Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-07-20

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money does not even remain in Amer
lea, but is sent across the water to
support the decayed aristocracy of
other lands. What merry music
would be the buzz of machinery, the
whistle of the rolling mill or the steel
mill have made in 1894 if that 81 ,20O,-
100000 had been put into the legiti-
mate industries of the country! Yes,
we are supporting that traffic that is
fast destroying the very corner stone
upon which the superstructure of our
nation is builded. We are supporting
traffic which in this country alone
sends every year $4,000 souls into the
presence of their Maker without
chance of any one of them saying, 90
Lord, be merciful to me a sinner
st. Stephen, the martyr, when he was
being stoned to death, cried out,
Leave not this charge to Them To
whose charge was it to be left, then?
Three years after st. Paul, when he
prayed in the temple, answered that
question when he said, God, forgive
me. I stood by and consented Are
we not standing by when we sanction
the drinking habits of society in SO
far as we are quiescent?
every time we are silent when we
should condemn this evil stone is
thrown at the generation to come.
Therefore. I appeal to you as Chris
tian men and women to do your part
in wiping out this blot of shame, this
terrible evil of intemperance, from off
our country. If we show good exam
Piles we will have done much toward
remedying the evil that has grown SO
great. We will be throwing out
life line to some brother, who may be
about to sink; we will make ourselves
headlights which those who come af-
ter us may follow, and by the adop-
ton of total abstinence we will be
adding another gem to the starry
crown that awaits those who lead
good, virtuous and sober lives.
ssThere was time in this country
when one creed strove for supremacy
over another. To-day it requires the
united effort of every Christian, wheth-
er Catholic or Protestant, to fight
against the growing evils of the age
atheism, agnosticism, infidelism, icon
oclasticism, everything that means
the refusal to accept the God man and
to obey the Commandments that He
placed on human beings; everything
that would turn the hearts of men
away from the Church of Christ; ev
erything that would allow them to
give free reign to their passions. This
is what we have to contend with, and
to no other cause are these evils so
much attributable as to the curse of
intemperance.
Among the temperance organiza-
lions that are a power for good L
might mention the Woman's Chris
ton composed of 100000 women.
These noble ladies have torn up the
gnarled roots of custom, have planted
in many places the sweet flowers of
total abstinence, and the white rib
bon of the w. @. T.U. Such society
as this is to be commended, and we
are glad to clasp the hands of it's
members, yet the Catholic Total Alb
stinence Union, coming as it does un-
der the wing of Mother Church, surely
must have great blessings; surely
must be assured of success, because
of the Strength that comes to child
of the Church, and because the socie-
ty has the sanction and guidance of
the Church.
"Pubilc sentiment must be moulded;
it can not be forced. Thomas Jeffer-
son said that compulsion made hypo-
critics, not converts. And, so let us
not compel any ones ideas. Let us
educate and agitate and organize.
Let us teach our children that alcohol
is poison. Let us try to abolish the
custom of treating, so much in vogue
in this country. Teach our people to
free themselves from excuses for
drinking and for drink. Nowadays if
man gets married he drinks because
he is supposed to be glad. If his wife
dies he drinks because he is sad IF
he is warm he drinks to keep cool,
and if he is cool he drinks to keep
warm.
Remember that the saloon keeper
is the creation of our intelligence. We
vote him into existence. We said for
a few paltry dollars he may bring this
drink into our city. He may make
drunkards of our young men; he may
lead our women into temptation; he
may make paupers and criminals, and
for the few dollars he gives to the city
treasury we permit him to do all this