Democratic Northwest and Henry County news. [volume] (Napoleon, O. [Ohio]) 1894-1905, 1897-01-14


ment Tor crime while Intoxicated, the first
punishment for the crime, and the other
for the intoxication. 1t was a staccato
passage in that song when Alexander the
Great arose from a banquet and struck
spear through the heart of Clitus while
putting up the curtains, and, Mortified at
what was done, withdrew the sword from
the dead body and attempted to take his
own life. In the time of Oliver Cromwell
the evil was so great that offenders were
compelled to wear what was called "the
drunkard's S cloak"-pamely, a barrel with
one end of it knocked out and hole In
the opposite end, the arms thrust through
holes at the sides of the barrel Samuel
johnson made merry of his own inebriacy.
Oh, this old song! All the centuries have
joined in. Among the first songs ever sung
was the song Of the drunkards
1t Is Expensive.
Again, this song Of the drunkards Is
an expensive song The Sonntags and
the Parepa Rosas and Nilssons, and the
other renderers Of elevated and divine solos
received their thousands of dollars per
night in coliseums and academies of music.
Some of the people of small means almost
pauperized themselves that they might sit
few evenings under the enchantment of
those angels of sweet sounds paid 81 to
hear Jenny Lind sing when it was not
very easy to afford the 81. Very expensive
is such music, but the costliest song on
earth is the drunkard's song. 1t costs ruin
of body. 1t costs ruin of mind 1t costs
ruin of soul Go right down among the
residential streets of any city and you can
find once beautiful and luxurious home
steads that were expended in this destruc-
tive music.
The lights have gone out In the drawing
Soom, the pianos have ceased the pulsation
Of their keys, the wardrobe has lost its
hast article of appropriate ATTIRE The
Belshazzarean feast has left nothing but
the broken pieces of the crushed 1halioes
There it stands the ghastliest thing on
earth, the remnant of drunkard's home
The costliest thing on earth is sin. The
most expensive of all music is the song Of
the drunkards. 1t is the highest tariff of
nations-not a protective tariff, but tariff
of doom, tariff of woe, tariff of death.
| This evil whets the knives of the assassins,
| tai, makes necessary most of the aims
houses, causes the most Of the rawlings OF
the insane asylum, and puts up most of
the iron bars Of the penitentiaries. 1t has
| its hand today on the throat of the Ameri-
can republic. 1t is the taskmaster of ma
tions and the human race crouches under
its anathema. The song of the drunkards
has for its accompaniment the clank OF
chains, the chattering teeth of poverty,
the rattle of executioner's scaffold, the
creaking door of the deserted home, the
crash of shipwrecks and the groans OF
empires. The two billion twenty million
dollars which rum costs this country in @
year, in the destruction of grain and sugar,
and the supporting of the paupers, and
| the invalids and the criminals which strong
drink causes, is only small part of what
Is paid for this expensive song of the
drunkards.
1t Is q Song of the Multitude.
Again, this song Of the drunkards Is G
multitudinous song-not solo, not {
duet, not quartet, not sextet, bu
millions on millions are this hour singing
| 1t. Do not think that alcoholism has this
field all to itself. 1t has powerful rivals
in the intoxioants of other nations-hash
eesh and arrack and pulque and opium ant
quavo and mastic and wedro. Every ma
ton, barbaric as we'll as civilized, has iti
pet intoxicant. This song of the drunkardi
Is rendered in Chinese Hindoo, Arabian
Assyrian, Persian, Mexican-yea, all tht
lang uages. All zones join it. No CONT
nent would be large enough for the choil
gallery If all those who have this librettt
In their hands should stand side by side tt
chant the international chorus. Othel
throngs are just learning the eight note
of this deathful music which is already
mastered by the orchestras in full voice un
der the batons in full swing. All the mu
sicians assembled at Dusseldorf or BerliI
or Boston peace jubilee, rendering sym
phonies, requiems or grand marches o
Mendelssohn or Wagner or Chopin o.
Handel, were insignificant In numbers a
compared with the innumerable throngs
host beside host, gallery above gallery
who are now pouring forth the song of tn
drunkards
Years ago, standing before bulletil
board in New York on the night of pres
idential election day, as the news came il
and the choice of the American people wa
finally announced, there were people II
the streets who sang roistering and frivo
lous songs. But in the street one man, II
deep, strong, resonant voice, started, to tn
tune of cold Hundred" "Praise God
from whom all blessings fow," and sool
all up and down the street the voices joine
in the doxology. May God speed the da
when the song of rescue and salvation shal
drown with an overwhelming surge thi
mighty song of the drhHkardsl
A suggestiveN NSong.
Again, the song Of the drunkards Is
suggestive song You hear a nursery re
frain, and right away you think of you
childhood home, and brothers and sister
with whom you played, and mother, lon
since gone to rest You hear nationa
air, and you think of the enoampment c
1863 and the still night on the river banE
and the camphres that shook their refeC
tions up and down the faces of the reg
ment. You hear an old church tune, an
you are reminded of the revival scene
amid which you were brought to Goo
Nothing so brings up associations as
song sung or played upon instrument
and the drunkards' song is full of sugges
tion. AS you hear it on the street quit
late some night you begin to say to YOU
self: 81 wonder if he has mother2 Is hi
wife waiting for himP Will his children /
frightened when he enters the front doc
and staggers, whooping, up the stair.
What chance is there for that young mar
started SO early on the down grader i
what business will he succeed How Ion
before that man will run through his prof.
erty9 | wonder how he got so far astray
Can any influence be welded to fetch hiI
back? He must have got into bad CON
pany who led him off," So you soliloqui7
and guess about this man whose voice 20
hear on the street under the starlight.
Notice that the second noun of my tex
Is in the plural Not "dfunkard," bJ
"drunkards. 1t would be dull work
sing that song solitary and alone. 1t
generally a chorus. They are In group
| kIak o,I ,rcfI