The leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1895-1905, 1901-02-27
4 Few WORDS TO YOUNG WEN

many young men of our acquaintance.
Having carried musket for four long
years during the days of our boyhood,
along side by side with as noble young
men as ever drew a sword or shoulder
ed a musket, many of whose bones
have long since bleached upon some
far away battlefield, coupled with a
quarter of century's experience as a
humble minister of the gospel-all of
this has afforded us fine opportunity
to study the habits, peculiarities, etc,
of the young men of today.
Some one has said that the best of us
is nothing more than bundle of
habits. The Latin teacher would tell
US that our English word habit is de-
rived from the Latin word habeo,
which means to have, to hold, to hold
fast, etc. There is a holding fast,
whether we hold the habit or the habit
holds us. There is period in every
young mans life when habits are
formed, whether they be good or bad.
Bad habits are easier formed than
good ones, because it is easier to go
down stream than up stream. The
tendency of the young man of good
habits is upward, that of the young
man of bad habits is downward, al
ways downward.
Now, we have never claimed to be a
perfect man, but there are some habits
that hold many, alas, too many, of our
young men of today which we never
possessed, prominent among which is
that of swearing. At one time in our
life we we're provoked to curse a con
trary OK, and it sounded as if we had
shot a gun on Sunday. We have al
ways believed the OK was to blame, in
part. Blu, thanks be to our Maker, we
never formed the awful habit of tax
| ing his name in vain. Then there is
the habit of indulging in strong drink.
| From the early days of our youth, our
entire life has been a battle ground
along this line While we have not
taken any strong drink in % years, yet
we must admit that while we are pen
Cling these words there is nothing
that would feel better on our palate
than hot whisky. Nothing but the
grace of God has kept us out of a
drunkard'S grave and druukard'S
hell. Many of our friends have cen
sured us as ''prohibition crank" but
we are only battling against that foe
that seeks to make our wife a widow
and our children orphans. Hence it
is war of defense with us all the way
along. In early days we learned that
the only way for us to keep sober
was never to take anything that would
make us drunk, and the shortest way
out of the difficulty was to avoid the
drinking crowd.
Recently we were talking with an
old friend who grew up in the same
neighborhood. lie said to us, "Allen,
my way has been hard When we be-
came men you went one way and went
the other. You associate with good
people and | with the bad" "Bill,"
we said, "there are yet hopes for you.
Can't you leave off strong drink and be
man." No" he replied, mot as long
as | run with the drinking crowd, for
the better class don't like to be seen
in my company. My dear old mother
and first wife died of broken hearts on
my account, and my present wife can't
live long the way things are going"
In those bleared eyes that fast filled
with tears one could see the tomb
stones of bright future which doomed
up before him in the early days of his
young manhood. Young men, here is
a man of good parts and dear friend
of ours, whose awful condition is such
that nothing but the power from on
high can break the chain of habit that
binds him as tightly as the serpent's
coil around it's victim. He is poor,
helpless man, and if these lines should
chance to fall under his eye, we want
him to know that he has one friend on
earth who is in sympathy with him,
and is willing to extend to him a
helping hand and "help my fallen
brother rise"
Now, young men, do you think your
selves stronger than our friend "Bill?"
| You may never reach the point where
he is, but if you are addicted to the
drink habit, as surely as there is a
| God in heaven you are going in that
call halt and ponder well these
| things while you have the power, ere
your strength fails and your life be
| blighted forever. Behind the Bars"
is the heading of an article, written
with reference to poor, unfortunate
man so recently taken from our own
community and who is now incarcera-
ted in the State prison, charged with
murder. No doubt but in the days of
entering upon his young manhood, his
parents, who are dear friends of ours,
cherished the fond hope that in old
age they would lean upon the strong
arm of their only son for protection
aud sus: enance, if need be. No doubt,
if you were permitted to hear John
Sasser's sad story from behind the
bars" today, he would tell you that his
troubles have come as result of keep
ing the wrong company, and he went
from bad to worse till he, for some rea-
son we know not what, sent bullet
tearing through the brain of Tom
Lard.
Young man, if the habit of strong
drink is tightening it's coils around