The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1902-12-18
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING ACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANcE.
In a Powerful Editorial the New York
American Considers the Drunksrd's
Side of the Question--First Thing DrfHh
Attacks Is VIII Power-Be sympnthetIe

Attacks Is VIII Power--Be sympathetfe
You lucky. well balanced ones talk
much. and sincerely, of the horrors Of
drink. and of the drunkards weakness.
You think the whisky drinker ought tG
ntop.
Do you ask yourselves whether or not he
can stopy
Let MS consider to-day the drunkard's
side of the case Let us see what may be
said on his behalf
Very often nhysical weakness causes
drunkenness. Many man takes drink
because the task put upon him is heavier
than he can bear The whisky does not
help hint hurts him Bat it cheats him
and makes him think that he is helped
You realize that whisky drinking settled
on man as habit must be fought with
weanons of some kind.
VIII power is the great weapon to use
in our own behalf You tell the druDkard
to use his will power.
But you forget that the first thing that
whisky attacks is our will power.
You remind the drunkard that his weak
ness brings suffering on others. and you ap-
peal to his conscience. But YOU forget that
whisky weakens conscience even more than
lt weakens the nerves. You forget too.
that whisky makes its victim suffer. II he
could Tree himself he would do So il only
for his own sake
And you must not FORGET that whisky
argues ,iingeniously, in addition to its tell
ing of lies.
a man is overcome with some great
grief. Whisky makes him forget, or at
least it makes him not care.
a man is suffering under some great hu-
initiation. some sense of personal short
coming. that is intOlerable to him Whisky
offers to relieve him. and for the moment
1t does relieve him.
You who talk nobly of temperance and
advocate laws governing other men are apt
n nt rnttf. an calf ii
Perhaps you have never drunk--then
you are absolutely unable to Judge others,
or the effort you ask of them.
Perhaps You have been a drinking man
and have stopped. But YOU do not know
how much lighter whislys hold may have
been upon you than upon others
Suppose YOU worked hard every day,
every week and every year.
Suppose you had no pleasure in life, save
the fictitious pleasure and excitement that
come from whisky Suppose YOU failed.
and failed and failed again-and suppose
that whisky was always ready to praise
you, make YOU feel proud OF yourself.
make you hold others responsible for your
own tallures-are YOU sure that you could
let whisky aoney
suppose that many misfortunes afflicted
YOU and that you had friend able to
make you forget them ALL Would YOU not
seek out that friend most eagerly?
10 many, many thousands of men whisky
~ such Il lIIenu-anu so they seek whisky.
1t is lying friend, and daily pushes them
further down hill. But it lies ingeniously
and it does give forgetfulness for the mo-
ment.
In your condemnation of those who per-
sist in whisky drinking you must remem-
ber that what is easy for one man is very
hard for another
Suppose you should urge two animals to
go without meat-one of the animals being
tiger and the other a sheep. Would you
praise the sheep for its faithful keeping
of the promisey Would you blame the
tiger for breaking its word, ii the tempta-
tion to eat meat were offeredy
In mems nervous systems, in their crav-
ing Tor alcohol, there is as great differ
ence between different temperaments as
between the appetites of the sheep and the
tiger. One man is dragged toward the
gulf by whisky with force of which you
can have no conception.
You look with contempt at a hopeless
drunkard, shufiiing along toward destruc-
ton.
There are thousands of such men who
every day OF their lives make an effort of
the will of which you would be incapable.
But that effort, great as it is, is not
great enough to save them-whisky drags
them too hard in the other direction
Is the drunkard's case hopeless? No.
Is any drunkard's case hopeless? No.
But the drunkard will not be cured by
upbraidings, by contempt, by the preach
ings of those who do not understand him
and the drunSard will not be cured by
prohibitory laws.-New York American.