The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1912-07-16
Hattie K. Neuenburg Gives
Paper on Liquor Question
At Union Meeting
CONDEMNS THE BUSINESS
Tells Amount of Money Spent
Each Year in America For
Drink

a Union home missionary Society O
9 Renville county. Her paper follows
: Is the saloon a good thing?
J Yes, for the saloon keeper. tn
J brewer, the distiller, the gambler
the criminal lawyer; for these ant
their likes the saloon is a good thing
But is the saloon good thing?
No, for the man who drinks up hi.
wages there. no, for his wife anC
child. No, for the father and moth
er whose son begins to sow his wild
oats in some licensed resort and
winds up in physical, mental and
moral suicide. No, for the young
woman who marries the man she
loves to reform him. For these and
for every healthy, wholesome inter-
est of every community, the saloon
is not good thing, but a very bad
thing eternally.
Surely in this day and age there
can be no question about intoxicants
doing harm. Strongdrinkin ancient
days was harmful and in these DAYS
when men have learned how to
adulterate it and make it more poi
sonous. by the use of drugs, it is far
more ruinous to those who drink it.
1t not only urfits man for work
but drains his purse as we'll.
Statistics show that the drink bill
of the u. S. in one year amounts to
about two billion dollars. These
81 600, 600. 900 were earned by hard
labor in the field, shop, factory, etc,
and given for something that brought
no returns. No good returns, but
endless evil returns. The saloon
keeper and distillers live in luxury
because of the $4,000, 900, 900 for
which they gave nothing worth hav-
ing.
q man long noted for intemper-
ance was induced by John Abbot to
sign the pledge in his own way.
which he did in these words, Il
pledge myself to drink no more in
toxicating drinks for one year" At
the end of the year he appeared at
the meeting without having touched
drop of liquor. When asked by
Mr.. Abbot if he would sign it again
he replied. II will if / may in my
own way" Upon which he wrote,
Il pledge myself not to use liquor as
beverage for 999 years and if out
live this I'll take out life's lease"
A short time after he signed the
pledge for the second time he called
on the tavern keeper. who welcomed
him back to his old haunt. "Oh,
Landlord" said he, as if in pain. 81
have such lump on my side"
That's because you amt drinking"
replied the Landlord. you won't
live long if you don't start in again.
"Will drink take it away?" asked
the temperance man. Yes" was
the reply, land if you don't drink !
again you'll soon have another one
on the other side" Pouring out
several glasses of whiskey he said,
Come on, let's drink together"
mo, thank you" replied the re-
formed man. IF keeping the pledge
brings another lump, will not drink
again, for these Jumps are after all
not so hard to BEAR" Then he drew
a bag of gold from his side pocket
and left the saloon keeper to reflect
for himself.
1t is said that in the u. S. alone,
100. 900 persons give up their lives
annually because of the supply of in
toxicating drinks to say nothing of
all the misery caused, and the thou
sands of other lives wrecked by it.
1t is the duty of every Christian to
help uplift the fallen brothers and
sisters and do all he can to help the
temperance cause. A mother must
do more than pray. She must in
still in the child's mind hatred for
this evil and the awfulness of it.
She must be the young boys COM
rade and stand by him. In times of
temptation she must not forsake or
desert him to attend to her other
duties any more than an engineer
deserts his post and goes into bagg-
age car to read up engineering when
the train is pounding across the
country at 40 or SO miles an hour.
Not more than two months ago the |