Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-26


our best citizens on this subject, we hope
not only to intensity but to render effective
the strong feeling which already exists
against the business of cultivating the
wretched drink habit. with its temporary
gain in money to a few and the eternal loss
and shame of multitudes of the sons and
daughters of the community
Anticipating the Day.
The Rev. w. G. Davenport, rector of
Emanuel Episcopal Church, Anacostia
anticipating the day one week in view of
the coming of the bishops of the church,
took his text from Joel 1:v. He said, in
part:
drunkenness was ever one of the ma
tional sins of ancient Israel. Woe to the
drunkards of Ephraim. exclaims
the Prophet Isaiah; and Joel cries, Wake
up, We drunkards, and weep
Let consider some of the evils of
drink and the liquor traffic in our own
land and time. We have daily examples
before us of the miseries entailed upon
families The effect upon the drnker
whether in moderation or excess, is in
furious. Prof. Ekner of Vienna says: AL
cohol is, under no conditions, and in no
amount, beneficial to the healthy body;
Prof. Heger of Brussels: Pure alcohol is
injurious; alcoholism is a horrible evil
Prof. Theodore Hough The opinions of
the leading brain workers of the United
States are of interest showing that the
use of such drinks to stimulate mental eff
fort gives the whole bad results
But the great evil of our day is the
saloon. 1t serves no good purpose. NO
excuse can be offered for it's existence. 1t
furnishes nothing that the community
needs 1t is pure and unauthorized evil
Young men, avoid It, Temperance should
begin in youth You can easily keep free
from a bad habit now, but once contracted,
such habit will hold you as it's victim and
it's slave
Others who responded favorably to the
request of the Anti-Saloon League, without
waiting for the suggested day. included
Rev. w. E. Gibson, pastor of the Brook
land Baptist Church, who brought up the
work of the league at the monthly business
meeting of the church, where it was freely
and favorablS discussed. and a resolution
was offered and adopted indorsing the OBJ
ject of the league.
Rev. G. C. Bacon, D. D.. the new pastor
of Douglass Methodist Episcopal Church,
preached on the subject October IL, and
circulated petition against a proposed
saloon in the neighborhood of the church.
A large proportion of the Baptist, Chris
tan and Methodist churches observed yes
terday as Temperance Sunday, together
with many of other denominations.
Passing Through Fire to Moloch.
Rev. VIM M. Nevins, pastor of Grace
Baptist Church, spoke yesterday the
subject from Jer. 1926: And they built the
high places of Baal, which are in the val
sons and their daughters to pass through
fire to Moloch."
Among other things, he said:
1.-The Old Testament is full of sacrifices.
Through the smoke of their affairs the peo--
pie looked up to God. From the workshop
of the true God through proper sacrifices
there were many departures; a picture of
one we have before us in this text.
"Moloch was a huge hollow idol of brass
and the people made their children pass
through fire, offering them a sacrifice in
fire to the brazen god
why, you ASK was there such de-
parture on the part of the children of Israel
as to do this awful deed? 1t may be
counted for by two things: First, God had
not fully eradicated the seed of idolatry
from their hearts. Every age has its beset-
ting sin, and the sin of that age was idola-
try. 1t was long and painful process, the
eradication of idolatry from their hearts.
and whenever the seed within met with
temptation from without it sprang up anew
and must be trampled down.
THE second thing that accounts for their
departure is one act of disobedience. God
said in Exodus 1881. Thou shalt drive them
Che inhabitants) out. Thou shalt
make no covenant with them. They
shall not dwell in thy land lest they make
thee sin against me-. And yet in the face
of this explicit command we have those sad
words recorded: And they drove not out
the Canaanites that dwell in Gezer but the
Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites
unto this day No wonder when we know
this thing that we have this dark picture
recorded against them.
Now, whereas every age has its beset-
ting sin, we have ours; and just as Israel
sacrificed her children at the shrine of the
brazen idol Moloch, so we sacrifice ours at
the shrine of intemperance. Which is the
worse | leave to you to judge. The father
in Israel compelled his child to pass through
fire. The child died, but its soul was saved.
'In India the Hindoo mother casts her
child to the crocodile. The babes life is
crushed out by the monster, but its pure in
nocent soul goes TO be with God.
Here we act differently. We rear them
with tender hands. We instruct them in
learning and art. Their souls become sem
sitive to everything high, noble and good;
any, then, just as their souls tremble in the
balance, we cast them to the god of intern
perance.
There is one picture I would paint and
hang up in every home in our land A
man sought him out a quiet spot and built
his roof tree, and gathered about him his
tender wife and little children And here
he protected them from danger from with
out, but under his hearthstone he fostered
| & deadly serpent. In vain his wife pleaded
| with him to destroy it; he would not but
| kept it there though it destroyed his home