Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1900-03-15

/ the month drew near and he realized
mat the battle was one that he must
wage single handed in a town of 30
+ GOO people.
He was not 50 destitute Of support as
/ he thought. There We're many mothers
/ hearts in Milton that had ached ana
prayed in agony long years that the Al
mighty would come with his power
and sweep the curse away. But fmhp
had not been long enough in Milton to
know the entire sentiment Of the peo-
Die. He had so far touched only the
/ church through its representative pull
pits and few Of the leading business
men. and the result had been almost 10
convince him that very little help
could be expected from the public gen
! orally. He was appalled, to find out
what a tremendous hold the whisky
men had on the business and politics
Of the place. II was revelation TO
him of their power. The whole thing
seemed TO him like a trayesty of free
government and a terrible common
tary on the boosted Christianity of the
century.
So when he walked into the pulpit
the first Sunday of the month he felt
his message burning in mis- heart and
on his lips rs never before. II seemed
beyond all question that if Christ was
pastor Of Calvary church he would
speak out in plain denunciation of the
whisky power. And So, after the open
ing part of the service. Philip rose TO
speak. facing an immense audience
that overlooked the galleries and in
yadcd the choir and even sat upon the
pulpit platform. Such crowd had
never been seen in Calvary church be
fore
Philip had moi announced his sub
icct, but there was an expectation ON
the part Of many chat he was going to
denouace che saloon. In the Two
months that he had been preaching in
Milton he had attracted great atten
tiou. His audience this morning rep
resented a great many different kinds
Of people Some came ont Of curiUsl-
". Others came because the crowd
was going that way. So it happened
that Philip faced a truly representative
audience of Milton people. As his eye
swept over the house he saw four of
the six members Of his church who
were up for office at the coming elec-
ton in two weeks.
For an hour Philip spoke as he had
never spoken in all his life before.
His subject, the cause it represented.
the immense audience, the entire occa-
sion caught him up in Il genuine burst
of eloquent fury, ana his sermon swept
through the house like Il prairie fire
driven by a high gale. At the close
he spoke Of the power of the church
compared with the saloon ana showed
how easily it could win the victory
against any kind Of evil if it were only
united and determined.
Men ana women Of Milton, fathers,
mothers and citizeus," he said, this
evil is one which cannot be driven out
unless the Christian people of this
place unite To condemn it ana fight il
regardless of results. II is too firmly
established 1t has its clutch on bust
ness. the municipal life, and even the
church itself. Ii is "A fact that the
churches in Milton have been afraid 10
take the right stand in this matter.
Members Of the churches have become
involved in the terrible ENHANCEMENT
of the long established rum power, I'M
til today you witness condition Of
affairs which ought to stir the right
eouS Indignation of every citizen and
father. What is il you are enduring
An Institution which blasts with its
poisonous breath every soul that EN-
tiers il. which ruins young manhood
which kills more citizens in times of
peace than the most bloody war ever
slew in times of revolution; an institu-
ton that is established for the open
and declared purpose of getting money
from the people 10y the sale of stun
that creates criminals; an institution
that robS the honest Workingman of
his savings and looks with Indifference
on the tears of the wife. the sobs Of
the mother: an institution that never
gives one cent of it's enormous wealth
to build churches, colleges or homes
for the needy: an institution that has
the brand of the murderer, the harlot.
the gambler burned into il with a
brand Of the DEVILS own forging Ina the
furnace of his hottest hell This institu-
tiou SO rules and governs this town Of
Milton today that honest citizens uem-
BILE before il. business men dare not op-
pose il for fear of losing money. church
members fawn before it On order to
gain place ia politics. and ministers Of
the gospel confront it's hidcoUs intiu-
ence and say nothing. IL is high time
we faced this monster of miquity and
drove it ont Of the stronghold it has
occupied so long.
Il wish sou could have gone with me
/ this past week and witnessed some Of
I the sights / have seen. No, retract
/ that statement I would not wish that
any father OF mother had had the
/ heartache that l have felt as / con
templatcd the ruins of young lives
/ crumbling into the decay Of premature
/ debility. m0ckug the manhood that