He also declared that there was no neutral ground between virtue and vice—between supporting and opposing this source of evil; that we must be either for or against it.
He concluded with an appeal to the people to save themselves and those around them from the fangs of the serpent and the sting of the adder, and to organize at once an army to fight unto death this monster, Intemperance.
A pledge was written and laid upon the desk; after it was read and a few words of explanation given, all who wished to join the society were requested to rise and give their names. Quite a number of men, women and children instantly responded to the call; among them were several tipplers and two hardened drunkards, whilst the moralist and the moderate drinker refused to aid in the work of reformation. There can be no doubt that these persons were “stumbling-blocks in the way of sinners;” and the position taken by them sealed the fate of more than one poor soul. And there were also elders and deacons, class-leaders and gray-headed Christians, unwilling to deny themselves of the “lusts of the flesh,” but went with the “customs and maxims of the world”—taking their morning dram, their favorite bitters, and with themselves, training their families in the way leading to drunkenness and death!
After the people had been dismissed, those who had given their names signed the pledge with their own hands, and organized a society, by electing officers and framing a constitution for the government and permanent efficiency of the same. Upwards of sixty put their names to the “Declaration of Independence” of the tyrant, “King Alcohol!”
This was a glorious beginning—and the wives and children of those tipplers and drunkards who joined, shed tears of joy, and their hearts overflowed with thankfulness to God and His messenger.
