The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-11-19
DIR. vILLERs.s SERMONS.
He Discusses "City Missions" and
ssThe Peril of Drink

Rev. Thomas j. Villers, pastor of the
First Baptist Church. delivered an adj
dress to his congregation last night on
1.-The Peril of Drink" He said in part:
'"rhe first peril in a modern city that
strikes our attention is that of drink
am thankful to God that / have never had
any experience with the habit. A man IS
something more than a bundle of sinews
and muscles, He has a body and mind
and will and soul and God pronounces
a woe unto all these component parts of a
man who contracts the drink habit. We
have in indianapolis some Sill saloons,
which are offset by 165 churches.
81 call attention tonight to the woes OF
a drink habit to a mans body. In the
first place drink accelerates the action of
the heart, and it is only question of time
until it is worn out. 1t paralyzes the
nerves of the body; IL thins the blood I'M
duly or coagulates il according TO the
amount taken. / sincerely pity the woman
who is tied to the man who drinks. 1 often
think that the blood that should redden
her cheek is to be found i'm the nose OF
her husband. Look for moment what
drink does for a mans mind 1t weakens
IL. The albumen and the water which are
liz a human brain are cooked by drink the
same the white of egg 1t hardenS
the brain and destroys the intellect and
worse than all the effects or drink are
perpetuated in the pOsterity of the unfortu-
nate man who is addicted to the habit.
The Will sits on the throne of mans
life, but when drink becomes the master
the life is shipwrecked for want of a tiler.
II not only enervates the will but il sears
a mans conscience. He soons begins 10
invalidate the decisions of his Judgment.
Last of all let me remind you that drink
blights the soul. The saloon bar is bar
indeed, for Ii is a bar TO heaven, and the
saloon door is a door 10 hell. Whoever
named them so named them well indeed. Z"
AT the morning service Mr.. villers de-
livered an address on city Missions In
part he said: Our Lord told his disciples
to begin their work in Jerusalem because
He knew the city to be q strategic posi-
ton. For this reason they planted the
gospel in the great centers of the world.
such as Antioch, Thessolonica, Cornth and
Rome. The movement of population to-
ward the cities is world phenomenon
The great cities of Europe and Asia have
multiplied several fold during this century
In 1850 there were only six cities in the
United States having a population of 5000
Ten years ago there were 4i3 such cities
According to the census of 1890 we have
1853 cities each of which has a population
of more than $1,000. These cities combined
millions. Indiana has fifty-eight cities of
big populations, and other States are
doubling the population of their cities al
most every decade, so that we are to-day
nation of cities.
This condition of affairs brings three
perils. The first is the peril of materialism.
A member of the Census Bureau states
that within the last decade we increa sed
our wealth by fifteen billions of dollars
and at least so per cent. of all our wealth
is concentrated in our cities. Then there
is the peril of immigration. In 400 of our
largest cities the foreign element outnum-
hers the native born citizens. The peril of
corruption Is patent TO every candid citi-
zen. The larger our cities the worse our
government. We have too many heads
with too little In them and too many pock-
cts with too much In them. The remedy
for these perils is the gospel. Our social
sores can only be healed by the touch OF
the Savior's hand. That hand the church
holds We must redeem the city because
of its strategic Importance: its dominant
importance and its permanent Importance.
The twentieth century city Will be decisive
of national destiny"