The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-11-30
THE GREAT DESTROYER
SOME STARTLING FACTS ABOUT
THE VICE OF INTEMPERANcE.
The Life Story of a Young Man Whose
Career Ended in the Penitentiary
Owing to Vicious Habits Formed
Thrnrnb, Hnhitnnl INDULGENCE.

The Life Story of n Young Man Whose
Career Ended in the Penitentiary
Owing to Vicious Habits Formed
Through Habitual Indulgence.
Drink brought me here. Nothing makes
it so easy for a fellow to get into trouble
as drink. l face a life in the penitentiary
because OF drink and bad companions. -,
Tell every young man to steer clear OF
both Of these and he'll steer clear OF sach
a position as | now find myself in" -.
HarrysMapleson, twenty-three years old,
waits in a cell at the county Jail to be
taken to Columbus to begin 4 life term IN
the penitentiary for completely in the muir
der of an unknown man on Bessemer
street, on the night of September q, 1903.
He was sentenced Thursday. The words
quoted he spoke to Press man in his cell
Friday morning. There was despair in his
voice, hopelessness in his eyes:
Drink did it," he kept OF repeating:
"Drink and bad companions. God! how |
wish I had never touched the one and
avoided the other. And the sad part of 1t
is, they wrecked not only my life, but
brought sorrow and woe to my poor old
parents"
There were tears in his eyes, and his
voice shook. He turned his face away and
looked toward the wall of his cell, his
frame shaking with emotion. 1t was sew:
eral minutes before he spoke again, and
then he told the whole story.
Il think" he said, "the first drink l
ever took was bought for me by a rela-
tive. When l vas twelve years old and
made my first communion I took a pledge
not to touch liquor till l was twenty-one.
During all that time I followed the pledge
faithfully and while other boys met and
rushed the growler.' I stayed away and
when [ wanted company l sought those L
one I made up my mind to keep on abb
staining from intoXicants. But just a
month afterward I came down one day
with this relative and he took me into a
saloon. We met some friends and they all
wanted to buy drinks. 1 drank several
bottles of pop, and then, because this rela.
tive said pop wasn't good for me l took a
glass of beer. The next thing I took was a
glass of whisky. In a few minutes I Was
drunk.
1T was months afterward before I tasted
it again, but when l did the rest was easy.
Il began meeting with boys and men
and took part in their GROWER rushing /
drank as much as any of them. The night
we are supposed to have killed the man I
was drunk and so was Neuman.
"L had been in the saloon next door to
where I lived on Atlantic street and mad
n few drinks. When [ went out Neuman
followed me. keeping about $50 feet behind
me and calling for me to wait.
1--WE met the fellow that was killed near
the railroad track. He was m inoffensive
looking fellow and passed me without say
ing a word, though he looked as ii he
wanted to ask something.
when he got back to Neuman he asked
him where some one lived.
'Neuman was IN a Quarrelsome mood
and struck him and the fellow struck back.
I ran to help Neuman, and that's all there
was to it. We put the body alongside the
track to make it appear he had fallen from
a train. If I hadn't been drinking 1
would never have mixed in. And if Neu-
man hadn't been drunk, the quarrel
wouldn't have started.
1--WE didn't want to rob the man, be-
cause we didn't need to-. ! had money and
q good job. Why, ever since l was sixteen
I have never earned less than $3.50 a day.
Once I was earning $S5 a month.
II was just twenty-three the day before
I was arrested. so you see it was only dur.
ing two years that l drank at all. How 1
wish those two years were blotted out. l
see row the only way for anybody to avoid
the possibility of my present position Is
not to touch it at all. But I have found
it out too late, as many another man has"
East Liverpool (Ohio) Tribune.