Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-06-13
"Woes OF DPunksnnoss."

lowed up Of wine. they are out Of the way
through strong drink; they err in vision,
they stumble in judgment. Isaiah 1877.
Isaiah, most brilliant Of the Old Tesla.
ment poets. left many bright sayings on
record, but nothing superior to his de-
nunciation Of the drink habit. This was
the first temperance ermo ever deliver.
ed and Isaiah was the first prohibition
agitator. The lsraelites, as their history
shows, suffered much from the vice OF
intoxication. Noah was scarcely off his
ark until he became beastly drunk.
Pine fellow to start a new race with. It
was because OF their debauch at Shittim
with the Moabite women that '.Jehovah's
wrath was kindled" against the rioters
and TO this drunken orgy was due the
subsequent determination Of the indian.
ties. This first saloon row." as 1t may
we'll he called, was the prime cause Of
the most brutal. cruel and inexcusable
war record in the history of the ''ch0sen
people," After they had settled in Pal.
%estine, grape raising was the principal
agricultural industry. and they drank
entirely toe much OF their own wine.
BY the time Of Isaiah. which was in the
eighth century b.. c., it is evident that
drunkenness in its worst form was alarm
ingly prevalent. II will be noticed in
the extract above that not only the ]
people, but the priests and prophets,
we're addicted to strong drink and severe
ly denounced by the old Temperance re.
former.
T~wenty.seven eventful centuries have
passed since Isaiah delivered his sermon
ON the "Woes Of Drunkenness" and we
are still fighting the same awful curse.
The twentieth century sees a battle royal
in progress between the people Of the
United States and the entrenched forces
Of Intoxicating liquor. Never before
was the crisis SO acute. and never before
were the prospects 70 bright for victory
over the ''demon Of the still" The
coils are being closed around the mon.
ster in every State Of the Union, and it is
hoped in time that the life may be chok-
ed out of him entirely. The temperance
laws grow o and more drastic, and
the determination of the masses of the
people for their enforcement becomes
stronger and stronger every day. With.
in the last few months three Circuit
Court Judges in Indiana have decided
that the saloon is q nuisance, q fSe of
peace and morals, and that the State has
no right to license It any more than II
would have a right to license murder.
What is still more remarkable, two
Boards Of County Commissioners have
refused to license saloons on the same
ground.
1t Is pleasing to note that farmers as a
class are overwhelmingly on the side Of
sotriety in this titanic struggle against
the chief foe Of mankind and principal
obstruction in the pathway of civilizs-
ton. The rural districts are practically
all n ti.~saloon, and have either driven 1t
out or arc preparing to do 70. Soon
these denominations will he confined ex-
clusively to the large cities. There, We
are sorry to say, the vice skill fingers In
its worst form. Go to any fashionable
hotel between the hours Of II and 3
O'Clock and you will find we'll dressed
men and women IN cafes, eating and
drinking. There around abe midnight
table, enthroned between Bacchus and
Venus, drunken men hic cough out I'M
moral arguments and obscene jests.
There sharpers and bullies and hard.
hearted, i%rnprudeut debauclies nightly
hold forth for the edifcation Of the ris-
ing generation. Here may he seen
beardless youths, still In college, reeling
around the wine glass, while women OF
questionable character indulge in weak
laughter and maudlin applause. Here
the night. FOUNDERS. ''men of the Uorid.' -
the rake, the iibertine aud the roue, lie
in wait for the victims that are to be bait.
ell with wine. There are many Evelyn
Thaws who are not found out, who do
not get into the courts as q result Of muir
Ter. In every great city of this Union
there are to he found fashionable dens,
n Infamous a. that Of Stanford White,
where drunken orgies are INDUCED ia by
mem anil womsn with foreheads Of
bronas. hearts as har, as the neither mill
stone and tongues set on fire Of hell. =
American Farmer.
: -
Come 10 SEQ ins IL xau want 10 Loxso.