The Yale expositor., 1896-03-13

His prophet" Then there are the vast
er multitudes with no religion at all.
They worship no God, they live with
no consolation, and they die with no
hope. No star of peace points down to
the manger in which they are born,
and no prayer is uttered over the grave
into which they sink. Then there Is
alcoholism, its piled up demijohns and
beer barrels, and hogsheads OF fiery
death, barricade high and long as the
Alleghenies and Rockies and Sierra
Nevadas, pouring forth day and night
their ammunition of Indebtedness and
woe. When a German wants to take
drink, he takes beer. When an En-
glishman wants to take a drink, he
takes ale. When a Scotchman wants
to take a drink, he takes whisky. But
when an American wants to take
drink, he takes anything he can lay
his hands on.
Plenty of statistics to tell how much
money is spent in this country for rum,
and how many drunkards die! But
who will give us the statistics of how
many hearts are crushed under the
heel Of this worst demon of the CEN
turtles? How many hopes blasted?
How many children turned out on the
world, accursed with stigma of de-
bauched ancestry? Until the worm of
the distillery becomes the worm that
never dies, and the smoke OF the heated
wine watts becomes the smoke of the
torment that ascendeth UP forever and
ever! Alcoholism, swearing-not with
hand uplifted toward heaven, for from
that direction it can get no help; but
with right hand stretched down toward
the perdition from which it came up
swearing that it will not cease as long
as there are any homesteads to despoil,
any magnificent men and women to
destroy, any immortal souls to damn,
any more nations to balk, any more
civilizations to extinguish.
Then there is what IN America we
call Socialism, in France Communism,
and in Russia Nihilism-the three
names for one and the same thing-and
having but two doctrines in its creed
First, there is no God. Second, there
shall be no rights of property. One Of
their chief journals printed this senti-
ment: Dynamite can be made out of
the dead bodies Of capitalists as we'll
as out of hogs" One of the leaders of
Communism left inscribed on his prison
wall, where he had been justly incar-
cerated, these words: when once you
are dead, there is an end of everything
therefore, We scoundrels, grab whatever
you can-only don't let yourselves be
grabbed. Amenr There are in this
country hundreds of thousands of these
lazy scoundrels. Honest men deplore
it when they cannot get work, but those
of whom speak will not do work when
who asked me for money. said, Down
in my cellar have some wood to saw,
and l will pay you for it," For little
while heard the saw going, and then
/ heard it no more. l went downstairs,
and found the wood, but the workman
had disappeared, taking for company
both buck and saw.
Socialism, Communism and Nihilism
mean, TOO wicked to acknowledge
God, and too lazy to earn living" and
among the mightiest obstacles to be
overcome are those organized elements
of domestic, social and political ruin.
There also arc the Businesses of in
fidelity, and atheism, and fraud, and
political corruption, and multiform,
hydra-headed, million-armed abomina-
tons all over the land While the
mightiest agencies for righteousness on
earth arc good and healthful news
papers and good and healthful books,
and our chief dependence for intelli-
gence and Christian achievement 10
upon them, what word among words in
our vocabulary can describe the work
of that archapgel OF mischief, cor
rupt literature? What man, attempt
ing anything for God and humanity.
has escaped a stroke of its filthy wing?
What good cause has escaped its him
derment? What other obstacle in all
the land SO appalling? But / cannot
name more than one-half the battle
ments, the bastions, the Entertainments,
the redoubts, the Notifications to be
stormed and overcome if this country
Is ever taken for God. The statistics
are so awful that il VIC had nothing but
the multiplication table and the arith-
metic, the attempt to evangelize Ameri-
ca would be an absurdity higher than
the Tower Of Babel before it dropped
on the plain of Shinar. Where are the
drilled troops to march against those
Notifications as long as the continent?
Where are the batteries that can be
uplimbered against these walls? Where
arc the guns of large enough calibre
to storm these gates? Well, let us look
around and see, the first OF all, who is
our leader and who will be our leader
until the work is done? Garibaldi,
with a thousand Italians, could do more
than another commander with ten
thousand Italians. General Sherman.
on one side, and Stonewall Jackson, on
the other, each with ten thousand
troops, could do more than some other
Ooparolc with fuaufv thoucopd troOnc