments; but those dull
times through which we have passed
have destroyed great many men. The
question Of livelihood is with vast
multitude the great question. There
are young men who expected before
this to set up their household, but they
have been disappointed in the gains
they have made. They cannot support
themselves, how can they support
others? and, to the curse Of modern
society, the theory Is abroad that
man must not marry until he has
achieved fortune, when the twain
ought to start at the foot of the hill
and together climb to the top. That is
the old-fashioned way, and that will
be the new-fashioned way IL society Is
ever redeemed. But during the hard
times, the dull times, so many men were
discouraged, so many men had nothing
to do-they could get nothing to do
a pirate bore down on the ship when
the sails were down and the vessel was
making no Roadway. People say they
want more time to think. The trouble
is, too many people have too much time
to think, and If our merchants had not
had their minds diverted, many of them
would long before this have been within
the four walls of an insane asylum.
These long winter evenings, be careful
where you spend them. This winter
will decide the temporal and eternal
destiny Of hundreds of men in this
audience.
Then, the winter has especial tempta-
tions in the fact that many homes are
peculiarly unattractive at this season.
In the summer months the young man
can sit out on the steps, or he can have
bouquet in the vase on the mantel,
or, the evenings being so short, soon
after gas-light he wants to retire any
how. But there are many parents who
do not understand how to make the
Ionor 20, o,,an t., rxu uo ot..,o