The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-11-22
Of reason, the very shipwreck OF char,

CnrlStlan people, WLaG are We 40
ing in the way of heading off this
awful currant OF iniquity? We often
speak out and cry aloud of the evils
of the times that are hurrying souls
to eternal death. We speak Of this,
that and the other evil, and say this
is the greatest, that and the other
the greater; but let me say and
confess freely, calmly, soberly and
conscientiously, that wine and strong
drink, drunkenness, is the greatest
curse of this country and blot on our
civilization. The monster liquor traf-
fc is an institution, the very capitol,
so to speak, of satan's empire on
earth and hell. Liquor selling and
liquor drinking is the greatest iniq-
uity and shame of the country and Of
the age. Let US see:
First-Liquor traffic produces sor-
row, suffering and starvation. That
alone means great deal.
Second-Drinking results in dis
ease, death and damLation. That
means more than great deal. There
is no possible way of evading this
awful truth. Just here let us notice
some plain figures, estimates and
facts respecting the cost of intemper-
ance.
It is estimated beyond shadow of
doubt, with no exaggeratlon, that
more than four hundred and ninety
million gallons of spirituous liquors
are drank in this country annually,
which, if loaded upon thirty-foot
teams holding ten barrels each, would
reach quite or nearly seven thousand
miles. The annual cost of over a
million paupers made by intemper-
ance amounts to about fifty million
dollars; ofthe insanity resulting from
it, about fifteen million dollars; ez-
pense to the country OF the crimes
committed by it is over forty-tive
million dollars. Add to these amounts
the cost of the liquor, about q billion
or more of dollars; the value of the
grain, sugar and property destroyed,
the labor lost and the Sickness in hos
pitals and we have the estimated
enormous amount of one billion six
hundred and fifty million dollars an
nually expended in this country for
this body and soul-destroying curse.
All! we raise our voices in denounc-
ing crime, and warn the people
against sin; we speak out freely
against murder and violated law,
against Sabbath breaking, extortion
and deception, bad government, po-
litical trickery and fraud and so on;
are we not apprised of the alarming
truth that liquor traffic and drinking
are mainly the outgrowth of these
evils that is setting this fair earth on
fire of hell-the withering, blighting
curse Of alcohol? Behold the evil
itself and the consequences that fol-
low. Shall I attempt to describe it?
No! Perhaps no one can better an
swer the question more truly than a
learned and prominent lawyer at the
bar in one of the courts Of New York,
pleading for temperance setting
forth it's evils and consequences. I
shall here quote few OF his striking
words. He said:
"Iniemperance cuts down youth in
its vigor, manhood in its strength
and age in its weakness. 1t breaks
the fathers heart, bereaves the dot
ing mother, extinguishes natural af-
fection, crazes conjugal love, blots out
flial attachments, blights parental
hope and brings down mourning age
in sorrow to the grave. 1t produces
weakness, not strength; sickness, not
health; death, not life. It makes
wives widows, children orphans and
fathers 6ends, and all of these pau
pers and beggars. 1t feeds rheuma-
tism, nurses gout, welcomes epidemic,
invites cholera, imports pestilence
and embraces consumption. It coy-
ers the land, this fair and beautiful
world with idlcness, misery and
crime. It fills our jails, supplies our
slmshouses and crowds our asylums.
It is the life-blood of the: gambler,
the stronghold of the burglar, the
prop of the highwayman and the
support of the midnight inceudiary.
It countenances the liar, respects the
thief, esteems the bold plasphemer.
It violates obligations, loves frauds
and honors infamy. 1t incites the
father to butcher his helpless off
spring, the husband to slay his wife,
the child to grind the suicidal axe to
take the innocent blood. It burns up
men, consumes women, detests life,
curses God and despises heaven.
again, it nurses perjury, defles
the jury box and stains The Judiciary.
It degrades the citizen, debases the
legislator, dislonors the statesman,
disarms the patriot It brings shame,
not honor; misery, not happiness;
terror, not safety; despair, not hope.
1t poisons the sweetness of home,
kills peace, ruins morals, blights con-
fdence, Stays reputation, wipes out all
honor, then curses the world and
laughs at its ruin"
1t does all that, my friends, and
more. Let me say, it murders the
soul, it is the sum of all villainies, the
father of all crimes, the mother of
denominations, the DEVILS best friend
and Gods worst enemy.
Tell me then, is not the liquor traf-
fc and drinking the very king OF evil
that is making fearful havoc and a
sure death shot to peace, society, viz
tue, morals and to buman happiness