The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1902-12-19
THE EVIL OF DRINK.
The Rev. Frank De Witt Tai
mage Sounds Warning.
He summons All Good People to
Unite In Movement against
the SoIOmonic Serpent
of Intoxicntion.

CHICAGO. Sept 2S.-In this discourse
the preacher summons all good people
to unite in a movement against the
great and growing national evil Of
strong drink. The text is Proverbs
xiii, 81, "At the last it biteth like
serpent and stingeth like an adder"
My father has now been dead about
six months. Since his demise l have
received scores Of letters from many
parts of this country asking me to de-
fine my position on the temperance
question. Only yesterday a strong
earnest plea came from one of the
New England states which went some
thing like this: "Your fathers voice
always rang true in his hatred for the
wine cup. VIII you not come to our
aid and help the thousands Of mothers
who have drunken sons and the wives
who have drunken husbands fight this
relentless enemy of God and the
homer 1t is I'm answer to these let
ters that shall state my belief and
position upon the temperance question.
But l speak with a broader purpose
than merely to crafty curiosity. l
want every man, woman and child
who hates the saloon and who Is con-
secrated for a combined combat
against this arch fiend Of the centuries
to look upon me as a brother and
comrade / pledge myself as the col
league Of every foe Of the intoxicating
cup. At every opportunity, with voice
and pen, l will thrust at this serpen-
tine monster. Ii shall be my aim, as
it should be the aim Of every one OF
Gods ministers, to rally, with all the
Influences at his command, the enc
mics Of this hitherto invincible and un-
conquered foe Of the human race. May
God grant us TO live to see the day
when the fangs Of this mighty monster
shall have been extracted and when
its head shall have been crushed ana
its vile carcass dismembered under the
advancing hoofs Of the white chargers
Of the gospel army.
The evil Of intoxlcation is a universal
curse. Its long, Shiny. twisting coils
spread over every land and are visible
In every walk Of life. There is hardly
a man or woman sitting before me who
has not had at least one near relative
who has been cursed by the fatal bite
of this crawling, insidious enemy. Per-
haps that near relative was a father,
q mother. an uncle, an aunt, brother
n sister. a wife. a husband or a child.
Alas. many Of US can say we have not
only had one, but many near relatives
and friends who have gone down into
drunkards' graves after they have lived
the hopeless and humanity helpless de-
graded earthly existence Of the drunk.
ard. Even as 1 am preparing this ser
mon news is published that a man who
has filed high places in the service OF
his country, who bore a name honored
in our history, has lost his life in a
brawl in which he would never have
been involved if he had not INDUCED in
intoxicating drink.
Solomon compared the sin Of intoxi-
cation to the writings and twistlngs
of a serpent and to the stinging Of an
adder because at that time poisonous |
serpents were everywhere. Every
thicket was filed with a constellation
of their cleaning eyes. Every desert |
was the home of the puff adder, lying |
half buried in the sand. Every swamp |
was the retreat Of the water viper. Ey-
erv hillside had for the traveller a
warning hiss or rattle. Even unto |
this day many Of the countries Of the |
east are oycrrun with poisonous rep
tiles. In India alone over 10000 in
habitants annually die from poisonous
snake bites.
The serpents Of intoxicatlon have In
creased so rapidly that they are now
innumerable. We hear their hiss in
almost every legislative hall. We see
their eyes cleaning out Of almost ey-
cry palace. We find them lying under
the orange blossoms Of the marriage |
altar. as well as in the detention hos
pltals for the patients who have their
rooms filed with the coiling serpents |
OF delirium tremens. We find many OF |
our statesmen paralyzed by the glance
Of this adder's eyes, as a poor, little |
frightened sparrow might tremble and
crouch until she falls into the open /
mouth Of the blacksnake which has |
charmed her. We find that even few
of the ministers who I'll the pulpits Of
the gospel Of Jesus Christ are terror
lied by the sight Of the serpent Of in
toxlcation. because the rich brewer /
may be the president Of the board Of
trustees or the wealthy distiller's fam
ily may be the largest contributors to
the financial support Of the church.
There are four distinct reasons for
hating this serpentine evil Of intoxi-
cants. four distinct reasons TO wage
against IT unsparing and relentless
warfare The first is because the ser
pent OF intoxicants destroys a mans
brain. dethroning his reason and utter
ly running his mental capacity for any
kind Of important work. As a mer-
chant he will enter into wildcat spec
ulations until often his whole fortune
is swept away. As a physician he will
unfit himself for the sickroom. AS a
lawyer he will ruin his practice, be-
cause he can no longer plead in the
courtroom as he once could plead. And
everywhere the cry will be raised
about this poor. drunken mental wreck.
no matter In what sphere Of life he
may live: "Afake wayl Make way! |
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