The St. Louis Republic., 1900-12-03
HOLES IN THE POCKETS
A SERMON TO YOUNG MEN.

Holes in the Pockets was the theme o.
| an Interesting sermon to roung men by iii,
| Reverend JoSephus Stephan az Mount .ta
| burn n. l.. Church. South. yesterday even
/ ing. He took for text. Now consider
| your ways. We have sown much and bring
! IN little; We eat, but We have not enough
7 We drink. hut We are not filled with drink
We clothe you. but there is none warm. ana
| he that earncth wages. earneth wages e
! put ii into a bag with holes" Hagga
| ]. =. .. He said, IN part:
| "A picture of hard lines Immediately
| after the return of the Jews from Tin, il
| caI tivity in Eahylon. Their poverty ano
/ destiiution Were distressing. The hard
earned money of the people was soon gore
with little to show for it. The prophet
| nkfned IL TO putting money into Il bag
This is descriptive Of a large per cent of
our population at all times. 1t matters not
world. the ftwneSs or multiplicity of manu-
featuring establishments or the low or
nigh scale of wages paid they are never
themselves prosperous.
The natural question arises as to the
cause. The prophet nut the cause OF tie
poverty OF the Jews at this time ON the
Widespread drought, and the drought as a
just retribution for their diSobedionc, dis
loyalty and stinGiness. The world is fun
"i prophets who are continually pointing
out the causes of poverty and the iinancial
condltlon OF laboring men. and proposing
10 give us a right solution of the trouble
But my task il simply TO point out ono of
the causes. independent of an questions of
politics and socialism. | desire especially
10 point out what | believe every young
man needs 10 guard against the cause OF
poverty and disaster, which is the result
of his own individual acts. and not so much
that OF others.
In on" word. the cause is found in the
lact that tco many men have "a hole in
their pockets. One of these holes is i'm
providence and the other is intemperance
pi the one hand there is wasteful prodi-
raiity. lack of economy and foresight in
tnt use of money. and on the other hand
there Is wasteful expenditure of money
Tor the liquid destroyer of manhood, with
all Its God-given powers. the home. with its
sacred rights and Ties. and the possibilities
q. the highest future good both temporal
and spiritual.
The wasted money for drink in these
nited States will explain much of the
troubles of men in every walk of life who
nave made failures in their financial his
tory. Tho American saloon is like the Dead
Sea. a great open-mouthed cavity. which
drinks i'll all the waters pouring into it.
while it gives none back Th" money OF
The business. professional and working me,;
iikc so many streams, have been pouring
IN or their abundance continually hut .hp
waters never come back to bless and f-lp
the generous contributors. Over a billion
"f dollars goes into this Dead Sea every
year for whisky. wine and beer that other
wise would have gone TO their material and
social advancement. Before th.. recent CEN
sus the sum was more than the entire VOL
was averaging Sl9J spent hy each family.
rms would have supported 10000 families.
thirty years could have been used fer
legitimate support We could build for every
laborer d home. furnished in the latest
style. surround him with every comfort and
convenience and leave = snug little bank
account besides.
Poverty and pauperism have. in a great
measure, been the result uf expenditure of
money for liquor. Doctor Howard 'rosny
now deceased after pas crate of twenty
hV" ytarS IN New York City. during which
tlhle II" mad been one of the foremost fig
ureS in practical charity work. says Eo
never found case of ,ioStitutiou which
WAS not trtceable to improvidencc and IN
thrte cases out of every four it WAS ia"
TO int.mperancc. The same can be veri-
led by those at work in this city, with
Its long poverty strip bordering the river
ana It's poverty spots in various sections.
IN" saloon, like great octopus thrivrs
mere. and is eating the financial life" ls
we'll as every other kind. out of thos.. vino
cannot afford 10 spend nickels aud dimes
that way.
'Intemperance does not only take away
from the workingman the money he earns
but 1t takes from him the ability to earn
more. II robs him of his only cairitaI Hi
h"cy and mind arc impaired and he Is not
competent aud responsible worker When
inns Is accomplished you have depicted him
., every rything. and made him a baukrtIpi
Whether Il man works with rnuscl, or
with braln. hr cannot he the SAM. man in
th.lr use If he continues To drink Edisnn
SAID. when asked why he was Il total an
staincr. ! have better use for nv heal
or th,s reason few responsible Positions
are open nowadays to those who drink
some states VIII no: even allow a uhxsi-
cian TO practice who drinks and ;iin,nst
every branch of labor whore endurance, All
SIKH are required. and in our navy and in
some armies they are beginning to see thai
temperance Is To their advantage
Prosperity. however great II NAV he
come, VIII never cure the hard times of |
me drinking class. Plenty of work and
niSher wages only serve to make the mat
ier worse. nth men learn to quit drink
ing more wages means more money 10 pur I
INTO thlS Unsuitable dead sea For ,vhtI. !
men drink in hard times as well as -uId
tih1es, hard times to drown their trorihI..s
ana good times to celebrate their ioys tbex
VIII drink much more when they nav
more money. The larger the mat,.ri:,I nrns-
pSrity. the larger the hole in tn. no,.kst /
ihe laboring man is continually rlamorinc
ior new laws to better his condition. Uhic6
- IIght, put what good will they do how
t, snGr much they increase wages. unless iha
noles IN their pockets are sewe,I nm, In
Impressed times the liquor business js some
Mnat crippled. but In better times the dri,l,
oIi, Always enormous. increases nj IN.
rate or over S0.0v,pO annually Is no, ,tis
pTooi that with the drinking habits of nsn
.h. greater the material prosperity of m.
country. IN wages and In producfion ~.
greater the ruin to the laboring men '"'
-, The money thus spent does NOT ONLY bur,
me spencer. and those dependent on him
nut every other person. for IL indirer,,,. ~
lures business. The only business b.l,in, |
py IL Is the liquor business itself ,nd IL
criminal business of the city and m, -.
Try. as shown by the repeated fest;mnnr. |