The weekly true Democrat. (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1905-1912, 1907-07-05
DUKE ON DOPE
AND OTHER EVILS.
Tampa Baptist Preacher Gives Hi
PeapIs Plata Talk.


church at Tampa recently, in the pas
tors unequalled style. The speaker
said in part:
'In olden times fortified cities were
guarded by sentinels who gave the al
arm when an enemy approached. It
Is also the duty Of the minister to
sound the note Of warning on the APP
"Ours is a rapid age. It is an age
Of dope, for we are following in the
steps of the sleepy Chinanlan. II is a
nervous and impetuous age. Nervous
prostration Is fast becoming popular
THE dope" EVIL.
There are three kinds Of dope. Opt
um is the oldest of all and dates back
one hundred years before Christ. 1t is
the most dangerous, powerful and per-
manent OF dopes. It's victims are the
hardest of all to cure; in fact, It is
practically impossible to effect cure
without medical skill. If you doubt
this statement read DeQuincy's Con-
fession of an Opium Eater.
Opium has been and Is still one of
the most bencficent drugs in its proper
place, alleviating pain and suffering;
but allow it to get the upper hand and
it becomes a monster. 1t makes q
good servant, but a powerful master.
THE VICTIMS.
al have known two msnisters Of the
gospel, bright intelligent men, who
were addicted to the opium habit. One
was suicide, and don't know that
the other is not so by this time. When
| last saw him, he was q thief, a liar,
an outcast and drunkard.
Although opium Is called king, per-
haps because it is the Oldest and most
powerful am persuaded that cocaine
Is the most subtel as well as the most
popular form of dope. Men in position
to know declare the ravages caused in
the last 25years by cocaine are alarm
ing. Physicians say they meet with it
in their practice every day.
COCAINE FIENDs.
"There are hundreds Of cocaine fiends
in Tampa, unconscious, perhaps, but all
the more in the tolls because Of the
Coca-Cola is the dope that has them
bound hand and foot. ] am reliably in
formed that Coca-Cola contains l-70
grain of cocaine to each glass At any
rate, you men know full well that it Is
an easy thing to start the habit. There
is one middle-aged man in this church
tonight who has been accustomed to
dope for headaches; now he finds that
he has TO have the drug regularly at a
certain time every day, Physicians
say that Coca-Cola is worse than wine.
A Coca-Cola drunk is the most hor-
rible and crazy of anything which man
is heir to.
cigarettes are dope No. 3. Some
one may sheer, but perhaps know
more about il than they think ] do. At
the jamestown Exposition there Is
large firm having display OF cigar
cites. They fastened TO inform a
crowd of ministers who approached that
this firm was the only one which came
up to the government standard in con-
tanning no opium of any description
But thew said nothing about arsenic,
which is contained in the paper used
Ninety-nine out of hundred, or, at
least. "a out of % brands IT smoking
tobacco are soaked in a solution Of OPP
ium.
WHY HE OBJECTS.
IL object TO a cigarette smoker be-
cause he looks bad-and smells worse.
am unable TO understand how ladies
are able TO put up with such man.
But the worse objection is the ply
siological and moral effects upon the
person, for a cigarette fiend will cheat,
steal and get drunk. A young man
once took issue with me on this point
Done with you, he said. 1t is not
so. have been a cigarette smoker
regularly for ten years, and ] am able
20 say that your statement is totally
false. IL is calculated TO reflect on a
mans character Three weeks later
the man was found dead under his own
porch by his own hand, with cigarette
between his fingers. he had EN- bez-
zled large amount from the bank in
which he was employed which he was
unable TO replace. All the time he had
been disputing with me he had been
lying, for he had been doing the very
thing which ] said A Judge in New
York says that out of every 35 boys
com ing before him, 33 are cigarette
smokers.
DIME NOVELS.
Now. as TO dime-novels, want 70
apologize TO this audience for some of
the remarks l shall make, for ! do not
wish 70 diminish the love Of reading.
The public Of Tampa is not really a
reading public. partly because q large
part Of our population IL foreign and
partly because the commercial interests
Of the city keep the citizens constantly
chasing after the dollar TO the exclu-
sion Of every thing else And the pol
iticians haven't helped us any. The