Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-09-21
AN ADDRESS.
delivered by A. James. Sr., before the Whit,
Stone Anti-Saloon League.J

Mr.. CHAIRMAN, LADIES IAN
D GENTLEMEN:-You have called upc
, me under very unfavorable circuu
stances, for it has never been m
privilege to speak in public, and pei
, haps there is no other subject, exceI
the one under consideration, tbs
would cause me to appear before yol
However, by your kind indulgence
will make few random remarks, an
as the gentleman who preceded m
failed to give you any Scripture t
strengthen your temperance faith,
J will quote to you some passages bear
ing upon this subject.
We read where the Lord said unit
Aaron, "Do not drink wine nor stron,
drink, thou, nor thy sons with thee
when We go into the tabernacle of th
congregation, lest ye die: it shall b,
statute forever throughout YOU
generations and that We may put diff
ference between holy and unholy, ant
between unclean and clean" Agar
we read, "The Lord spaSe unto Moses
saying, Speak unto the children OF
lsarel, and say unto them, wher
either man or woman shall separate
themselves unto the Lord: lie shall
separate himself from VINE and
strong drink, and shall drink no vim
egar of wine or vinegar of strong
drink ut is not for kings to drink
wine; nor for princes strong drink,
lest they drink, and forget the law,
and pervert the judgement of any of
the afflicted" Again, "Wine is a
mocker, strong drink is raging, and
whosoever is deceived thereby is not
wise" Again, "Wo unto him that
giveth his neighbor drink, that put
teth the bottle to him aud maketh him
drunken. Also, "Wine is the poison
of dragons and the cruel venom of
asps." "Wo to the crown of pride,
to the drunkards of Ephraim whose
glorious beauty is fading flower"
In Proverbs we have these. oues-
tions asked: "Who hath woe? who
hath sorrow? who hath content tions?
who hath babbling? who hath wounds
without cause? who hath redness of
eyes:" and in the next verse we end
the answer: "They that tarry long
at the wine, they that go to seek
mixed wine." Here we are admon-
lshed to look not upon the wine when
1t is red, when it giveth his color in
the cup-for at the last it biteth like
serpent, and stingeth like an ad-
der. In Isaiah 5, IL, II, we find "Wo
unto them that rise up early in the
morning to follow strong drink, that
continue until night till wine inilame
them-they regard not the work of
the Lord, neither consider the oper
alton of his hands,"
In the same chapter we read: "Wo
unto them that are mighty to drink
wine, and men of strength to min
gle strong drink; which justify the
wicked for reward, and take away the
righteousness of the righteous from
him! Therefore as the fire de-
voureth the stubble, and the flame
consumeth the chaff, so their root
shall be as rottenness, and their
blossom snail go up as dust: because
they have cast away the law of the
Lord of hosts, and despised the word
of the Holy One of Israel" NV
friends, what think you of this mat
ter as put in Holy Writ? Is there any
doubt in your minds, that if You dis
regard these solemn warnings, that
you are liable to forfeit an inherit
ance, precious and everlasting, which
was left you as legacy by a dying
Lord? How long, oh, how long will
men continue to close their eyes to
the scenes about them, their ears to
the solemn admonitions of the Lord
of Hosts! / have heard men say the
Bible sanctions the use of strong
drink. Just here let me ask, how
many of you believe. the Bible, that
blessed Book of Books, gives its sane
ton to poisonous, alcoholic drinks,
or how many of you believe the Chris.
tian can plead Bible charter for the
use of that which history, reason and
experience ali combined have fairly
and fully proved to be inimical to
mang Or, in other words, how many
of you believe that God hath by in
splratlon taught trall, errlng man
to venture OH that awful precipice,
where danger turks at every step?
But suppose we lay aside the teach
ing of Scripture; then / would ask
what does our observation teach us?
Who of you has not seen bright hopes
and prospects blasted, and manhood
shorn of its glory through the use
of strong drink. We see all along
life's pathway terrible wrecks of
manhood through this evil. We see
some who might have been useful
members of the community; ave.
some who might have been ornaments
to society, from whom the last linea-