The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-05-23
Tho Drunkard,a Progreaa.

The really good fellow is convlvlal when
he Is sober, writes Professor David Starr
Jordan, In the New York Independent. It
is poor kind OF good-fellowshfp which
cannot be found till 1t Is saturated with
drink. Men who drink In saloons do 30 for
the most part for the wrench on the ner-
vous system. They drink to forget. They
drink to be happy, they drink to be drunk.
Sometimes it Is u periodical attack Of mad
Is chronic thirst, which Is likewise q dis
ease. It Is O disease which destroys the
soundness OF life; which destroys accuracy
Of thought and action; which destroys wis.,
dom and virtue;, which. destroys faith and
hope and love. It brings train OF subjec.
tive horrors, which the terrified brain can
not interpret, and which We call delirium
tremens, the tremendous madness. This
ls mania, indeed, but every. act which in
jures the faithfulness OF the nervous sYs.
tenn Is step long or short in this direc.
!. tion. ,.'.
A young man with money and ambition
we'll met" "afrnld OF no man." and mo
,,oodys enemy but his own" He frequents
the clubs, he plays the races, and he Is
with the gayest In all gay company. He
thinks we'll OF himself; he has good time,
and he knows no reason why others should
not think we'll Of him. This goes on for q
year or two, when the pace begins to prove
100 rapid. The difference In the morning"
becomes disngresabls. It interieres with
business, 1t spoIls pleasure. The only
thing to do Is to 90 still faster. The rnce
down the cocktail route. helps % forget.
Suddenly the man gets sight OF himself.
BE catches his face tn the glass. He sees
himself as. others see him. Instead OF
"the jolly good fellow, which nobody eau
denv," lie gets the glimpse OF useless,
helpless sot.. He sees man who has spent
his substance, has disgraced his name, has
ruined bis home, has broken the heart OF
bis wife, has beggared his children, has
lost the respect OF others. and the respect
OF himself. This Is the shockl When 1t
has come he is henceiorth good for moth.
ing, for there is uo virtue In maudlih re.
morse; no hope In alcoholic repentance.
There Is nothing that can save him but to
stop, and 1t takes something OF manhood
to do this.
Such tears OF remorse are not clears
from the depths VI some divine despair"
They arise rather from the fact that alco-
hol irrltates the lachrymal glands.
A prominent lawyer OF Boston once told
me that the great impulse TO total abstt-
nence came to him when q young man
from hearing his fellow lawyers talking al
ter dinuers ut the club. The most vital
secrets oGthelr clients business were made
public property when their tongues were
loosened by wine. The time will come
when the only opening for the ambitious
man OF Incorporate habits will be In poli-
tics. It Is rapidly becoming so now. Pri-
vate employers dare not trust their bust
ress to tue man who drinks. The great
corporations dnre not. He is not wanted
on the railroads. The steamship lines
long since Gust him of. The banks dare
not use him. He cannot keep accounts.
Only the epeople, long suffering aud gener-
Gus, remain US his resource. Fofthis rea-
son municipal government is his speciality;
and while the patience OF the people lasts
our cities will breed scandals as naturally.
as cur swamps breed malaria. ..,