THE
CHEMAWA
AM ERICAN
31
ALCOHOL AND MY FUTURE
B Y P U P I L S O F V A R IO U S SC H O O L S
OLLOW IN G are several short essays by pupils of v ari
ous schools of the service on th e subject “ Alcohol and
My F u tu re :”
T here is one life to live on th is earth and why
should a y o ung man handicap him self by drinking?
W hat is left for him if he does? N othing! T h e man
who d rin k s can easily get a job d riv in g a garbage
wagon or cleaning stables but how m any young men with am bition do
we see at these jobs? It is no w onder th at there are so m any tram p s and
bum s today; so m any w hen asked, the reason of their flight will lay the
blam e on alcohol.
W e, the younger generation, m ust abstain from its
use for m any reasons, but the principal one is th at we are In d ian s and if
w hiskey is p u t o u t of existence then the Indian will forge ahead faster
than at present— K enneth K ing, Carlisle School.
Many accidents have occurred rig h t around here, caused by alcohol.
V ery often we hear of someone g ettin g h u rt or killed in a fight, w hile
d ru n k . It is the cause of so m any sicknesses am ong th e In d ian s, and
am ong the w hite people as well. M any of th e In d ian s have the habit of
d rin k in g . But T em perance Bands and Societies are organized and
m any of them have joined these bands. As we know and have seen the
evils of alcohol am ong our own people, let us then ask God to help us
save them from it, so th e next generation will not know th a t alcohol ever
ex isted .— V iolette De M arrias, Sisseton Boarding School.
A person who d rin k s alcohol is apt to say th in g s w hich he afterw ards
wished he had not said. Alcohol has stolen away his senses. He does
not care about rig h t or w rong. H e does not know his own friends.
H e loses all self-respect. H e forgets th at lm is a m an. He is an object
of pity and disgust.
Once a boy passed a saloon. H e saw a d ru n k en man lying in the
g u tte r. H e opened the door and said, “ M ister, your sign fell d o w n .”
T he saloonkeeper cam e out to look. H e chased him half way around
the square.
A great num ber of people live in need of food and clothing because
the money has been spent for d rin k . T h e parents who waste m oney on
d rin k cannot buy food and clothing to keep th eir fam ilies stro n g and
w ell. S trong d rin k causes m uch sickness and sufferings and som e
tim es even d e a th .— Russell H olliday, O danah Day School.