Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1888-02-04

meetin0." Come, sir, did you not saw il?
If necessary we will put that third party
on the witness stand, that 'in the mouth
of two or three witnesses every word may
be established"
Now, if the gentleman believed this, rs
he said he did, why did he make use of
this language? Hoo does this compare
trith the principles Of these gentlemen toho IrdRt
to lead the people Of Wheeling in the wOrk Of
reform p" / repeat, it turns out that q
man who has assumed the honOrs of the
ministerial Office, who stands in one of the
pulpits of our city as q preacher of the
Gospel and a teacher of morality, in order
to advance the interests OF an ubiquitous
business and protect an institution that
lives upon the vices of the people, has
dared to call in question the integrity of
men who are his equals, at least N point
of intelligence, and his superiors in moral
ity and sobriety,
But again, the gentleman asks: "What
do you favor, prohibition or temperance"
and then follows with a Latin quotation.
Since the days of my early boyhood l have
pursued the study of Latin with pleasure,
and with some degree of success, but |
shall not show my Ignorance aud expose
myself TO the criticism aud ridicule of the
reading public as my good brother has
done. 1t il a universally accepted fact
among men of culture that when a man at
tempts to display his great learning. as my
brother has attempted to do, he has but
little TO display. / shall try to use feTer
Latin prOrerbS and more logic.
But let US return to the question, What
do you favor, prohibition VI temperance"
| answer both; temperance for the drinEer
and prohibition for the manufacturer and
seller. favor the ObseI vance of the Chris
tian Sabbath which the liquor fraternity
of this land are desecrating and are deter
mined if possible to destroy ] favor the
improvement Of the public morals and the
protection of the homes of this State
against the ravages Of the saloon. | stand
SO uarely upon this ground with thousands
of other good citizens in this State who
have never bowed the knee to Baal, but are
praying and working for the overthrow OF
this dtrocious and diabOiicdi business.
But what, l ask, does Mr.. Ulfert favor?
We find him on the other side advocating
and defending this nefariOus traffic. A
traffic that is robbing the State, bringing
poverty aud misery to thousands OF homes,
flling the dives" of this city with prOsti.
tutes and the penitentiary with criminals.
And now, / ask, should not a minister OF
the gospel of Jesus Christ, who advocates
the interests of such AL institution, hang
bis head in the presence OF an intelligent
and decent public.
But the good brother tells US he is mot
a Methodist" and s,"has another point OF
view" Certainly this fact is apparent to
everyone who is at all acquainted with the
rules of the Methodist church. And
have the honor to say in behalf of the
church which / represent, that if the
brother were a member, he wOuld be re-
ouired either to repent of his sin and prom
Use reformation, or else change his church
relations. We know too that u dear
brother is not a Catholic" When we
call to mind the able temperance address
delivered by Bishop Kahn a short time ago,
in which he condemned the conduct Of the
saloonkeepers who keep their places OF
business open on the Sabbath day. And
writing on this subject the Bishop said
But instead of disputiug about the differ
tnt reasons which actuate Us in the Observ-
ance of the Lords day, is it not better to
Join forces against the common enemy who
would violate the sanctity OF that day.
And certainly the brother is not a German
Lutheran, for the Rev. Mr.. WeTder is re
ported in the REGISTER as speaking
against selling Intoxicating drinksOn sun
day, against II eating and keeping open af-
ter midnight" Now my dear brother you
are not a Methodist, you are not a Catho-
lie, you are not a German Lutheran. Pray
tell US, what are you?
But again, our brother feels that did
him q great wrong in referring to the
principle of anarchism, an error into which
he had fallen through his bad logic. Evil
IDENTIFY he has misunderstood my meaning,
for he says, What a wonderful discovery
for Wheeling, made by my dear step
brotherl Rev. ElfeTU Is an anarchist. |
said, "to assume that every mar must be
left to follow his own reason and con-
science would break down all law and
oyerturu all government" ard this is an
arciiism. | was not finding fault with
Mr.. Ulfert at this point, but with Mr.. u
fert's logic. I give the good brother credit
tor heing better than his argument. He
was unfortunate III the statement OF his
premises, but if his premis are false and
they are he must'accept the conclusion,
l desire Just here to call attention to his
argument. He is discussing this PROPOSE
ton, Prohibition and Personal Liberty
upon the basis of Gods word" On this
subject he says, Liberty ia the power not
to be compelled to follow the inclination
of our animal nature but to follow the
voice of reason and conscience" God
leaves mai to fOhlOW his u WdyS, proves
him, admonishes him, restraints him by
tribulatiOn, but leaves him the full free
dom of his will" Now to put his argu-
ment in the form OF a syllOgiSm it wOnld
appear thus:
|. All men are free beings.
>. Cod leaves every man 10 follow his
own ways Therefore, the State should
allow every man to do as he pleases.
Now this is the argument Of my good
brother. Every man must he allowed to
do a. lie pleases. The rum seller, the
thief, the assassin, must all be left to dc
as they please. / repeat, this is anarch,
ism. 1t is license and not lib&Ity. 1t
does away with all law aud upscts all gov,
eminent.
And now the reverend gentleman tells
us that the ProhibitioDists cannot under.
stand his argument" | am not surprised
at this 1t is evident tn every thoughtful
mind that he does not understand it him,
self. but why can't We understand the
brother? Is it because Of the classic lore,
his deep metaphysics or his profound phil,
osophy? | trow not. 1t il because the
whole argument from beginning to end is
as clear as mud.
But again, my dear brother seriously Oh
jects 10 tie use Of satire and reminds Us
that fear and sheer are lot arguments. -
And this time he quotes from Horace
Dihciie est sdtirdm non ScribcTe. Bat, my
brother, what is satire, and when should il
be employed? Let Mr.. Webster answer
Satire is a keen or scCere exposure of what
in public OF private morals deserves re-
buke" | reply to this objection, not
with u quotation from Horace, but Solo
mon. He says, Answer a fool according
to his folly lest he he wise ID bis own con-
ceit."