Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1901-05-09
|Ant.SaloOn League Column:
NoTE.-This column is controlled
sdirectly by the Vermont Anti-SaloonS
League.
Letters from the PeopIe.

Letters from the People.
ETHIOPIA shall stretch out her hands TO Cod
Is it not well often TO take notice of the
progress Of every good cause? In this
way We shall be kept free from discourage
ment at the slow movement Of Providence.
Moreover our hope will be confirmed that
in due time the Kingdom of God viii rule
over all the world and every tribe and
family and individual shall be blessed in
it, Ethiopia shall yet stretch out her
hands to God.
The cause OF temperance affords good
ground for taking this note and especially
at the beginning Of a new century.
Vermont has filed an enviable place in
its efforts and influence to promote the
cause Of temperance, certainly to promote
this cause by personal and written pledges.
Maine herself has not exceeded if equalled
the Green Mountain state in her influence
for this cause. One of her first citizens, so
far at least,s time is concerned, viz: the
writer, with his father an elder in the
Presbyterian church of Beekmantown,
! n. Y, took the first written pledge known
at that time, il not really the first, as we
think it was. Thus it happened. My
father owned a large hay farm in Beck
mantown. 1t was the custom then to
finish up haying with a flourish, to cut
down and get into the barn large quantity
of hay the last day of the season. My
/ father conformed to this custom. He
went through his haying till this last day
contrary to the then custom without any
intoxicating liquors. But to please his
hands-of which he had many-ln the
afternoon Of this day he sent out and got
some liquor But what happened as the
result9 One Of the hands got drunk before
night so that he keeled up. Seeing this,
my father wrote out a pledge there in the
field and signed il; and signed il with
/ him. How long ago this was ! cannot tell.
was then a little boy not more than seven
or eight years Of age. This pledge ! have
ever kept. Never have bought or used
any except at the prescription Of a
physician. This fact ! have many times
spoken OF as honorable to my father. He
not only signed the pledge but induced
others to sign it. Was not this the
beginning OF the temperance reformation
Others as Drs. Bucher, Dwight and many
Others that could be named had written
upon the subject, but none then 50 far as
we can learn had recommended the
written pledge.
And these facts interest us all the more
and move us to give some facts stated in
the Interior, a weekly paper and the best
Of its kind, published in Chicago. This
paper Of the present week, page los, says;
at is declared by missionary ON recent
occasion, that the traders from Europe
and America had turned the west coast
into one long bar room, from which ii IS
estimated that no fewer than 100000
drunken men go forth every year to die Of
delirium tremens. The general testimony
of all is that the greatest obstacle to the
progress of the gospel is the liquor traffic.
The missionaries assure us that they would
rather face any form OF heathenisn than
the liquor traffic. Degraded, demoralized,
decimated, damned are the emphatic
words in which Christian physician,who
had been a recent eye witness, describes
the situation there. "The feeble races
wither before the hot breath of the white
mans vices lately said Harrison
in respect to the tribes of Africa and other
child races like those of the South Sea
Islands for whose protection the devout
and venerable John G. Patton has been
pleading with our government so tenderly,
vet unavailingly. Yet is not our govern
ment beginning to do its part to put an
end to this most degrading and destructive
evil? God speed the day when this the
worlds curse shall come to perpetual end.
AID. B. in Free Press.
NNflIfetop