The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-11
NAMED DANGERS THAT LURK.
REV. ED. F. COOKS SERMON ON
THAT hoy OF YOURS"

Boys in savannah-The BarroOm,
the Gambling He'll and the BFothel
the Three Presented-In the City,
the Preacher Said, Are 332 Bar
rooms, and He Knows of Thirty
five Gambling PIaces-The Rene
dies He Advises.
Rev. Ed F. Cook, preached yesterday
morning at Wesley Monumental Church on
THAT Boy of Yours" His text was TAX
en- from First Samuel 1872: What shall
do for my son?'
By way of introduction, Rev. MIR. Cook
said that parents have involved a very
grave and sacred responsibility. This re-
sponsibility is especially great in rearing
boys, because the moral and spiritual dan
gers TO young men are so many in city life.
The true, wise parent is ever concerned
with the question, What shall do for
my boy?" The wisest answer 1 can give
is give him what you owe him, the highest
possible development of body, mind and
character. To give your boy this develop
ment you must guide. guard and protect
him from the myriad dangers that beset
his pathway. There are many moral, bus
mess and social dangers to which
young men are subjected, but
I shall speak of only three-the
barroom, the gambling he'll and the broth
Ell. These constitute an inseparable trinity
of evil that curses city life and damns
thousands of young men in this country
every year. These are the DEVILS keen
est tools, by which he accomplshes in
multitudes Of young men the loss of phys
ical strength, mental vigor and moral
beauty"
Mr.. Cook then described the moral stat
us of these three Institutions of evil. He
said Upon the best information obtain
able, find that there are 1872 barrooms in
Savannah. Judging from it's fruits, we
must conclude that the moral status of
the liquor traffic is wholly bad. 1t is the
enemy of all good The man is blind who
does not know that every barroom is a
place of seduction Efforts are made con-
stantly TO lure the weak and to increase
drinking. As Gambrell declared, THE sa-
loon has become the nesting place of
vice. 1t is the school Of murder, of perjury
OF profanity, of obscenity. of Iewdness,
or gambling, OF common lying of black
mail and of political corruption" In its
very nature, born of two monster vices.
corrupt appetite and inordinate love of
money, il is incapable of patriotism or
purity. 1t is wholly and incurably bad a
menace to every step of youth"
He then said: THE moral condition and
influence of the gambling hell is as bad
as that of the saloon. The gambling mania
Is something terrible. The papers say
that there are hundreds of gambling
places in this city. l know thirty-fve
places where gambling is carried on every
night, open to any boy or man in this city
Yet to keep such a place and to gamble
is against the law. Still the places operate
and the multitudes of boys and men go in
and out every night unmolested. Here
moral safety"
Mr.. Cook likened the gambling mania to
a man chasing a beautiful bubble His
description of the gamblers mad chase
was graphic and impressive. "Of the
brothel, said the preacher, II cannot here
speak an length. 1t is a veritable cess
pool Of iniquity, 'engulfing multitudes of
strong young men, The greatest foe in
the land to virtue, love and home, it Is
ever danger in the path of youth"
The preacher asked In what way do
these evils threaten your boy? These
three gigantic evils endanger your boys
best interests, % because they are NOR
ally corrupt and therefore. corrupting in
their influence upon every man that comes
within reach (0 Because such business
is naturally dependent upon'patronage for
success and profits. Drunkards and gamb-
lers must be manufactured among your
boys, Of the stock will soon run our
when the old drunkards and gamblers are
dead. 90 Because IL endangers his health
"a Because it endangers his position ana
threatens to block his road to success.
what sort of young man are in de-
mand in business circles-drinkers gam
blers, fast young men? No, indeed. The
demand for sober honest and reliable
young men is argument enough as to the
n n hTvv
that rob him of sobriety, honor and char
acter.
What is the remedy? What will Won
do for your son? How will you protect
him?' asked the preacher. In answer he
suggested: Make home bright and at
tractive. Warn your boys The coun-
sci of wise father saves a boy much
sin and suffering
AS you have been advised, use moral
suasion. That does pretty well as Ear
as it goes, but it does not go far enough.
If mad dog is unclaimed in your ward
moral sussion is not sufficient to secure
the safety of your family. sensible
man would kill the dog
80 l am sure the only hope of saving
the boys lies in destruction. root and
branch, of this nefarious business. about
which we are talking. What is the dutv
OF every citizen with respect to these city
nursed evils? There can be but one an
HNSi Aiohu the STANDPOINT or the patriot.
the humanitarian or the Christian; De-
stroy Them utterly destroy them, root and
branch. The enemy of all good should
have all good for its enemy. This terrible
vice is not an evil TO be reformed; but a
devil to be cast out. Every effort to re-
form it has been made and all efforts have
made it worse. Let il die the death of
all the enemies of God, home and human
lily.
If you cannot destroy these evils then
demand an enforcement of the laws that
control them, thereby reducing to the min
imum the danger to your boy Our laws
are wise and good. An enforcement of the
same would greatly improve existing con-
ditions. In duce those in Office 10 enforce
the laws that they are sworn to enforce
l feel that they Will recognize a united
appeal II they will not, then your duty
to your boy and to The city where he lives
demands that you put men in Of
flee who will respect the laws
that guarantee TO youth the rights
to physical and moral purity"