Newspaper Page Text
Banks County Gazette.
VOL 2.—NO. LI.
The Liquor Power.
The liquor traffic, of course, has
reference to parties who buy and sell
liquor. The following discussion re
lates die former, and only a few words
touching the latter.
According to the report of the
commissioner of internal revenue for
the year 1883, there were then in the
United States 206,970 liquor dealers
and manufacturers. Their saloons,
allowing twenty feet front to each,
would reach in an unbroken line from
Chicago to New York.
There is invested in this business
$1 ,000,000,000, so says good authority.
It is estimated that the annual liquor
bill of the nation is $900,000,000. So
great wealth in the hands of one class
having common interests and a com
mon purpose, is a mighty power,
and this power does not lack organi
zation. There is a combination of
all the dealers north of the Ohio,
from Washington to the Pacific, and
their success at Washington a few
years since, in securing legislation
which granted to whisky makers pe
culiar privileges according to no other
tax payers is sufficient evidence of
their power.
At llie brewers’ congress held in
Buffalo, July Bth, 1868, President
Clausen, speaking of the action of the
New York branch of the association
relative to the excise law of that
statu said:
Neither means nor money were
spared during the past twelve months
to accomplish the repeal of this dotes
ted law. Before the election 36,(MM*
campaign circulars were distributed
among the voters of different coun
ties. They held a convention and
adopted resolutions pledging them
selves to support only such candidates
who bound themselves to work for
the repeal of the excise law and there
by check the progress of the tem
perance party.
Let us look now at some of the
methods of tho liquor power. The
brewers favor boycotting. The fol
lowing resolution was passed at their
seventh congress:
Resolved; That we find it necessa
ry, in a business point of view, to
patronize only such business men as
will work hand in hand with us.
A b’acksmith who had served on a
jury which conicted a saloon keeper
of selling liquor contrary to law, was
employed by a brewer, and in conse
quence lost bis situation.
Jiy their own confession they spend
money freely at the polls. It is said
that the brewers of Illinois have spent
$lO,OOO to beat the temperance cause
at a single election.
The liquor lobby at Albany, N. Y.,
at the session of 1878-9 admitted be
fore a legislative committee that they
had expended about $lOO,OOO to in
fluence legislation.
If the stiff necked legislator could
not be induced to Vote directly
against temperance measures, or per
suaded to dodge, the cause would
prevail, but he is convinced that lie
is sick, threatened with pneumonia or
something else and unable to leave
his room. A sworn affidavit of the
doctor to this effect costs anywhere
from $25 to SIOO, accordi: g to the
size of the lie sworn to. These cases
of illness, however, never prove fatal,
and recovery is always rapid.
A senator was in great distress
about a mortgage that was being fore
closed on his house, amounting to
about $1,500. The man’s trouble
came to the knowledge of the lobby
when suddenly 'brie of the lobbyist
was missing and in a few’ days later
the senator received Lis mortgage
cancelled, through the postoffice. lie
never forgot the favor, and his vote
weighed heavy on their side in the
future.
Thus you see that the liquor power
corrupts public morals and defeats the
popular will. And this power which
does not hesitate to buy votes or in
timidate voters, to defy the law or
bribe its officers and comes to its
kingdom through political partisan
ship which enables it to make one of
the two great parties its slave and the
oilier its minister.
There is two things that can reach
the top of the pyramid—the eagle
and the reptile. In 1883 of the
twenty-four aldermen ot the city of
New York ten were liquor dealers
and two others including the presi
dent of the board were ex rumsellers.
The liquor power is a peril at the
east. Since pro-historic times popula
tion has moved steadily westward as
if driven by the mighty hand of God.
The world’s sceptre passed from Per
sia to Greece, from Greece to Italy,
from Italy to Great Britain, and from
Great Britain it is passing to a great
er power—to our mighty west, there
to remain, for there is no further
west. Beyond is the orient.
Like the star in the east which
guided the three kings with their
treasures eastward until at length it
stood still over the cradle of the
young Christ. So the star of empire
rising in the east has ever beckoned
the wealth and power of the nations
westward until to-day it stands still
over the cradle of the young empire
of the west, to which the nations arc
bringing their offerings.
God save the great west from the
domination of the liquor power.
A. A. White.
Hold Up Your Pastor’s Hands.
That successful winner of souls,
Dr. Payson, of Portland, organized
an “Aaron and Ilur society” in his
church; it was composed of zealous
Christian workers who were ready to
hold up their pastor’s hands. But
every church member ought to do
just that very thing; he or she ought
to imitate Jonathan when he “went
to David in the wood, and strength
ened his hand in God.” And I wi l
give you a few hints asto do it:
1. Keep your own seat in the sanc
tuary always occupied. If your min
ister can come to church through a
storm, so can yon; the same obliga
tion rests on you both. 1 never have
delivered a discourse strong enough
to move a parishioner who was loit
ering at home, or wandering off to
some other house of worship; nor
have I ever made any converts in an
empty pew. If a good reason keeps
you from the house of God, try to
find a substitute to occupy your seat.
The person you invited to attend
your church may find that sermon a
word in season, and that house of
God to be a “gate to heaven” for his
soul.
2. If the truth proclaimed from the
pulpit is adapted to the case of your
unconverted husband or wife or child,
then co-operate with your minister in
making that truth effective. It never
strengthens the hands of a pastor for
a church member to go home and
pick flaws in a faithful sermon, or to
dissipate its influence by trifling con
versation or some other conduct to
grieve the Holy Spirit. I have known
an unconverted husband to go home
from church deeply impressed by a
solemn sermon, and the whole im
pression nullified by the captious
criticisms and disparaging remarks of
his professedly (?) Christian wife.
The Holy Spirit preached to him
from the pulpit, and the devil preach
ed to him from the inconsistent wife
at home. Follow up every earnest
appeal made by your pastor by fer
vent prayer and by such kind words
as you can lovingly utter to the un
converted members of your family.
Half of all the good preaching in our
land is killed during the first hour
after the church service is closed.
Just imagine what the effect would
be if on next Sabbath all the mem
bers of any one church wore to follow
up the pulpit message from heaven
by fervid prayer and immediate pet -
sonal efforts for the conversion of the
impenitent. Let every church do
that, and we would see a revival from
Maine to Mexico. Yet that would
he only the discharge of a simple and
solemn duty on the part of every fol
lower of Christ.
3. For every member of Christ’s
blood-bought, flock is under just as
strong obligation to labor for souls as
any pastor possibly can be. Your
promise to be a witness for your Mas
ter is just as solemn and binding as
his promise. It is your church just
HOMER, RANKS COUNTY, GEORGIA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 22,1891.
as much as it is your pastor’s church*'
Christ's claim on you is the same as
his claim on your pastor. What gen
eral over gained a victory without the
aid of his army ? What could a Spur
geon accomplish without his great,
zealous, praying church behind him ?
Aaron and Ilur are as important in
their places as Moses. Charles G.
Finney, the king of revival preachers,
tells us in his autobiography that for
fourteen successive winters there was
a rich spiritual blessing brought down
upon a certain church, just because
it was the custom of the church
officers to “pray fervently for their
minister far into the night before
each Sabbath.” Those wise, godly
men felt their responsibility, honored
their embassador from heaven, hon
ored the gospel preached from his
lips, and God honored them by his
blessing.
4. Pastors ought not to be obliged
to rely on one or two or half a dozen
co-workers. Suppose that his “Aaron”
is sick and his “JJur” is out of town,
then who shall stay up his hands ?
And what sort of an apple tree is that
which bears all its fruit on one or two
branches? It is tho united move
ment of the whole regiment that car
ries tho redoubt; it is the united pull
of the whole church that sends it for
ward with the “li\ing spirit within
the wheel.” Peter preached a great
sermon at the time of Pentecost, hut
there had been some great praying
done beforehand in a certain upper
room in Jerusalem.
This brings us to the main point,
the clinching point of this brief arti
cle. Prayer is power. The conse
crated prayer of all the sincere, clean
living Christians in any church is con
centrated power. Turn all the latent
strength of every ton of coal on board
a Cuuard steamer into the sylinder of
its engine, and the piston will drive
that giant vessel to Liverpool in a
week: The cylinder of your church
the prayer meeting and (he other
places of prayer in the closet and at
the family altars. There the heat,
the power, the life of the church must
lie engendered. Your praying helps
your pastor preach. Your prayers
wing the arrows of the truth and
lend them into the sinners’ hearts,
l’rayer rolls away the stone behind
which dead souls are entombed like
poor Lazarus in his sepulcher. Prayer
brings the baptism of the Holy Ghost
and of fire. And ' when the whole
church besiege the mercy seat with
united requests, and back up their
mayors with personal efforts, then are
a pastor’s hands mightily strength
ened in the Lord.
If I know your minister’s heart I
feel pretty sure that he cares more
for souls than for salary, but don’t
cheat him out of either. Between the
two, he could stand an empty purse
better than an empty prayer-rooin.
The bitterest trial you can subject
him to is to make him spend his
strength for naught. The sweetest
solace you can give him, the most
exquisite joy you can send through
the core of his heart will be to rally
closely around him and give him the
mighty love-lift of your prayers and
your co-operation.—Weekly Witness.
Sub-Treasury Substitute.
A financial substitute proposed by
Senator George for the sub-treasury
warehouse scheme comes surprisingly
close to the plan The Voice has been
recommending. lie quotes Senator
Beck to the effect that the SIOO 000,-
000 of gold held in the Federal treas
ury as a reserve for the redemption
of $340,000,000 of greenbacks, iN
doubly sufficient for the purpose. He
proposes that an increase of green
backs, or treasury notes, as he prefers
to call them, be issued, until the
money in actual circulation reaches
$lO per caput. The mode of issue
lie describes as follows:
“Reduce or suspend taxation still
further, so that instead of a surplus
there will be a deficit in the treasury.
Let the surplus he oil the side of the
people, and the deficit transferred
from the people to the treasury. Let
this deficit be supplied by the issue of
treasury notes to the amount stated,
and let them be paid out in the ex
penditures of the government. This
is the way all government notes have
heretofore been paid out and get
among the people.”
This would provide for an increase
of greenbacks to an extent variously
estimated from $120,000,000, to over
$300,000,000, without any addition
to the gold reserve. There would be
grave reason to dread that distrust
and fear would be engendered at
once, by the banks and the capitalists
if this was done. Our plan contem
plates the use of all future purchases
of gold or silver as a reserve fund for
the issue of anew series of treasury
notes, in the same proportion as now
prevails, that is, three and one-half, or,
better still, three dollars of treasure
notes to each dollar’s worth of gold
or silver held in the treasury. One
third of this issue would be made in
payment for the gold or silver pur
chased. The other two thirds would
be issued as SenatorGcorge describes,
thus materially reducing taxation.
The senator’s plan provides for a
very limited addition to the currency.
Our plan would provide for a possible
increase to the extent of SSO per
caput. His plan would enable the
capitalists to throw doubt and dig
credit not only on the new issue, hut
even on the present issue of $340,-
000,000. Our plan would not, impair
to the slightest degree the present
issue, and would give to the new issue
the same unimpeachable credit that
the present greenbacks possess. The
plan would be safe, simple, unobjec
tionable ns to principles involved, and
sufficient to meet the requirements of
the situation.—The Voice.
Half and Half.
It is wonderful to wdiat shifts men
will resort to avoid the plain teaching
of the word of God. Even some of
those ordained to preach it. A Leices
ter England, pastor,.preaching lately
in London, said that “he would not
lik& to say that he believed in the
doctrine of eternal punishment. But
he believed that the future of the
man who was impenitent to the last
must he a dark and gloomy one,
whatever it might be, and the desire
to save men from such a future
should stimulate us to greater mis
sionary effort and increase our desire
to bring men to the knowledge of
Christ crucified.”
It may he that the preacher feared
prejudice among his hearers against
the clear teaching of Christ, “The
wicked shall go away into eternal
punishment.’’ There is more doubt
of tlie truth of Christ’s words among
English Congregationalisms than
among American.
It was not this that led him so to
speak, his remark was certainly r a
very anomalous one, and must have
left his hearers in a very singular
state of mind. Our Lord told the
Jews: “If ye believe not that I arn he,
ye shall die in jour sins, and whither
Igo ye cannot come.” Paul told the
Thessaionian church that vengeance
upon “them that know not God and
obey not the gospel” would be “pun
ishment, even eternal destruction
from the face of the Lord.” Clearly
these two declarations mean one and
the same thing, and “a dark and
gloomy one.” Did the London
preacher mean less than Christ and*
Paul? What right has he to teach
less? Did he mean that the man
“impenitent to the last” will go where
Christ went, and not “suffer punish
ment, even etosnal destruction from
the face of the Lord”? Then certainly
his future cannot bo “dark and
gloomy.” This is worse than tamper
ing with God’s revealed will from
fear of man and moral cowardice. It
is making God a liar, or else—what
is no better—his word is self-contra
diction. If the wicked do not go
away into eternal punishment (and if
(his preacher knows better than Jesus
Christ, and that he spake falsely),
then “there is now no condemnation
to them that are (not) in Christ Jesus,”
and we shall hear him say to those
“impenitent to the last,” “Come ye
blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom,” and yet their “future
will be a dark and gloomy one!”
What, then, of those who d:e peni
tent, believing, accepted, holy ? will
their “eternal life” be “dark and
gloomy” too? Can the saints escape
eternal punishness and yet suffer it
too? or something just like it? Or
is there something in eternity that is
neither an eternal kingdom for the
blessed of the Father, nor an eternal
fire for the cursed, and yet is some
anomalous, unscriptural future of
woe ?
It is high time the pulpit in Chris
tian lands had done with this shock
ing disloyalty to the God of Truth.
Whatever the cause of it, or the temp
tation to it, there is no salvation for
hearers in it. What impenitent men
dread is the exact penalty of sin, un
mistakably recognized by the Script
ures and the Savior, just that; and
no half-and-half punishment hereafter
will have moral power wiih them-
Scaling down the motives God’s mor
al government employs will never be
an improvement on the divine plan.
“Stimulate to greater missionary
effort,” indeed! If the reasons why
we should bring men to Christ are
less pr tent, or it is represented or
pretended that they are, will they
lead the Church to do more than if
they are more potent? Will the half
weigh more than the whole? Or will
the effort to whittle down God’s truth
make it “of none effect”?—Keligious
Herald.
The Bible.
A book which needs to be exposed,
demolished, and refuted so many
times, must have strange characteris
tics. If the gospel was a fable, it
would have been exploded long ago.
If the Bible contained only dreams
and fancies, it could not have surviv
ed the ordeal of criticism through
which it has passed. Man after man
has assailed this book with arguments,
with insinuations, with misrepresent
ations, and with falsehoods, but it
still stands firm, its walls buttressed
with the broken and demolished theo
ries of men who have butted against
it; as night birds dash themselves
against a light-house. The keenest
criticism of the ages only scrapes the
barnacles from the hull of the vessel;
the sharpest investigation only scours
the rusts from the sword of the Spirit.
After 1800 years of sceptical as
sault, the book still remains, and the
men who are now laboring to destroy
it may as well undertake to demolish
the pyramids of Egypt with a tack
hammer.
Infidels die, but this book still lives.
Scoffers fade like the flowers, and
wither like the grass, hut above their
graves this book marches triumphant
ly on, and on its pages we read in
characters of light, “The grsss with
eretli, the flower thereof falleth away,
but the word of the Lord endureth
for ever.”—lL L. Hastings.
Partners.
A sturdy little figure it was, trudg
ing bravely by with a pail of w'ater.
So many times it had passed our gate
that morning that curiosity prompted
to farther acquaintance.
“You are a busy little girl to-day?”
“Yes’in.’' The round face under
the broad hat w'as turned toward us.
It was freckled, flushed, and perspir
ing, but cheery withal.' “Yes’m; it
takes a heap of water to do a wash
in’.”
“And do you bring it all from the
brook down there?”
“Oh, we have it. in the cistern most
ly, only it’s been such a dry time
lately.”
“And there is nobody else to carry
the water?”
“Nobody but mother, and she’s
W’asliin’.”
“Well, you are a good girl to help
her.”
It w'as not a well considered com
pliment, and the little water-carrier
evidently did not consider it one at
all, for there was a look of surprise in
her gray eyes, and an almost indig
nant tone in her voice as she an
swered :
“Why, of course I help her. I
always help her do things all the
time; she hasn’t anybody else. Moth
er’n me’s pardners.”
We looked after her as she picked
SINGLE COPY THREE CENTS,
up her pail and walked on, bending
under her load a little, but resolute,
and with no thought of complaining
or shirking. A stout, old fashioned,
homely little body she was, but wo
called her mother a rich and happy
woman.
Did you ever think of taking your
mother into partnership, girls? of let
ting it be “our work,” instead of
“Mother’s,” and “our vacation,” in
stead of “mine” ? Did you ever no
tice how many demands there are
upon her in n day, and how many ot
them you might take upon yourself ?
Isn’t it possible that if you went into
partnership with her in regard to the
mending basket, she might be very
glad to form a partnership with you
in some of the reading you enjoy?
Did you ever think how much of re
gret aud privation might be covered
by that gentle “I haven’t time, dear,”
which you hear so often ?
Try Becky’s plan, go into part
nership with the dear mother in
work and pleasure, cares and confi
dences, and see if both members of
the firm are not the happier for the
union.—Kale W. Hamilton.
The Christ of the Bible.
The man who knows Jesus Christ
experimentally is-the one who most
loves and admires him. It is a great
accomplishment to come into a sweet
and saving knowledge of his grace
character, and life. lie is presented
to us in a way that we may know him
as our Friened, Savior, Exemplar,
and glorifier. lie is set forth most
fully and clearly in his work, that we
may learn who and what he is; and
he sends his Holy Spirit into the mind
and heart, so that we may obtain the
spiritual apd loving apprehension and
appropriation of him which render
him a real and living person to us in
our inner and outer relations. He
then appears to us an object of beauty
and delight and adoration and admi
ration and imitation, and the more
we thus know of him the more we
want to know of him. lie grows
upon us. We never tire of him. He
fills every want of our being; he suits
us in time; he becomes our “all in all”
in the way of future expectation, as
well as of present realization. For
this world and the next there is none
who so bounds and perfects the Chris
tian life as the Christ of the Bible, of
history, and of futurity.—Prcsbj te
rian Observer.
The prttty girl is a universal factor
in modern life. She possesses llio
advantage not only of ornament, but
of utility. She has been utilized in
an endless variety of ways. She has
become a howling success in the
operatic ballet, and is as conspicuous
and as original in front of a typewri
ter or behind a counter as she is on
dress parade in a big easy chair.
But it has remained for an enterpris
ing Connecticut minister of the gos
pel to introduce the pretty girl in a
new sphere as a church usher.—
Gainesville Eagle.
Well Said.
So long as the street is the only
playground for the children, the evil
spirits among their number—those
who rule in these hells—must exer
cise a powerful influence on compan
ions who, if they were granted better
surroundings, would escape contami
nation. lam prepared to say that
our chief work to-day should by done
among the children. Our strength
and our time are limited; w e want to
plant our blows where they will tell
most, to sow’ our seed where they will
have the best chance to grow'. A man
or a woman who has pursued an evil
course from childhood is almost past
help at twenty-five, speaking gener
ally; but the children can be saved.
They cannot, however, be saved by
public schools, nor y.t by Sunday
schools. They are not being saved;
they arc passing from bad to worse,
and nothing can rescue them but an
awakened Christian sentiment, that
will not pause till their surroundings
are such as will give the divinity
within them some chance to grow.—
Itev. W. S. Rainsford in Forum.