Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-08-01
DIR. j. ID. Smith in Tennessee Method

Dr. j. ID. Smith in Tennessee Method
ist.
In Tennessee Methodist of
June 10, our good brother, Rev.
j. Il. Millican, of Turkeytown,
Ala, takes us severely to task
about some things we have nei-
ther said nor done. He started
out by saying that he was going
to deal with the attitude of Christ
ian voters towards political par
ty advocating the abolition of the
licensed liquor traffic. But if he
, ever touched that question the
type setter overlooked that page
of his manuscript. He says that
VIC "insist that the delivcrancc
(of the General Conference binds
every Methodist to vote with Il
political party advocating Prohi-
bition. We would like for our
good brother to point out the
chapter and verse in our writings
from which he draws that en-
phatic but unwarrantcd statement.
As much as he seems to question
it, we hold that as a Southern
Methodist we have a ri ght to
quote the deliverances of the Gen
eral Conference of that Church,
or any other subordinate Con
ference; and that when our Gen
cral Conference declared ours to
be "emphatically a Prohibition
Church," and "opposed to all
forms of license of this 1iquor)
iniquity, whether the same be
high or low,' our Church, in its
highest official capacity, not as Il
political but as Christian body,
declared in favor of Il great prin-
ciplc, based on the one hand upon
the plain teachings Of God S word,
i and on the other hand involving
IL business, the licensed liquor
traffic, that Families, dictates to
and largely controls the politics
of our country. And farther,
that the way to make good the
declarations of our Church on
this question, is for the individ
ual members of it to vote for nc
man to make or execute laws who
is not in favor of abolishing tn,
license system so severely Y con
demned by our Church without
regard to present or past politica
affiliations. Instead of forcing the
Church into party politics, this
would be placing her individual
membership above party politics,
and would secure from then
greater respect for the deliver
anccs of their Church than they
have for the deliveranccs of any
particular political party.
But we may be told just here
that such Il course would necessa
rily result in new politica
alignment. Well, we believe that
it would ; but any new politica
alignment that results from right
doing is always beneficial and, il
to sustain the position of oul
Church on any question at tho
ballot box is wrong, the Church
ought to crawfish. What says
our brother to that proposition
And then, which church member
has the most politics, and the
most dangerous politics, the one
that will ignore any party and
and vote for men only who rep.
resent correct principles, or the
one that sticks to party when he
knows that the policy of that par
| ty and the sentiments of its can
didates are antagonistic to the
principles he claims to advocate! T!
We may be told that there arc
other questions besides the liquor
traffic that divide our country.
Yes, but if they are equal in i'm,
portance to the liquor traffic, why
did not our General Conference,
as we'll as our Annual Confer
ences, speak out on them. There
is not one of them more deeply