ds of the great English statesman, Joseph
Chamberlain:

"'If there is in this whole liquor business any single encouraging
feature,' he says, 'it is to be found in the gathering impatience
of the people at the burden which they are bound to bear, and
their growing indignation and sense of shame and disgrace which
this imposes upon them. The fiery serpent of drink is destroying
our people, and now they are waiting with longing eyes the
uplifting of the remedy.'

"Again, from the island of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa,
we hear the queen of that island declaring herself in bitterness of
spirit, in these words:

"'I cannot consent, as your queen, to take revenue from the sale
of liquor, which destroys the souls and bodies of my people.'

"The Hon. Carroll D. Wright, while United States commissioner of
labor, tells, from observation, of the slavery of strong drink in his
own country and in Europe. He says: 'I have looked into a thousand
homes of the working people of Europe; I do not know how many in this
country. In every case, so far as my observation goes, drunkenness was
at the bottom of the misery, and not the industrial system or the
industrial surroundings of the men and their families.'

"And so the testimony goes on. It is the same everywhere. There is no
need of more proof that strong drink is the world's greatest curse. To
every one of you boys, I am going to say that success in life cannot
come to you in its fulness if you ever allow yourselves to get this
deadly habit. Let it not break into the abode of your soul--and by
this I mean your own bodies--and make you depraved captives for
life. The first taste of strong drink, even though it may seem to be a
very little thing, may mean that you will become banished from God
forever. Remember, boys, that Satan is deceitful. He never tells you
the truth. He is always trying to juggle you with his jug and to make
you believe that black is white and wrong is right, and even that
sorrow is joy and 'a good time.' It is against those who would tempt
you that Jesus said, 'And fear not them that kill the body, but are
not able to kill the soul; but rather fear him that is able to destroy
both soul and body.' Such a destroyer is strong drink.

"As the years go by, you will find that you need all your energy, your
brains, and your physical strength to enable you to meet the problems
of life.