Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-05-29

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The sister of the bride heard Of this
achievement, and WIS not to be eclipsed.
She WAS very poor, and she sat up work
ing nearly all the night for a great while
until she bought a sealsii!n coat. have
not heard of the result on that street
The street was full Of those who are on
small incomes, hut suppose tie coll
tagion spread and that everybody had
sealskin coat and that the people came
out and cried, practically, not literally,
"Though the heavens fall we must have
sealsliin coat.
Tho Rccilessly Improvldcnt.
was out west, and Il minister Of
the gospel told me in Iowa that his
church and the ncighborhood had been
impoverished by the fact that they put
mortgages OH their farms in order to
send their families to the Philadelphia
centennial. 1t was not respectable not
to 20 to the centennial. between such
evils and paure1ism there is very
short step HE vast majority of chill
drcn in your almshouses are there be-
cause their parents are drunken, lazy or
reclllessly improyident.
have no sympathy for skinilint say
ing, but l plead for Christian pru-
dcnco. You say it is impossible now to
lay up anything for a rainy day. ]
know it, but we arc at the daybreak of
national prosperity. Some people think
it is mean TO turn the gas low when
they 90 out CT the pa1lor. They feel en-
barrassed If the doorbcll rings before
they have the hall lighted. They apollo
gizc for the plain meal, if you surprise
them at.thc table. Well, it is mean if
it is only to pile up 4 misery hoard.
But if it be to educate your children, if
it be to give more help to your wife
when she does not feel strong, if it be
TO keep your funeral day from being
horrible beyond al endurance, because
it is to be the disruption and annihila-
ton of the domestic cilcle-if it be for
that. then it is magnificent.
There are those who arc kept il pow
erty because of their OWE fault. They
might have been we'll off, but they
smoked OF chcwcd up their earnings,
or they lived beyond their means, while
others OIL the same wages and on the
same salaries went vi 10 competency. l
know Il man who is al the time COM
planning Of lis poverty and crying out
against rich men While he himself
keeps two dogs and chews and smokes
and is full to the chin with whisky and
beer. Wilkins Micawber said to David
Copperfield: "Copperfcld, my boy, &
income, expenses 2os. Cd; result mis-
cry. But, Corperficld, my boy, 81 in
come; expenses, 19s Cd. result, hap
piness. " But, O workingman, take
your morning dram, and your noon
dram, and your evening dram, and
spend everything you have over for To-
bacco and excursions, and you insure
poverty for yourself and your children
forever!
Moro Holes In the Bag.
If by some generous fiat Of the CAPT
talists of this country or by Il new law
of the government of the United States
90 per cent OF 80 Per cent CT 100 per
cent were added TO the wages OF the
working classes of America, it would
be no advantage to hundreds of thou
sands of them unless they stopped strong
drink. Aye, until they quit that evil
habit the more money the moro ruin,
the more wages the more holes i'll the
bag.
My plea is to those working people
who are in a discipleship to the whisky
bottle, the beer jug and the wine flask.
And what I say to them will not be
more appropriate to the working classes
than to the business classes and the lit
erary 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 strong drink has Ell
thralled and remember that toward that
goal multitudes are running. The dis
ciple of alcoholism suffers the loss of
self respect. Just us soon as man
wakes up and finds that he is tie cap
tive of strong drink, he feels deneaned.
l do not care how recklessly heaots. lie
may say, 81 don't care" he does care.
He cannot look pure man i'll the eye
unless it is with positive force of reso'
luton. Thrcc-fourths Of his nature Is
destroycd; his self respect is gone; he
saws things lie would not otherwise say;
he does things he would not otherwise
do. When a man is nine-tenrhs gone
with strong drink, the first thing he
wants to do is TO persuade you that he
can stop any time he waits TO- Hc can
not. The PhilistiDes law bound him
hand and foot, and shorn BIZ. locks, and
put out his eyes, and ere making him
grind in the mill Of Il great horror. He
cannot stop. will prove it. He knows
!; that his course is bringing ruin upon
/, himself. He loves himself. Ii he could
stop, he would. He knows his course is
bringing ruin upon his family. He loves
them. He would step if he could. He
cannot. Perhaps he could three months
or a year age; not now. Just ask him
to stop for mcnth. lie cannot-he
, knows he cannot, so he does not Try.
Killed by Drink.
I had friend who was for 10 years
) going down under this evil habit. lie
, had large means. lie had given thou
, sands of dollars TO Bible societies and
] reformatory institutions Of al sorts. He
was very genial, very generous and very
lovable, arl whenever he talked about
this evil habit lie wouid say, g c;iE
stop any time" j1ut he kept going On,
going on. do7,n, down, down. Eisfanily
would say, u wish you would stop.
: "Why," he would reply II can step
any time, if want 10. :" After awhile
be had delirium tremens-he had it
twice, and yet after that he said, II
could stop at any time, if l wanted to. y
He is dead now. What killed him?
Drink! Drink! And yet among his last
) uttcrances was, 81 can stop at any
time. He did rot stop it because he
could not stop it, Oh, there is point