SHALL I BET?

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 11, 1904

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 30, No. 19.

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"Yes!" shout 20,000 bookmakers; "for we live on the losses."

"No!" cry half a million of fathers, mothers, wives; "that's how the misery of our home began."

"Yes!" whispers covetousness; "you may win money more quickly than by working."

"No!" answers prudence; "very few win in the long run."

"Yes!" urges selfishness; "you will have easy times if you are lucky."

"No!" replies conscience; "others would suffer for your ease; you may drug me for a while, but there will be remorse afterwards."

"Yes!" say the sporting newspapers; "you will buy us more eagerly."

"No!" rejoins duty; "you will neglect me, and employ your thoughts elsewhere."

"Yes!" laughs the saloon-keeper; "betting men are my best customers."

"No!" murmurs the savings-bank; "they seldom patronize me for long."

"Yes!" votes the drinker; "what should I do without you?"

"No!" sighs the prison governor; "my jail is filling."

"Yes!" mutters the devil; "it's a short road to hell."

"No!" commands your Maker; "do as you would be done by. Strive to be honest and pure. Do not try to be rich by making others poor. Work for honest wages. Keep your self-respect. Do not imperil your soul for a price."—Unidentified.