The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-12-14
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANcE.% {

The man who is a slave to physical
force suffers within himself. The blows
fall on him alone. 80"
It is not so with the whisky slave. He
suffers. it is true. but. he finds occasional
forgetfulness. and while his brain is
drowned he has his moments Of exaitation
and recompense. .--
There. is no such forgetfulness for those
.- him. And, when he knows himself.
he Fortified and ashamed because of
his awful part in the sufferings of those
that have not deserved it.
The blows fall upon his wife and chill
dren. Hungry faces, dependents badly
clothed. badly housed, meet him when he
comes back from the delirium of whisky
into real life. .l
The disgrace that falls upon him is felt
more keeniy by his wife and his children.
No man knows the struggles drunkards
down helpiessiy at last.
1t has been said truly that the ~virtuous
maj who sees a drunkard falling into. the
! gutter has probably never in his life made
as hard al effort to better himself as
that drunkard has made. .
Whisky and circumstances are stronger
than the individual will-tbat is the story
and the will is attacked first of all.
It is easy to ~criticise and customary to
dsspise the druakard. 1t is easy to pass
/ by on the other side and look down upon
the man whose weakness happens to be
different from your OWL = @
Perhaps the world would; be better off
if more of us looked at the problem from
the side of the man who drinks, and tried
to help him instead Of telling him how
low he has fallen.
How can a man be freed from the clutch
of whisky?
Obviously the shortest, simplest way
would be to do for him in a good and help
full way that which whisky does for him
in a vile and destructive way.
Nine-tenths of all drunkenness is based
on poverty, worry, the mental WEAKNESS
that comes OF hopeless struggle against
material conditions.
Free the world from poverty and you
will lessen the hold of whisky upon mil
lions. =. 81 -"
Fortunately, that is the glorious work
which a slowly advancing civilization Is
doing, and it can truly be said that the
present day is temperance itself compared
with the past. ..
Take away worry from men. and you
will take the desire for drink from a
great majority of them.
Next in number to the great army of
drunRards who drink for the sake of for
BcI1ulucSS dre tuCSc WIZ urluh uecduSe
they crave excitement and because they
lack satisfactory mental occupation.
Idleness accounts for much drunken
ness. r.
This is proved by the great number of
jdlers, spending inherited money, that
drink to excess.
If the man that finds it hard to resist
drinking because life is dull would force
himself into some kind of occupation
something to keep him going all the time
he could forget the craving for drink
eventually.
Lack of excitement in life is one great
cause of drunkenness.
Take the average drunkard on ON expe-
dition to the North Pole, where there
are danger and an opportunity for indi-
vidual achievement, and that man, with
something worth while, something to
stimulate, to occupy him, would give up
drink and become energetic.
The lack of rational |amusements on SUM-
day accounts for a great deal of drunk
enness.
In the big cities hundreds of thousands
of young men find themselves idle on one
day of the week, with nothing really in
teresting to do. The saloon welcomes
ly conversation and Sunday talk-close to
a whisky bottle.
The bicycle was a great promoter of So
briefly and health. A revival of its pop
ularity would be an excellent thing for
the country. - - U
Wholesome Sunday sports of, all kinds,
outdoor occupations, and especially OPP
portunities for rational Sunday recreation
in the city, would lessen the hold of whis
ky considerably.
Every drinking man who feels that
whisky is getting too strong for him
should study his own individual case.
substitutes for the excitement Of whisky
in other occupations.
When his nerves crave 'alcohol-or when
he thinks that they crave 1.-THE should
make up his mind to give them something
else.
If the man who feels that he must have
q drink in the morning will take two or
three glasses of hot milk: he will 10 long.
er want to drink.
If the man who feels tn. he must have
something to drink before he eats Will
and eat plenty OF t, he will discover at
the end Of the .leal that he craving for
alcohol is zone.
Thousands of those who drink mistake
simple hunger for q desire to drink whis-
ky. P~ostponing the drink and satisfying
the hunger, in nine cases out of ten, will
diminish the whisky craving or destroy
it altogether.
The drinking man, as a matter of fact,
must find his salvation within himself
in his own strength of character.
The moment a nan really wants not :
to drink, the moment he wills no. to, ne
stops. But be must help the will intelh-
gently.
The drinking man says that life is dull.
He himself is all that he knows of life,
his own existence is all that he possesses.
He would not think his life dull il he
were in danger Of losing it every minute
from the attack of some savage Indian or
wild beast.
How can it be dull when ne has con.
stantly before him the danger of destruc.
ton through an enemy inside of himself?
He ought to find interesting occupation j..
in d~evisiug plans to get the better OF
whisky.
He ought to find the excitement that
he lacks in making a successful fight
against the power that has destroyed
millions.
To young men we say: Keep away from
whisky. Its friendships are false, it's arti.
fetal warmth ends in cod destruction.
It means failure, disgrace, shipwreck.
One of the greatest whisky manufac.
turers in the world was asked if he had
any difficulty in keeping his employees
from drinking whisky. He owns one of
the most famous of the popular brands.
No" he said; there IS no danger OF
my people drinking whisky-they know
the stuff is po;son."-New York Evening
journal.
The Crusade In Brief.
Hotels and drug stores in Boston, selling !
LIQUOR TO women have suffered tie penalty