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Gospel Workers 1915
...Thus society is corrupted, work-houses and prisons are crowded with
paupers and criminals, and the gallows is supplied with victims. The
evil ends not with the drunkard and his unhappy family. The burdens
of taxation are increased, the morals of the young are imperiled, the
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property and even the life of every member of society is endangered.
But the picture may be presented never so vividly, and yet it falls
short of the reality. No human pen can fully delineate the horrors of
intemperance....
The Cause of Moral Paralysis
How can Christian men and women tolerate this evil? ...There
is a cause for the moral paralysis upon society. Our laws sustain
an evil which is sapping their very foundations. Many deplore the
wrongs which they know exist, but consider themselves free from all
responsibility in the matter. This cannot be. Every individual exerts an
influence in society. In our favored land, every voter has some voice
in determining what laws shall control the nation. Should not that
influence and that vote be cast on the side of temperance and virtue?
...
We may call upon the friends of the temperance cause to rally to
the conflict, and seek to press back the tide of evil that is demoralizing
the world; but of what avail are all our efforts while liquor-selling is
sustained by law? Must the curse of intemperance forever rest like a
blight upon our land? Must it every year sweep like a devouring fire
over thousands of happy homes?
We talk of the results, tremble at the results, and wonder what we
can do with the terrible results, while too often we tolerate and even
sanction the cause. The advocates of temperance fail to do their whole
duty unless they exert their influence by precept and example—by
voice and pen and vote— in favor of prohibition and total abstinence.
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We need not expect that God will work a miracle to bring about this
reform, and thus remove the necessity for our exertion. We ourselves
must grapple with this giant foe, our motto, No compromise and no
cessation of our efforts till the victory is gained....
What can be done to press back the inflowing tide of evil? Let
laws be enacted and rigidly enforced prohibiting the sale and the use
of ardent spirits as a beverage. Let every effort be made to encourage