The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1885-05-08

sponsibIe for tile Liquor Trahic."
The following is a condensed report Of
an address delivered on April 18th. iii
elickering Hall, New York, by Rev. Geo.
K. Morris, d. D., who viii be remember
ed as a former pastor Of the N. i. Church
in Woodstown. It is worthy Of and Will
repay a careful p~erusal:
Our position on this platform, and on
all temperance platforms, is that somebody
is to blame for The liquor trafic-that some
where an awful responsibility rests which
sometime must lie met face to face IN hand
to-hand conflict. No one Will take the
position that the guilt rests upon the liquor
dealers and The Gqaar-dealers alone, aud in
a merely individual sense. No: everyone
understands that 10 some degree this is a
wrong and a crime for which the public is
to some extent responsible.
CONSENT To S MORAL EVIL rSeorRAeEs
Il EYIL.
What are the necessary effects Of the
publie'> consert to 3 moral eyil2 The
first effect is to give encouragement to
those engaged in prosecuting that evil. if
men having bad and wicked purposes to
execute in a community were 10 be met
by an alert, indignant and armed public
opinion. determined to thwart them. and
crush them II necessary. they would be
discouraged at once. and there would be
an end to their parposed evil doing. But
if these men were to be regarded by the
public with indifference, or at best mastery
inactivity, how else could it happen bat
that they would feel encouraged 10 go on ?
How else could it happen but that the
wrong would be established in that com
munity on a basis as firm as the everlast-
ing hillsa
THIS CONSENT REDUCES THE PUBLIC cox
SCIENCE.
"A second efiect Of the public's consent
to a moral evil is the decentralization Of the
publie's own nature. 1t is not possible for
an honest man, a pare man to consent to q
piece of v%illainy, a piece Of immortality.
To give your consent to anything known
to be evil is to bring yourself down to the
level Of that evil thing. The attitude Of
consent to a bad thing cannot be taken by
any man who stands a single degree above
it. Take a familiar example. suppose I
pass my neighbor's barn and see smoke
pouring out through the door. did not
light the torch-no one can call me an in
eendiary. Bat i'll 20 on my way without
giving an alarm and doing my best 10 ex-
tinguish the flames do not give my con
sent to the destruction Of his property?
do l not fail in my duty2 am ! not a guilty
wretcb9 And if it is r Of the individual
that the attitude Of consent to what is
wrong reduces him to the level of the
wrong, is it not also true Of society? [
would have you make careful notes Of this
proposition, for | assure You it may well
afford trouble to many easy eonscienees.
The public is responsible for all that it con
sents to, and it is never above the level Of
a bad thing which it permits to exist in It's
midst.
If that is true, then the question arises,
WHAT CONSTITUTES CONSENT?
I for n would be glad to wash my hands
Of all share or completely in all that is not
right. Wouldn't yon9 Wouldn't every
man and woman Then let Us inquire
what IS consent, lest we be involved nm
knowingly to ourselves. I need not say
tlat If tine question eoas, SqaareIy to You,
and You say yes thei is consent. But
without saying sla4rely yes, you can
place yourself ii an affirmative attitude
which will render you just as guilty. Take
again the illustration Of the burning barn.
applied no torch, l gave No nod to the
~ncendiary; bat here is the fire and in my
hands is the ability To put it ont If | do
not do it, that establishes consent. 50 I
lay down this proposition: thar II any man
has the power to arrest wrong and does
not. lie is guilty. And by an easy step,
any community that has the power to ex-
terminate an evil and does not. IS response
bic fer the harm that it does.
again, let us grant that there are some
Evils THAT cANSoT BE DIFFERENTIATED.
Grave writer's who control that great en-
CINE of good or evil, the public press, and
who throw only "a corner Of their mind to
the consideration Of this question which
with you and me is one Of the most impoT-
tant now current. take the position that
the liquor evil cannot beput out. and there
fore that serious men are not to trouble
themselves about it. And 50 We will
grant for a moment that there are certain
evils which cannot be entirely extermina-
ted. Now murder Is one Of these and theft
is another. Governments have been try
ing in vain 10 e~xtiuguish both BY reprcssiye
statutes ever since the world began. Bnt
government and society are net RESPONSE
HE for them. since they take tie attidude
Of intolerance toward thcm-of absolute
repulsion. doing their best 70 make them
utterly disrepntahle and hidcoas things