The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-27
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS A6OUI
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANCE.
The wretched Panorama OF Human Ma
ture AdrIft That the Bartender 'Tatche
Pass Before Him-Some Harm Done by
at >, Ii AIwavs Meaning Whisky

Pass Before Him-some Harm Done by
att" 1t Always Meaning Whisky
This is what the bartender sees: A
young man with a cold face. much neT-
vous energy, and tired-of-the-world eX-
preston, leans over the polished, silver
mounted drinking bar.
You look at him and order your drink.
You know what you think of him. and
you think you know what he thinks Of you.
Did you ever stop to think OF all The
strange human beings besides yourself that
pass before him?
He stands there as sentinel, business
man, detective, waiter, general entertain
er and host for the homeless.
In comes a young man, rather early III
the day.
He is a little tired-up too late the nigh
before. He takes a cocktail. He tells the
bartender that he does not believe IN
''The bitters in the cocktail will eat hole
through a thin ndllerchief-pretty bad
effect on your stomach, eh:' and SO on.
Out goes the young man with the cock
tail inside of him.
And the bartender knows that tina.
young man, with his fine reasonings and
his belief i'll himself, is the confirmed
drunkard of year after next. He has seen
the beginning of many such cocktail p4l4v-
sophers, and the ending Of the same.
The way not to be a drunkard is never
TO taste spirits The bartender knows that.
But his customers do not know it.
At another hour of the day there comes
in the older man. This one is the fresh
faced young oldish man.
He has small gray side whiskers. He
shows several people--whom he does not
k.ow-his book of Communication tickets.
He changes his mind suddenly from
whisky to lemonade. The bartender pre-
pares the lemon slowly, and the man
changes his mind bacl, to whisky.
Then he tries to look more dignifed than
the two younger men with him. In the
midst of the effort he begins to sing The
Heart Bowed Down with Weight of Woe"
and Re tells the bartender that is from
"The Bohemian Girl"
He sings many other selections. occa
sionally forgetting his dignity, and occa-
sionally remembering that he is the head
of most respectable homeopathy paid
for.
The wise man on the outside of the bar
suggests that the oldish man will get into
trouble. But the bartender says:
"No, he will go home all right. But he
time he gets home he'll realize what money
he has spent, and you would not like to
be his wife. It won't be any songs that
she'll get"
The bartender knows that the oldish man
about fiftyone or two - has escaped
being a drunkard by mere accident, and
LITTLE bard Incl, foo mich +rouh'e
and be S' lose his baIance forget That there
is lemonade and take to whisky nerma-
nenty.
At the far end of the bar there is the
man who comes in slowly and passes his
hand over his face nervously. The bar
a bottle of everyday whisky and a small
glass of water.
The whisky Goes down. A sbiver fol-
lows the whisky and a very little of the
water follows fbe SILVER The man eoes
ont with his arms close TO his SIDES, his
gait shutting. and his head hanging.
II has taken him less than three min
utes to bnv swallow and nav for Eberal
dose of poison.
Saws the bartender.
THAT fellow had \ road business once
Doesn't lool, # does be2 lin over there
used to worl, for him. Bat he couldn't let
it alone"
The 'it" mentioned is whisky
Outside in the cold that man. who
couldn't let it alone. is sbufiinr his way
against the bitter wind And even in his
moor sodden brain reform and wisdom are
striving 10 he heard
His souI and bodv arc SINK far below
par. His vitality is gone. never to return.
The whisky with its sbiver that tells
Of a shock to- the heart, lifts him ND for n
second
He has little false STRENGTH of mind
and brain. and that STRENGTH is used to
mrnbIe Good resolutions,
He tb;nEs he viii sion drinking He
+b;nr-y bn corid oas;iv oet money back;rc
# he cave IN Jrnling for GOOD He fees
- - I'll -. ~. IN - IL
w.,
perbanv ho coes homo and for the HIM.
dradtb t;np 0 Makes e a moor ,," woman believe
hin, and wakes ber ween more for low
R,t tho ar+or5er bnouc that that