Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1906-02-26
Rev. o. r. Miller Of Washington, D. C.

new W. h' MllleT OF washington, W VI
Yesterday afternoon Rev. o. r. Miller
of Washington city spoke at the reg
ular mems meeting at the Young Mems
Christian association to a crowded audi
ence, from the subject Craps for Young
Men and How to Smash Them" He
made a strong and stirring address and
as q result of the meeting four men
made definite acceptance Of the
Christian life.
In substance, Mr. Miller spoke as
follows:
when General William Booth, the
commander Of the Salvation army, was
in this country few years ago, he told
a story of little girl friend of his by
the name Of Flossie, whose brother,
Henry, deeply grieved her by setting a
trap to catch the birds that came into
the garden. Flossie begged her brother
all afternoon not to set the trap, but
all in vain. That night when Flossie
went to bed, her mother heard her
pray, as follows: Dear Lord, don't let
Henry's trap catch any of the dear little
brides. 1t is bad, wicked, cruel trap.
Don't let it catch any of the brides
and L know you won't, dear Lord,
amen
What makes you so sure your
prayer will be answered. asked her
monther.
=" Oh because, mamma, before came
in went into the garden and smashed
that trap all to pieces
1t is a good thing to pray, but God
expects us to do something else besides
pray. We must smash the cruel traps
that are destroying the young men of
today. How few ever do anything to
attack evil, or give those who set traps
for young men any occasion to know
that they are opposed to their wicked
business.
Tells Story of Dewey
when Admiral Dewey, then Commo-
dore Dewey, was about to sail away
from Hongkong for Manila, under in
structions to attack the Spanish fleet
there, the English admiral at Hong
Deweys, called to bid him goodbye
saying: L am sorry for you,. commo-
dore, for when you meet those Span
iards they will wipe you off the face of
the earth
WELL replied Commodore Dewey,
if they do, they will always have occa-
sion to remember that I once lived
''That is the true American spirit in
the face of difficulties. We ought to be
smash the evil traps in the path of the
young men, no matter how difficult or
how dangerous the task. We at least
ought to attack these evils and let the
enemy know that we live.
Cigarettes a Pathway
''There are many great and threaten
ing temptations iii the pathway of the
young men of today which should be
removed IL they are to have a fair
chance in life. The first great trap in
the pathway of the boys of today,
which is reducing their chances for sue
cess in life, is the deadly cigarette. This
evil has rapidly increased and spread
over our country the last few years like
a great devastating SOURCE among the
boys and young men, and yet how
feeble is the cry raised against it.
1.-The cigarette weakens the action of
the heart. Several years ago, when our
government was enlisting large num-
berS of soldiers for the Spanish war and
found that of the young men who were
habitual cigarette smokers not one in
ten had heart strong enough to be ac-
cepted by the government.
Late Hours
Another growing and dangerous evil
in many cities is the late hours at
.
too, can be found on the streets at
night.
Sabbath dissertation is also increas-
ing throughout the country and it is
demoralizng many young men. find it
is much worse out here ON the Pacific
coast than In the eastern states
Another evil which threatens the
boy is the habit of gambling, which
seems to be increasing.
Last, but not least, is the saloon. It
is, of course, one of the greatest evils
with which the boys of today have to
contend. You cannot run saloon with
out boys any more than you can run n
sawmill without logs. When the logs
give out the sawmill stops; when the
boys give out the saloon stops. Fathers,
have you a boy to contribute to keen
them running? If you object to your
boy patronizing the saloon, don't vote
to license 1t to tempt some other mans
boy to patronize it,"
In closing his address Mr.. Miller
made an earnest appeal urging those
present to accept the law of Jesus
Christ as the law for the personal life
He said that while he was giving
much of his time to getting good laws
passed by congress and believed in law
for the protection of society against
the evils mentioned, yet after all the
most important thing for the young
man is to accept Jesus Christ who
alone can protect him against these
evils or give him liberty from the bonds
of sin.