The Republican journal., 1916-04-06
Drink, Father Of All crimes.

oral of the Holy Cross last night, the
Inlrd night of their weeks mission, the
Rev. Father Angelo, C. P, declared:
inns degrading evil is the feeder of
vice, the generator of poverty, the pa
rent OF lunacy, the fomenter of dissen-
sion, the propagation Of enmity, the in
stlgator of lust, the suggester of murder,
the hurier every year of 100, ZOO men in
America into the drunkard's grave, the
destroyer of society, the father Of all
crimes, the father of all denominations,
the best friend of the devil, the worst
enemy of God.'
Worst of Demons.
Every seat in the Cathedral was occu
pied. It was the largest attendance so
far at the mems mission.
Among all the demons in hell onlv
one can rob you of your manhood-the
demon alcohol said Father Angelo.
The demon of pride may so blind YOU
as TO deny the existence of God, but you
are still man. The demon OF lust NAV
SO inf1ame your passions as to make YOU
Waiiow IN all manner of sensualtiy, but
YOU are still man, but the demon of
drunkenness lays hold of you and de-
prlves you of your manhood, degrading
J
''The almighty created man to his own
image and likeness. This image of God
in the nature of his soul is in an especial
manner constituted by the intellect to be
sublime and lofty, and by the will so
divine and God-like in its operations
The dignity of men lies in this, his in
tellectual nature, which distinguishes
him from the brute. Take it away, and
he is like brute, no longer has he that
quality which makes him like an angel.
Injects Venom in Mind.
"Now, when man drinks to excess. he
robs himself of his intellectual nature.
and thus deprives himself of that noble
prerogatve that distinguishes him from
the brute. Alcohol injects Its venom into
his mind, disturbing and suspending it's
power of action. 1t rushes the blood to
the brain and causes Whirl of thought.
In his frenzy he gulps down another cup,
which creates confusion, and another,
which completes total suspension of rea-
son, destroying the vital operations, both
of soul and body.
ooh, grow no trees near the tomb of
the drunkard, for the hideous and eternal
gloom that settles there is shade enough;
plant no rose, no jessamines, no forget
me-nots on the grave, for flowers were
not made to bloom on such desecrated
spot. Visit it rot in the light of day,
for that would be mockery, but in the
dismal midnight hour, when no stars are
out, and the moon is darkened, when the
thunder rolls and the lightning flashes,
when the spirits of darkness are shriek-
ing and bowling in the winds. Then,
and only then, visit the grave of the
drunkard.
A Curse on the Home.
"Once the drunkard had a magnificent
home. He had happy family by the
freside. where blossomed the flowers of
domestic happiness. He was the sturdy
oak, she the clinging vine, the little chill
dren the fragrant flowers blooming be-
meath. That home in which the husband
loves the wife and the wife loves the
husband, and the loving arms of the little
ones are around the necks of both, is
heaven in this world. Now that oak is
blasted, that vine is withered, those flow
ers are dropping. That once happy home
is wrecked and desolate.
1.-The demon of drink came to the door
and opened it and stood on the threshold,
and in hellish laughter exclaimed, 4
CURSE IIldl IlOIIlG lIltO WTGtCuGuUGSS. l
curse the bread of the table. | curse
that home with an eternal curse Alas!
Alas! that curse has fallen upon it. The
husband is confirmed drunkard. The
tavern is his church, blasphemies are his
prayers, the demon of alcohol Is his god.
In his wild passion for drink he gulps
down that fiery fluid, which sparkles with
adders, glows with destruction and foams
with the fire of hell.
Leech in Society.
drunkenness is leech in society,
sucking its life blood, leprosy, cover
ing its members, cancer slowly, but
surely eating into its vitals, threatening
degradation and ruin. 1t is vast con-
fiagration, girding our cities and towns
with a chain of eternal fire. 1t is
tornado sweeping over our country, fill
ing with victims, jails, reformatories,
poor houses and asylums. Its pillows
are rising holder and higher. undermin-
ing civil society, battering down the laws
of the government, whose arms it para
lyZes.
statistics clearly show that every
year in the United States 81, 400, 900, 900
are spent in alcoholic liquors. 1t has been
proven that no less than 5000, 000,0 are
required to meet the consequences that
arise from drunk enness. All this waste
full expenditure includes several millions
in loss of time and in destruction of ma
terial, so that no less than So, 400, 900, 900
are annually swallowed up in this coun-
try by the demon drink
Bride the Appetite.
"Be there any one here addicted to
this abominable vice, on my Bonded knees
l implore you in the name of your tenn
poral and eternal happiness, in the name
of that sacred day when you knelt at the
altar of God and promised in the pres
ence of men and angels to be faithful to
your wife, in joy or sorrow, in sickness
or health; in the name of the tears of
your inconsolable wife, in the name of
the sobs of your weeping children, in the
name of your sweet little babe that now
slumbers at home in it's cradle, in the
name of that neglected grave in the Gene
terry where sleeps your broken-hearted
mother, in the name of that great &C.
counting day, when husband and wife
and parents and children shall meet
again, to be eternally united or separat-
ed, in the name of the sacred thirst en-
dured by your Saviour on the cross,
beg you bride the unrestrained appetite
for drink, and with one strong and un-
conditional resolve, dash from your lips
the accursed cup of liquor"