Evening journal., 1908-07-15
NOTES ON TIE TOPIC.

Is not simply TO sign the pledge but
TO also open the heart TO the entrance
and renewing Of the Holy Spirit, who
viii so ill the heart with better de-
sires that II will not want to yield TO
the cravings Of appetite Thus the
way TO promote total abstinence is to
get what Amos r. Walls calls
the abstinence heart; that
is, the heart in which is so filled with
the Holy Spirit that there Is no desire
to yield to the tendencies which would /
drag us down, or to daily with the /
deadly foe Of intemperance by what is /
called moderate drinking"
To do its share in promoting total
abstinence every Christian Endeavor
Society should have a temperance
committee. Let this committee give
some temperance fact at every Chris |
tian Endeavor prayer meeting. Let
them report the progress Of temper
ance sentiment and laws; and they
will have much to report nowadays.
Let each society make much of their
temperance meetings, giving them to
the best leaders. Let thorough prep
.aration be made beforehand and make
the meeting shine.
Possibly there is no better way to
promote total abstinence than 10 get
people to realize the havoc caused by
the use Of strong drink, even the
moderate" use Of il, for II must be
remembered that every inebriate
starts with the idea of being a moder-
ate drinker without any thought OF
ever himself becoming a drunkard It
| is not necessary 70 go far from home
70 ind examples of this, and a wide
awake temperance committee would
have no trouble in securing plenty OF
facts not only in regard to the ruin
following the use of strong drink, but
also Of the benefits to the community
where prohibition prevails.
We all remember Mr.. Royal Ray
mond who did such splendid work in
our recent local option campaign here.
He received a letter last summer from
Germantown asking for a list Of coun-
ties east of the Mississippi and north
of the Ohio river, where the sale Of
liquor was prohibited. He decided to
answer the letter in person, and at the
address given, a comfortable residence,
he met the mother Of the young man
Whose name was signed to the letter.
land heard her sad story. II appeared
that the letter had been written in his
name by the promised bride Of the
lyoung man, who had been waiting for
several years for him TO reform sufi-
ciently for her to trust her life with
him. The young man had been raised
a Christian, and had been president OF
} the Epworth League Of the First
} Methodist Episcopal Church of Ger.
mantown, but succumbed to tempta-
tions that continually beset him. Al
the time OF Mr Raymonds visit the
son had been away for three days, and
the heartbroken mother had been
watching for him through every night
fearing that II he came home under
) the influence Of drink and found the
door locked he would go away and
! never return. Mr. Raymond spoke OF
Salisbury Nd, as being a dry" towr
2 In dry county and gave what en-
couragement he could.
That night the son came home and
said to his mother that he had come
to tell her and his sweetheart good
bye; that having disgraced them lonf
enough he was going to lose himself
in great city where they would never
hear Of him again. The mother tolC
him Of the visit she had received, anC
after much persistence got him TO gC
J ly afterward had the pleasure OF see.
ing both him and his mother safely OF
= the train to Salisbury
! This was last August The younl
! man has not lost day from his worl
since then. He has been promoted
three times and he has no trouble II
controlling his desire for strong drinl
as long as II is kept away fom him.
This is a feature Of the dry towI
that is not shown IN figures of IN
creased sales or lowered taxes Their,
are many in Wilmington to-day wht
realize that they are slipping righ
down to destruction, but powerless I,
stop themselves as long as the saloor
thrusts itself at them all over the city
In the spring term of court, 1907
Dover, Del, there were forty-one in.
ldictments found NJ. Hoffecker, tn,
jury foreman. made investigation and
found that thirty-four were directl,
due to drink, and that four of the re.
naming seven were indirectly due L
drink, leaving but three In which
drink did not figure In the sprini
term Of court. 1908, the first term aftei
Kent county had gone "dry" and rep
resenting the same period Of time, this
grand Jury found eleven true bills
thus making thirty cases less to b.
tried under the dry" than under Tho
wet" regime.
Mr.. Moore, an auctioneer near DO.
yer, was talking TO a man who lives
on a farm between Townsend and
Smyrna. Mr.. Moore asked how loca
option had affected business II
Smyrna, and received the reply that 4
had been OF great benefit TO that town
Previous to the election, he said h'
always did his dealing at Townsend
but since the closing of the saloons II
Kent county he went to Smyrna, be-
cause Of the fact that the saloon al
Townsend brought together such {
rough element that he considered 4
unsafe TO leave his team there for feal
something would happen to his horse
or something be stolen from his wagon
This is the way the saloon help:
business" and brings people to.
gether" It draws. the drinkers but
drives the real spenders to the "dry'
town.
Now these are not instances from
some remote part Of the country which
the writer has read about. but actua
occurrences right here among our Owl
people, which anyone can investigate
for himself. They show up the salooi
in all its hideousness. Let us do oul
share in driving It from our midst!
Christian Endeavor News
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