Blue-grass blade., 1892-02-06

one of the most prominent men
in his church was announced to
speak, and did speak; and when l
heard that he would not sign the
"million vote agreement, to which
Rev. Cody mistakenly refers in
his article, as my petition" I had
no doubt that he was opposed to
Prohibition. Rev. Cody was
about to pass Judge Stevenson and
me, just as the Judge had told me
that Mr.. Cody declined to sign
the agreement, and 1 stopped Mr..
Cody and said pleasantly, but
pretty earnestly, II am going to
put you on record" and I handed
him an agreement blank. He
declined to sign it, without any
explanation, and passed on. ]
had never met but one Prohibit
ZIONIST before who declined to sign
the agreement. He was an
avowed infdel, and man of the
highest standing and intelligence
He said he had voted for the Pro-
hibition Presidential candidates,
and expected still to do so, but
said it was a matter Of principle
with him never to sign any
pledge.
In my allusion to ministers who
would not sign the agreement ]
used the name of Mr.. Cody with
two others who declined to sign it,
because they were not Pm 10
tionists.
Wien my article appeared d
the Blade, I was told, TO my SUR
prise, by Judge Finnell, that Mr.,
Cody had voted for Prohibition
and intended to vote for the Pro-
hibition Presidential candidates
this year.
l at once wrote a note of apol-
ogy to him which was delivered to
him by Judge Finnell, with addi-
tional apologetic explanations, and
my published apology to Mr..
Cody appeared in the Blade, be-
fore 1 received the letter above
published.
Ifthis be regarded as an instance
in which / have attacked a min
lister on the smallest provocatioa
before receiving a word of expla}
nation on his part, with q merci,
lessness that is amazing" I will
submit whether or not Rev. Cody
was not, under the circumstances
under some obligation to give the
"word of explanation"
The statement or intimation
that l am opposed to ministers as
a class, or caste, can not be sus-
tanned from anything 1 have
printed or said, and 1 have said
that I do not regard the calling o.
a preacher as being as hi, and
honorable, and valuable, and
noble, as that of blacksmith: and
that the whole of America could
get along comfortably for a year il
every preacher in America would
60 to Europe and stay a year; bu
that business and social comfoI
and happiness would be blocked
if all the blacksmiths in America
should 60 to Europe and stay !
year. l now endorse and reiterat
all that, and add to it, that Fs1sI
persuaded the Christian 1i ~
as Jesus of Nazareth tau
would be immcnsefT&
just at once if there W. =
saJaried preacher, and conseqdtntl
ly professional preacher or priest
in America, and none allowed t.
come here.
Rev. Cody most radically mis-
conceives my appreciation of thi'
matter when he says that there il
in me a, "deep, but may be un.
conscious, conviction, that th,
hope of the country lies in tht
church, and not simply in tht
beautiful spirit of Christianity.
I have very deep, and a very
conscientious conviction that i
exactly the reverse of what b
supposes.
1 do not believe that there eve
was miracle. l am just as mucl
satisfied that Jesus had two nat
ural human parents as that / had
and l do not believe that he aroe'
from the dead any more than any
other dead man ever did; an(
whether he or any other man eve
lived or ever will live after death
is question for discussion, witt
the chances immensely agains
Immortality. But the esprit" o
the religion which he taught i
simply indispensable to human
happiness, and we will never carr,
Prohibition or any other measur'
that opposes the brute passion
and appetites of men, until mel
are influenced to do it by tn
spirit of the religion of Jesus o
Nazareth; and hence, as a Prohi
bitionist, 1 continually urge tn
precepts of the Christian religion
1 regard the liquor traffic q
the greatest of all crimes agains
the spirit OF the Christian religion
the late African slavery in Amer
lea not excepted. The Prohib
tion party is the only sensible Z
practical and organized effort tha
has ever been made to destroy th,
liquor traffic. Preachers are b,
the masses regarded as the custo
dians of the morals of the people
and therefore / say that a preache
who is opposed to Prohibition j
a bad dangerous citizen, and i
not fit to stand in the pulpit, O
in any way to teach the people
1t may be that his opposition t
Prohibition ls is the result of ig
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