The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1907-09-19


three years ago, was aggitating go
ing from the open saloon to the dis
pensary, the thought OF revenue for
the town was in the back ground, but
dared not be brought to the front.
But see how bold sin makes men. To-
dav some of the leading churchmen
in this town do not hesitate to say,
1--WE cannot abandon the dispensarv
because we need the revenue that ac-
crues to the town from it," In the
mama of high heaven, Christian
friends, what are we coming to when
men OF intelligence, men OF refinement
and men of wealth can say, 1--WE
must have the revenue from a dis
pensary to run our schools, and pave
our streets, and build our brick walls,
and work our roads" when that rev.
enue is the price OF the blood OF some
mothers boy. And while those moth
ers and wives pay the price OF blood
to run our schools and pave our
streets, in many cases they are kept
at home with insufficient clothing to
enable them to get to church, and
with scarcely food enough to stay
the hunger OF themselves and their
children. And when the schools open
in the town and in the county, many
such mothers are unable to clothe
their children sufficiently, or to put
the necessary shoes on them to keep
their bare feet off the frozen ground
or off the cold pavement until they
can get to the school buildings that
they may get their part of the awful
revenue.
Yes, the revenue comes, but COO
knows it comes out OF the wrong
mans pocket. Those who pay that
part OF the revenue get almost no
benefit from it.
The getting OF such revenue is an
inhuman shame that is crying to the
very heaven, as the blood OF Abel
cried from the ground against Cain
who slew him. l cannot believe it is
right to run our schools and pave
our streets in that way, land [ cannot
believe that any other man with a
spark of Christianity who has given
it a serious thought does believe it
is right. Gods word says, "Woe unto
them which justify the wicked for re-
ward, and take away the righteous
ness of the righteous from him! There
fore as the fire devoureth the stubble
and the fame cOnsumeth the chaff,
so their root shall be as rottenness,
and their blossom shall go up rs
dust; because they have cast away
the law of the Lord of hosts. and de-
spised the word of the Holy one of
Israel" Cast Gods law OF love to
the wind and trample upon your fell
low man if you will; but just SO sure
ly rs you do you will pay for it out
| of your own homes, and with your
own blood.
There is no otherev on earth that
has led to SO much poverty and want
and misery and heart aches as the
liquor traffic The traffic is evil and
only evil continually, in any form.
1t also tends to increase almost ev-
cry other evil Nine-tenths of the
crime produced in America today can
be traced directly to this sinful traffic.
The hunger, the want, the wretched-
ness, the misery, the woe, the quar-
rels, the feuds, the blows, the blood
shed; the wrecked homes, the loss oil
manhood, the sobs and heartaches
of womanhood are all largely due to
the curse of the rum-tratfi". A er'at
many people are ruined by it, and
none OF you will dispute these facts
1t is like Il great deluge, sweeping
away people and homes, and running
the virtues of a country, and bring
ing in vice and crime The little boys
as they prattle about our Christian
homes seem perfectly safe from such
a curse; but alas, they are not, be
cause some Of our leading churchmen
and in some instances our Sunday
school teachers, are still calling evi
good, and good evil.
Every man that has been ruinel
by intemperance was once a young
and innocent child, and had mother
who loved him as dearly as you ever
loved your own sweet babe, and who
perhaps prayed as earnestly, that b,
might be man true and tried, a:
you ever prayed for yours. The mar
who would deliberately ruin anC
wreck the name and character o
your innocent daughter, would b'
dealt with as criminal, and would
likely answer for it with his life. II,
ought thus to answer anyway. Ant
yet this Christian community in tn,
name of Christianity sets up public
| ly a veritable hell-hole for the pur
pose of running and blighting limo
cent boys, and damning them etern
ally, and processes to be doing right
because the State says it may b.
done. In the one case the crime j
committed by an individal, and i
stamped out as wrong. In the othe
case the crime is committed by ;
community Of individuals, and is up
held as right. But Gods law is tn
same for the individual and for tn
community OF individuals. You can
not make a decent thing out of al
indecent thing, simply because ,
community Of individuals is behin'
it. You cannot make a human
thing out OF an inhuman thing,
don't care what you call it, nor hos
many people back it.
! The dispensary can no more ru
without grinding boys than the flou
/ mills can run without grinding whea,
! or the saw mills without cutting logs
J That is not an open question at al
: everybody knows that the boys mus
be furnished. The only question i.
whose boys shall they be? Have 70
q boy to spare? l knew you hay
8 not; for no one expects his boy t
3 caught. But as you love your ow
7 boy, and would save him from til
5 awful curse, for lows sake, for God
4 sake, step absolutely over on the sid
: OF temperance, and help other p;
D rents, it matters not how poor the
are, nor how low they have gone
D the scale of humanity, help them
D save their boys from the curse. TT
poor drunkard's boy is worth 6