St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1897-06-26

her wedding dress Then they rented
two rooms in third story. Then the
young man took extra evening employ
ment; almost exhausted with the DAYS
work, yet took evening employment.
1t almost extinguished his eyesight.
Why did he add evening employment
to the day employment? To get
money. Why did he want to ge,
money? To lay up something for
: rainy day? No To get his
life insured, 90 that in case oi
.lis death his wife would not be beg
gar? No. He put the extra evening
work to the day work that he might
get $50 to get his wife ! sealskin coat.
The sister Of the bride heard of this
achievement, and was not to be
eclipsed. She was very poor, and she
sat up working nearly all night for Z
great while until she bought seal
skin coat have not heard Of the re
suit on that street. The street was
full of those who are on small incomes,
but | suppose the ccntagion 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 sealskin coat-
/ was out west and a>minister Of the
Gospel told me, in Iowa, that his church
and the neighborhood had been impov-
erished by the fact that they put mort
cages on their farms in order to send
their families to the Philadelphia cen
tennial. It was not respectable not ia
20 to the centennial Between such
evils and pauperism there is . very
short step. The vast majority Of chill
dren In your aims houses are there be
cause their parents are drunken, lazy,
or recklessly improvident
have no sympathy for skinfiint saw
ing, but plead for Christian prudence.
You say it is impossible now to lay up
anything for rainy day. / know it
but we are at the daybreak of national
prosperity. Some people think it is
mean to turn the gas low when they
60 out Of the parlor. They feel en-
barrassed If the door bell rings before
they have the gas lighted. They apollo
gize for the plain meal, if you surpris.
them ut the table. Well, it is mean if
it is only to pile up = miserly board.
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
Mortified beyond all endurance, be
cause it is to be the disruption and
annihilation of the domestic circle-if
it be for that, then it is magnificent
There are those who are kept in pow
erty because of their own fault. They
might have been we'll OF, but they
smoked or chewed up their earnings.
or they lived beyond their means,
while others on the same wages and on
the same salaries went on to compe-
tency. I know = man who is all the
time complaining Of his poverty and
crying out against rich men, while he
himself keeps twu dogs, and chews and
smokes, and is full to the chin with
whisky and beer. wilkins Micawber
said to David Copperfield: 'Copperfield.
nv boy, one pound income, expenses
20 shillings and six pence; result, mis-
cry. But Copper6eld, my boy. one
pound income, expenses 10 shillings
and sixpence, result, happiness" But
Oh, working man, take your morning
dram, and your noon dram, and your
evening dram, and spend everything
you have, and you insure poverty for
yourself and your children forever!
If by some generous fat Of the capi-
lists of this country or by new law OF
the government of the United States,
25 per cent or so per cent or 100 per
cent. were added to the wages of the
working classes Of America. it would
be no advantage to hundreds of them
unless they stopped strong drink. Aye,
until they quit thatevil habit the more
money the more ruin, the more wages
the more holes in the bag.
NV plea is to those working people
who are in discipleship to the whisky
bottle. the beer jug and the wine flask.
And what say to them will not be
more appropriate to the working
classes than to the business classes,
and the literary classes, and all classes.
and not with the people Of one age
more than of all ages. Take one good
square look 1T the suffering Of the man
whom strong drink has enthralled, and
remember that toward that goal multi
tudes are running. The disciple Of
alcoholism suffers the loss of self
respect Just Is soon as = man
wakes MP and finds that he il
the captive Of strong drink
he feels demeaned. I do not care how
recklessly he acts He may say, Il
don't care;;. he does care. He can not
look pure man in the eye unless it is
with positive force Of resolution.
Thrce-fourths Of his nature is de
stroyed; his self-respect is gone; he
says things he would not otherwise
say; he does things he would not other
wise do. When man is nine-tentha
gone with strong drink the first thing
he wants to do is to persuade you that
he can stop any time he wants to. He can
not The Philistines have bound him
hand and foot, AID shorn his locks, and
put out his eyes. and are making him
grind in the mill Of : great horror.
He can not stop. l 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 il bringing ruin upon hia
family. He loves them He would
stop is he could. He can not Perhaps
he could three months or year ago,
but not now. Just ask him to stop for
. month. He can not; he knows he
can not. SO he does not try.
had : friend who was for IL years
going down under this evil habit He
had large means He had given thou
sands Of dollars to Bible societies and
reformstory institutions Of al sorts.
He was very genial, very generous, and
very lovable, and whenever he talked