The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1902-02-21


say that the wind up Of a spree was
the most wretched and forlorn mental
condition that could befall a man.
Said he, Away IN the dead OF night
have gotten up and gone to the we'll
IN my night shirt and drank and drank
the cooling water until could hold no
more. wanted 10 bite a branch |
IN two and swallow the upper end.
Nabal got drunk and became as a
stone. Benhadad and thlrty-two kings /.
all got drunk together after a battle.
jeremiah the prophet, tried to make
the Rechabites drink wine with him,
but they would not, for their fathers
had enjoned them, and Jeremiah
blessed them for obeying their father,
and said. Thus saith the Lord the
house of Jonadab, the son Of Rechab,
shall not want for a man to stand be.
fore me forever" Zachariah seems to
have wlnked at the indulgence, for
he said, Corn shall make the young
men cheerful and new wine the
maids" | wonder If that was sure
enough corn liquor. The aged women
were enjolned not to drink much
wine wherein Is excess. King Alias
uerus got drunk and ordered Queen
Vasht to come before him and she
refused, and did right and the old rast
cal deposed her. Hosea saith that
wine takes away the heart Isaiah was
hard against 1t, and says, Their Ia
bles are full Of vomit and filthiness
and there is no place clean upon
upon themp Habakkuk says, Woe un-
to him that giveth his neighbor drink
and putteth the bottle to him"
But this is enough of scripture.
From that day to this the excessive
use OF spirltuous liquors has gone on
in all nations, carrying ruin its It's
train, degrading kings and disgracing
presidents and neither law nor pre-.
cept, nor preachers nor the pleading
| o. women has been able to stop 1t.
The dispensary is more respectable
in it's surroundings than the saloon.
There is no gathering Of roughs and
| toughs at it's door and women can
walk by without being insuIted or dis
gusted as they pass. l do not believe
that it lessons the use or abuse of
whiskey. Nothing will do that but
home influence ald religious training
and public opinion. 1t takes every
thing to combat it and keep it in
check. l have before me the last Of
fetal statement of the dispensary bus
mess in South Carolina, and 1t is
amazing to see how it is growing II
is now the largest and most important
business in the state-its aggregate
sales for the past fiscal year being g
little over $4,000, 444 and over $500,0OC
net profits, and of these profits ant
the stock on hand the school fund is
entitled to SOIL, 1854 and the state ha!
on hand $640,0O0 Of stock. The prof
it's pay hundreds of officials good sala
ries, besides accommodating an enor
nous school fund l have Travelled {
good deal over the state and found
public opinion much divided upon thu
questionable morality of the system
But it pays financially and the ques
ton of educating the negro with taxes
from white people does not raise sucl
protest as long as the sale of whis
key pays it, especially when the negrt
is the dispensarys very liberal Gus
toner.
What about the part that woman i
taking in this liquor business? Wha
does all this mean that Bishop Cole
man, of Delaware, has recently assert
ed in a public sermon preached i
New Jersey. He says that the whis
key habit is actually decreasing anon
the men of the north, but it is rapid
increasing among the women, not onl
the fashionable women, but among tn
middle classes. His assertion cause
, a committee to be appointed VIII
quietly frequented the hotels and ca
ing houses and ladies' restaurants an
J a large majority of the women too
wine or beer or whiskey or cocktail
with their meals, and very many too
no meals and ordered drinks onl,
The committee unanimously reporte
that the bishops assertion was tn
truth. If this be so, God help tn
=, country. Our southern women will
o all that will save it.
When I was a student in college
. Athens in 1915 the wonderful disco
! cry of DR.. Long and his use Of amaze
\ thesia was the talk Of the town, an
: our professor Of chemistry, DR.. L
9 Conte, made it the subject Of a lectul
q to his class. In 1916 a dentist by Il
v name of Lombard came there and pr