Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1912-03-06


governments. are established to gov
ern, and if the governments are es
tablished to govern and if the gov
ernments do not protect virtue, pri
vate interests will govern and pro
mote vice. They have learned thai
abundant governing will be done
by somebody; and that they have
resolved that the governing shall be
done by the government,the common
instrument of the people, to reinforce
the temperance work that is being
done in the homes and churches of
good people to promote virtue and
prevent the human race from going
down again into anarchy and bar
barism.
Since alcohol is the great evil
which is causing this great agita-
tion let me tell you some of the
many awful effects Of alcoholism
in every sphere of life and thus con-
vince you that we have great reason
for this world wide agitation. First
let's imagine real true advertise
ment sent out by a saloon keeper,
and then consider again this agita-
tion: My business is to manufac-
tture drunkards, paupers, lunatics,
beggars, criminals and dead beats"
for sober industrious people to sup
port. Being well backed up by the
law I add to the number of fatal &C
cidents, of painful diseases, of dis
graceful quarrels, of riots, and of
murders. My liquors rob some of
life, many of reason, most of pros
perity; and all of true peace, to
make fathers fends, wives widows,
and children orphans. l cause young
women to lose their purity and
young men to become loafers, swear
ers, gamblers, and ''lewd fellows of
the baser sort" prefer to make
boys and girls to become drunkards.
On two hours notice I. agree to put
husband in condition to reel home,
break the furniture, beat their
wives, and kick their children out |.
Of doorss and / make good working +
men Beeoins tTEn2s If d man Is (
Ihell. lean FIJI orders prem pts 81
Ifevers, consumption, or Dellriur,
Tremens. l want to bring all men
to Debt, Disgrace, Disease, Despair,
and Death. Before very long | sent
people to the poor house, the asy-
lum, prison, or most likely to the
gallows." Who pays the license
and all other expenses of the saloon
keeper? Often men do not want to
associate with saloon keepers, but
is it a good thing to vote for HIM
to do bad thing? If it IS bad
thing to be a drunkard, is it a good
thing to license men to make drum
kards? People who GO into saloons
wish to be screened in from the
rest of the world but he never OBJ
iects to being seen at church. Is 1t
RIGHT to vote for a thing which no
decent man can defend? We must
answer mo" to these questions, so
we readily see why we want to BEG
everybody to see the right. Again,
shall we prohibit the slaughter OF
buffaloes and license the butchery
of babies: Shall not the Cry OF the
child and the mother be poured IN
to the ear of the state, which is the
ballot box, and the power of moral
suasion be supplemented by the
strong arm of the law? Are the dev-
il and his minions weighing our
arguments or counting our votes:
Shall the throne of iniquity have
fellowship with thee, which frame
mischief by law?" (Ps. 94:2oJ
Are we not commanded in the
Bible to remove stumbling blocks
from the ways OF others: nus III
this agitation we are trying to re-
move stumblingSSblocks. Christians
can aid in this agitation by making
Christ's law, their law, and by en-
forcing this law.
Alcohol is a great wrecker of
homes. If every gallon of whiskey,
if every flask of wine produced,
should be taxed a thousand dollars
it would not be enough to pay for
the tears it has wrung from the
eyes of widows and orphans, nor
for the blood it has dashed on the
Christian church, nor for the ca
tastrophe of the millions it has des-
, troyed forever.
!, Let us sketch two scenes OF
: homes that we often see. The first
! is as bright as home can be. The