The Burke County news. [volume] (Morganton, N.C.) 1899-1901, 1899-05-19

" L tLdt IL d ILgEOSGlDto TO QY9O-
gerate the evils Of strong drink. A plague.
"A plague! In the first place the inebriate
suffers from the loss OF a good name God
mas so arranged II That no maa loses his
reputation except by his own act. The
world may assault a man, and all the
powers OF DARKNESS Hay assault hin-they
cannot capture him so long as his heart i
pure and bis life is pure. Ali the bowers
OF eaIfh and he'll cannot take that Gibral-
tar. IL & man is right, all the lombard
ment OF the world for ), 10. %. 30 wears
Will only strengthen him in his position.
80 that all you have to do is to keep
yourself right. Never mind the world. Let
1t say what it will. 1t can do YOU no
damage. But as soon as it is whispered.
drinks,' and it can lie proved. he
begins to go down. What clerk can get q
position with such a reputation? What
store wants him? What church of God
wants him for a member? What diving man
wants him for an executor? He drinks,;
l stand before hundreds Of Young men
and | say 1t not in hattery-sDlendil Young
men who have their reputation as their
only capital. lourfatter gave you a good
education, or rs good an education as he
could afford to give YOU. He started YOU
IN city life. He could furnish you no
means. but he has surrounded You with
Christian Influences and Il good memory OF
the past. Now. young man, under God YOU
are with YOUR own right arm to achieve
your fortune, and as your reputation is
your only capital do not bring upon it sus-
picion by going in and out OF liquor estab-
lishments or by an odor Of your breath or
by any glare of your eye or by any unnat-
ural flush on you checks. You lose your
reputation and you lose your capital.
The inebriate suffers also in the fact that
he loses his self respect, and when you de-
strOy a mans self respect there's not much
left Of him. Then maj will do things he
would not do otherwise, he will say things
he would not say otherwise. The fact is,
that man cannot stop or he would stop
now. He is bound hand and foot BY the
Phjllstlncs, and they have shOrn his locks
and put his eyes out and made him grind
in the mills Of a great horror. After he is
three-fourths gone III this slavery the first
thing lie will be anxious to impress you with
is that he can stop any time he wants to.
His family become alarmed in regard to
him, and Il cv say: ''NOW. do stop this.
After awhile it will get the mastery of YOU
"Oh, no." be says. = can stop at any
time. lean stop now. l can stop to-lnor.
row." His most confidential friend says;
"Why, In afraid you are losing vour
balance win that habit. You are going a
little further than you can afford to go.
You had better stop" 'Oh. not he SAYS.
4 can stop at any time. | can stop now"
He goes on further and further. He can.
not stop. l will prove il. He loves him.
'SiA. tNio ~ ~ In 1 LltlL
drink is depicting him in body, mind and
soul. He knows he is going down; that he
has less self control, less eouipOise OF tenn
per, than he used to. Why does he not
stop? Because he cannot stop. [ will prove
it by going still further. He loves his
wife and children. He sees that his
habits are bringing disgrace upon his home.
The probabilities are they will ruin his wife
and disgrace his children. He sees all this.
and he loves them. Why does he not stop?
He cannot stop.
Oh, my young friends. I want to tell you
that there is a point in inebriatiOn beyond
which if a man go be cannot stop! But
sometimes a man will be moro frank than
that. A victim Of strong drink said to a
reformer: 'It is i'm possible for me to
stop. reaiizeit. But if you should tell
me l couldn't have a drink until to-mor-
row night unless | had all my fingers cut
OFT, | would say, Bring on the Ratchet and
cut them Off" | had a very dear friend
in Philadelphia whose nephew anne 10 him
and was talking about his trouble and con-
fessed it. He confessed he could rot stop.
Ny friend said. "lou must stop" He said:
Il can't stop. II there stood a cannon,
and it was loaded. and there was a glass
OF wine in the mouth Of the cannon, and
| knew you would fire i. OF il
I approached. I would start to get that
glass of wine. | must have it. | can
! get rid Of this habit. l can't get away
from it Oh. it is awful for a man to
wake up and feel that he is "a captive! l
heay him so!ilOquizing. saying: Il might
have stopped three months ago but l cans
stop now. Dead, but not buried: | am a
walking corpse. | an an apparition OF
what l once was. ] am Il Gagged immortal
an my soul beats against the wires of my
cage on this side and beats against the
wires OF my cage on the other side until
there is blood on the wires and blood on
the soul, but | can't get out. Destroyed
without remedy
See the attendants stand back from that
ward in the hospital where the inebriates
ire diving. They cannot stand 1t. The
Keepers come through 1t and say: Hush
~. now. Stop making this noise. Be