Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1903-03-21

more or the poison is taken, with similar
reacti'n, and again more is taken and more
reaction. So. there is a constant play and
interplay between taking more and more
and more of the intellectual poison with
the reaction. God help the man, for the
undertow has got him!
My dear friends, there is something to
me absolutely appalling about getting I'M
der the power without knowing II OF that
kind OF intellectual poison. speak car,
nestly because | have known and loved
gifted men who have.yielded 10 II and gone
down. The mental unreason that Is IN
vol ed in gambling unhinges mems brains.
INDUCING in gambling becomes something
that a nan can hardly himself stop. You
know men never stop doing thing unless
a motive comes which is stronger than the
motive that leads them to do it. The man
goes on and goes on until the impulse and
motive TO do the thing becomes stronge:
than the motive that comes IN TO stop II.
just the moment the impulse becomes
stronger than the "onstraIning motive then
it is goodbye, it is goodbye. Boys begin
by betting on marbles or putting up stakes
at cards lust to make the game more in
teresting." 1t makes the game more inter
esting to the devil. Then comes the race
track The more refined the man and the
finer the intellect the more surely the dis
ease. Nothing il so CHASTITY az the craving
for gambling which gets hold of fine
fibered man 4 few days ago young man,
n church worker told me of man who
confessed to him that he had crept I'M
stairs in the dead OF winter to his little
sleeping girl and taken away the clothing
that covered her and the shoes which she
wore nut them under his coat and SUNK
off and pawned them for rum-the demon
curse. Now. with gambling the frightfu
monomania is still worse. If there is any
young man here this morning who has any
suspicion that the serpent is getting that
coil around him, then quick, quick. or you
are a lost man, You are a lost hoy,
Quick, Get out of it now! You had bet
fer lock yourself in your room and live on
bread and water. You had better hold
your hands in the FIRE until the veins burst
than go on with the fend of gambling. Am
/ too urgent? Forgetting the dignity of the
pulpit? Let the dignity of the pulpit 60.
hoy's face and thank God that YOUR boy
is safe Then pray for another whose boy
is gone. or whom she thinks is gone. Gods
grace is great and she has come TO her pas
tor and spoken OF this matter
BY your kind indulgence ! want to refer
to Just one more point. 1t is sometimes
said that gambling is the product Of hush
ness speculation. do not believe it. Spec
ulation. as its Latin origin implies. is es-
sentia.iy a foresight 1t is an endeavor to
look ahead and determine values. Ii Is not
an aDDeal tn chance. We see the same root
In the word inspection. or the word r.?
snectable or the noun specular. which ii
the same Latin word. Some forms of busA
ness speculation are OF course unfair. bat
in large business sense speculation is rot
guessing in advance. hut looking in advance
and ] do not believe the two 20 together.
In new. strong countries speculation is al
most always the Accompaniment of bust
ne7s opportunity. Hut in dead countries,
such as Spain was fifteen years ago. have
poticed that while business speculation is
almost dead. gambling is far more preva-
lent even than here. Sec the higher Eng
lish society in Queen Anne's time minis
tiers; everybody Gamhled. but there was not
much business speculation. No. my friends.
il is id!eness craving for excitement. lila
sion. bad company. corruDting morals.
These are the forces that lead men into
gambling. All gambling. even the least, I'M
der all circumstances. is like seduction and
slavery - eternally unjust and eternaliy
wrong. 1t is taking something for nothing.
Ii makes every man his neighbours foe. 1t
corrupts socletv and undermincs the fab
ric Of the American state. 1t is unpatriotic
and against the eternal Sinai. 1t divorces
contract and its equivalent. Is there one
here this morning, I wonder who wants
his dearest friend. his Young brother. to
stop gambling II so, in Gods name, let
him stop himself.