The freeman. (Parkersburg, W. Va.) 1886-18??, 1886-08-18
Prohibition Sermon.
By REV. L. Z. PETERS, OF CLARKs-
BURG, w. VA.

said unto Haman, the siluer is giv-
en- unto thee, the people also, to do
10Th them as seenseth good in thy
sight"
The Jews at this time were in
captivity in Babylon. Hannah had
been promoted to high honors at
the Persian Court. The people
were bowling before him and doing
him great honor. Mordecai, a Jew,
refused to pay him this reverence,
This greatly incensed Hannah, and
he sought to take revenge, not only
on Mordecai, but on all the Jewish
people. He therefore obtained a
government license to put all the
Jews to death. This brutal act is
shocking to the sensibilities of a
Christian people. A sovereign
King giving one man authority to
murder the peoplel But stop; we
have here in our Christiaa( p
America, a parallel, the license
of the murderous liquor traffic.
Let US point out the analogy. How
is the license Of Hannah to kill like
the license to make and vend ar
dent spirits7
l. Both are granted by sovereign
state. This, we maintain, is con-
trary to the functions of govern
ment. Civil government is simply
the instrument of civil society-to
make, adjudicate and execute laws.
Laws are for the protection Of the
good and punishment of the evil.
The laws that license the liquor
traffic reverse this principle and
protect the evil in the destruction
of the good. The license of Hannah
will ever remain blot on the Per-
sian Government. So the license
of the liquor traffic is vile stain
on the State or Nation that issues
it. Shame on the Nation that IL
censes one class of its citizens to
destroy the homes of it's people,
and expose it's defenseless women
and children to the destroying en-
envy, the rum power.
2. In both cases the plea for the
license is revenue. Hannah said:
81 will pay ten thousand talents of
silver to the hands Of those that
have charge of the business to
bring it into the Kings treasury"
Blood money A Nation filing
up it's treasury from the spoils Of
it's own people. Is not this what
our government is doing? Filling
up its treasury with the money
that raghJully belongs to innocent
and defenseless women and chill
dren. This it does when it enters
into partnership with the MUIR
derous liquor traffic.
3. The object of the license of
Haman was the destruction of the
Jewish people. The object, indi-
rectly, Of the liquor traffic is the
destruction of the people. Where
is there a greater destroyer than the
rum power? 1t destroys the Ma
ton physically, by wrecking the
bodies Of its citizens. 1t destroys
mentally, by filling our lunatic
asylums. 1t destroys morally, by
filling our prisons with criminals.
1t destroys financially, by sinking
annually over s9OO,OO,0OO. This
Nation of ours pays ten times as
much for rum as for education.
Three ffths more than for bread.
1876 times as much as for the sup
port of the Gospel ministry, and
1850 times as much as for Christian
missions. But all this and much
more is taken from the spoils of
the injured. Haman felt that be
could afford to pay a"high license"
FOR his privilege, when he had a
Nation to spoil and get returns
from.
4. Neither the state that grants
the license nor the person to whom
granted makes anything thereby
in the end. The Persians, by this
rash act of the King, lost 1900 |
citizens, and Haman his life. The
laws Of righteous retribution will
turn upon these offenders Of justice !
and wreak their vengeance upon
them for spelling Gods innocent
ones.
z 90 Ill $50 IL -