The Curse of Drink

Bill Sanford, once a first-rate railroad engineer and happy father, is victimized by bootleggers and soon becomes known as the village drunkard. His daughter, Ruth, a stenographer, is in love with her employer's son, Harry, but his father, Rand, opposes the match, though he consents to it when Sanford seems to reform. Ruth's mother arranges a celebration dinner, but Sam Handy, a rival for Ruth, tempts the father with bootleg liquor; he becomes intoxicated, breaks up the gathering, and brings about his discharge. To revenge himself on Rand, he mounts an engine attached to his special car with the intention of wrecking it. The lovers pursue in another engine, and Ruth effects a rescue. The reconciliation of the families and the arrest of the bootleggers resolve the situation.