Mexico Missouri message., 1908-02-27
WEIGHED In THE BALANCE.
A Catholic Clergyman Flags
the Saloon Business.

/ '''hNN AOi ~ huhipSA Va gNoiot NNAAN
cred a poweral address at Brook
field recently favoring local option
and among some things he said
were the following:
And in that night was Bel
shazzar, king of the Chaldeans,
slain"
"A banquet was proclaimed in
the palace. The lords and ladies
had assembled The flash of jew
el answered the blaze of gem as
lord and lady drank sparkling wine
from goblets, and pledged the
health of the Chaldean king. The
revelry heightened, the wine flowed
more freely. Now the 'Huzza,
huzza, long live the kingn was
heard. The blood, lashed by the
whip Of wine, leaped madly through
the purple channels of life. Now
the fecked lip, the unsteady hand
and the staggering step; now the
bleared eye and leering aspect of
king and subject, under the spur
of the demon drink. The night
wore on. Now modesty is thrown
to the wind and ribald jest and
drunken jeer and laughter fill the
air. But look, look on the fresco
of the wall, the hand of God is
tracing out their doom. Now the
invading army beats back the
guards, who are powerless to de-
fend the palace gate, rushes in and
puts to death reviewers and
the king. Lord and lady lie down
in bloody death in one confused,
disheveled heap, while tankards of
wine spilled out their contents to
mix with human blood. And in
that night was Belshazzar, king of
the Chaldeans, slain
Il arraign the rum traffic as the
greatest curse the age Of man has
known. It's pallor is on our nation
and its blight is everywhere. You
may ask, where do ] stand' You
have a right to know. Creep up
close to the heart of God, who hates
every evil thing, ask Him where he
stands and put me down on that
side. Or, if that is too much trou-
BILE, go to the poor. pale faced wo-
men, ragged and half-starved chill
dren, the innocent victims of this
accursed traffic, ask them where
they stand, and put me down there.
Or, if that is too much trouble, go
out to your cemetery and, creeping
in among the graves of the victims
Of the demon drink ask yourself,
as you contemplate their ruin,
where, in the name of all that is
holy, a man should stand. When
you have your answer put me
down there
Il stand here tonight giving no
quarter and asking none, conscious
that ] am sustained by heaven, in
dOrsed by every good woman and
every honest man in all the land
and that even the angels of heaven
encamp about me, but if should
stand alone here / should stand,
conscious that one and God is a
ma -jOrity.
II arraign the GalOOn as the
greatest criminal of the age. II
has sunk a thousand ships on every
sea. 1t has hurled 10000 vessels
against as many reefs and rock
bound shores. II has slain more
victims than all the wars and pla'
CUES. It has ruined more senators
than gather annually at your ma
tional councils. II has slain more
lords than sit in the house of peers
Il arraign the saloon, asking nj
; quarter and granting none, because
its pallor is ON our nations lif'
: and its curse is on our land. Be
. hold a wedding. A lithesOme
/ merry maid and a strong and man
I ly man start life's lane hand il
hand and heart to heart. II is
/. happy home. Their music is tn,
= | n.