The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-10-15

towering profanity! Would IL DE pos
sible for anyone TO calculate the num-
bers of times that the Names OF the
Almighty God and of Jesus Christ are
every day irreverently on the lips?
Profane swearing is as much forbid
den by the law as theft, or arson, or
murder, yet who executes it? Profan-
ity is worse than theft, CT arson, or
murder, for these crimes are an attack
on humanity-that is an attack on
God.
This country is pre-eminent for bias
phemy. A man travelling in Russia
was supposed to be clergymn. why
do YOU take me to be a clergyman
said the man. "Oh," said the Rus
sian, "all other Americans swear The
crime is multiplying in intensity. God
very often shows what He thinks of it,
but for the most part the fatality is
hushed up. Among the Adirondacks |
NET the funeral procession of a man
yrno two days before had fallen under
a flash of lightning, while boasting, af-
ter a Sunday of work in the fields, that
he had cheated God out of one day
anyhow, and the man who worked
with him on the same Sabbath is still
living, but helpless invalid, under
the same fash.
Years ago, in Pittsburgh prison
two men were talking about the Bible
and Christianity, and one of them
Thompson by name, applied to Jesus
Christ a very low and villainous cpl
thet,.and, as he was uttering it, he fell
A physician was called, but no helI
could be given. After days lying
with distended pupils and palsied
tongue, he passed out of this world
In a cemetery in Sullivan county, in
New York state, are eight headstones
in line and all alike, and these are
the facts: In 1861 diphtheria ragged in
the village, and physician was re-
markably successful in curing his
patients. So confident did he become
that he boosted that no case of diph
liberia could stand before him, and
finally defied Almighty God to produce
case of diphtheria that he could not
cure. His youngest son soon after
took the disease and died, and one
child after another, until all the eight
had died of diphtheria. The blasphem
er challenged Almighty God, and Goo
accepted the challenge. Do not thinl
that because God has been silent il
your case, o profane swearer! that He
is dead. Is there nothing now in the
peculiar feeling of your tongue, OF
nothing in the numbnessof your brain
that indicates that God may come t.
avenge your blasphemies, or is already
avenging them? But these cases
have noticed, / believe, are only few
eases where there are hundreds. Fam
lilies keep them quiet to avoid the hor
rible conspicuity. Physicians suppress.
them through professional confidence
1t is very, very, very long roll thai
contains the names of those who dice
with blasphemies on their lips.
Then look for a moment at the evi
OF drunkenness. Whether you live il
Washington, or New York, or Chicago
or Cincinnati, of Savannah, or Boston
or in any of the cities of this land
count up the saloons on that street al
compared with the saloons five years
ago, and see they are growing far ou
of proportion of the increase of popu
lation. You people who are so precise
and particular lest there should b,
some imprudence and rashness in at
lacking the rum traffic will have you
son some night pitched into your from
door dead drunk, or your daughter
will come with her children because
her husband has, by strong drink
been turned into demoniac. Th'
| drink fiend has despoiled whole streets
| of good homes in our cities. Fathers
brothers, sons on the funeral pyre O
strong drink! Fasten tighter the vic
tins! Stir up the flames! Pile on thu
corpses! More men, women and chill
dren for the sacrifice! Let us hav,
whole generations on fire of evil habit
and at the sound of the cornet, flute
harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimel
let all the people fall down and wor
ship King Alcohol, or you shall be cas-
into the fiery furnace under some pc
litical platform!
/ indict this evil as the Iegicide, tn,
fratricide, the patricide, the matricide
the uxorcide of the century. Yet un
der what innocent and delusive ant
mirthful names alcoholism deceive
the people. 1t is cordial" 1t il
''bitters." 1t is an "eye-opener." L
is an appetizer 1t is "digester.
1t is an ''invigorator." 1t is a ''set
tier" 1t is "night-cap." Why dom
they put on the right labe,s-"Essenc,
of Perdition," Conscience Stupefier,'
Five Drachms of Heart-ache, ""Tear
of Orphanage," blood of Souls,
"Scabs of an Eternal Leprosy," Venom
of the Worm that Never Dies?" Onl,
once in awhile is there anything in tn,
title of liquors toevenh hint their atroci
| ty, as in the case of "sour mash.
That see advertised all over. 1t is al
honest name, and anyone can under
stand it. "Sour mash!" That is, i
makes a mans disposition sour, an,
his associations sour, and his pros
poets sour; and then it is good to masl
his body, and mash his soul, and masl
his business. and mash his family
"Sour mash!" One honest name at las
for an intoxicant! But through lyin,
labels of many of the apothccaries