Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-10-19
TEMPERANCE ADDRESS,
By Rev. ]. R. Laughton, at White
Stone Anti-SaloOn League 0cto.
Der 9, 1000.

and my friend, DIR. Oliver, requested
me to address you on the subject of
temperance, or of intemperance.
hardly know which term to use, as
they lie alongside of each other. and
one carries with it the other. While
L was casting about in my mind for
suitable line of thought upon
which to speak to you, my eyes
CHANGED to fall upon these words IN
an editorial in our Nashville Chris.
tian Advocate, the general organ of
the Nj. E. Church South.
"ln our temperance crusade there
seems to be need of getting back
again to first Irinciples-namely, to
condemnation of the sin and the dis
grace of drunkenness. We have
exploited alcoholism as disease and
deprayed appetite, as symptom, we
have thrown the blame on the saloon
keeper and on the brewer and ex-
cused the drunkard, till the man who
thus makes a beast of himself is
coming to believe that he is more
sinned against than SHINING. This
is false. Drunkenness is a most sim
full sin. 1t is the deliberate abroga.
tion of manhood and of mans re-
sponsibilities. There is absolutely no
excuse for it that excuses the man who
gets drunk. Let him bear his blame" ("
These are wise words and true
ones, and also timely. They are
fundamental. We may theorize about
the drink habit and handle it scien-
titically, and devise all manner of
treatments and "cures" for the disease
ESQ .called), and all the time men and
boys, yea, and women and girls, are
contracting the dread disease" and
are dying In its grasp. We may
legislate and legislate about intem-
perance; we may raise the licenses
mountain high, "piling Ossa upon
Pelion;" We may fine those who sell
the damniDg stuff until the court
clerk grows weary of recording the
fines-and yet the accursed traffic
will continue in defiance of law, and
upon our land and upon our homes
will rest the whitening blight.
We must get deeper than that.
There must get into the minds and
hearts and souls of men an adherence
of drink. They must get to hating
it. Instead of loving it they must
loathe it. Years ago l heard tenn
perance lecturer tell in vivid language
the story of his long, hard fight with
drink. Hewas commercial travel
er, and his struggle was an intense
one. He tried remedy after remedy.
Said he: 81 tried the Kelley Cure
time after time, but with no lasting
success. l regained my manhood and
became sober again only when / felt
the conscious power of Jesus Christ;
and the Calvary cure wrought for me
what the Keeley Cure and others
could never do"
My brethren and friends, / am
here today to tell you what / firmly
believe, and what the word of God
teaches: That drunkenness is not SO
much disease as it is a great big
SIN; that it is a sin because it is a
transgression of the law of God being
directly and absolutely and funda.
mentally opposed to the law and
spirit of God and of>Christ; and that
the solution of the liquor problem i:
fonnd-not in legislation, not in
theories and speculations, but where
the solution of every problem il
found-in the holy word of God. Get
people converted, and you will see 8
mighty falling off in the whiskey
traffic. Don't you think the devil
is wise enough to foresee that? That
is why, through his agents, he strive;
so necessarily to kept he business 60
ing. So long as the warfare be-
tween temperance and intemperanc,
is warfare of wit--of brain agains
brain, of strategy against strategy
of planning and counter-plannins
so long as it is nothing NOR,
than that, Satan and his hosts will
gain the advantage every time. w,
must ascend higher. The weaponl
of our warfare, temperance workers
ye who name the name of Christ
"the weapons of our warfare are no
carnal, bat are mighty through Go,
to the pulling down of stropgholds.
alt is not by might nor by power
not by wisdom of man, that we ma,
hope to win in this great fight, "bu
by my spirit, saith the Lord o
Hosts" 'Our wrestling is not agains
flesh and blood, but against the prin
cipalities, against the powers, agains
the world-rulers Of this darkness
against the spiritual hosts of wicked
ness in the heavenly places. Where
fore be strong in the Lord, and il
the strength of His might. Put ol
the whole armor of God, that ye ma
be able to stand against the wiles o
, the devil-with all prayer and sup
pllcation praying at all seasons in th
! spirit, and watching thereunto in al
perseverance, and application"
L plead this afternoon, not for les
of worldly wisdom in dealing wit
this great and vital problem--w
need all We can get of it and we wan
more-but / plead for more of hea,
enly wisdom; for a more earnes
consecration to God; for more fait