Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1893-08-08

| BeaAt VA 'hC W. Nh 81 tftftE7
we had written. Hence, leaving
out the literal quotation of Prov
26:5, we determined to answer
the brother by quoting his own
unkind expressions with such
comments as would exhibit to the
reader the animus that seems to
lprompt that class of men who
preach, pray and talk prohibition
and then stand ready to knife
man who dares to discuss the
great fundamental principles VI
and practical methods for secur-
ing Prohibition. Our effort had
its intended effort; for whatever
was lacking in our criticism of
the unkind thrusts and dOgmatic
assertions contained in his first
article is fully supplied in his
three column article of July 13,
in which he comes in again with
his same old saloon coined phras-
es of "Pharisaical' and "fanati-
cal", just as though he thought
the world did not know that ''fa-
naticism'' and minority had al
ways been synonymous terms
with the bigot John Wesley wa.
a fanatic when his followers were
few; but the same class Of biyots
who called him fanatic then are
loud in his praises now. But
Brother Millican says of him
self: "Silcnce shall be one of my
crowning virtues; eternal silence
shall be my watchword." Just
what is to become Of the Memphis
Coference, and of the Tennessee
Conference, and of Chancellor
Garland, now that this ''eternal
silence" as a "crowning virtue
is declared we are at loss to
know. They all seem to have
stood in silent wonder and amaze
ment while brother Millican was
championing their cause and max
ing mince-meat of their traducer
who was grossly misrepresenting
their Church and placing them in
Il false attitude; but now "eternal
silence has suddenly become
''his crowning virtue and they
are left to take care of them
selves.
And now, in the conclusion Of
this duty performed, we desire to
say again: we would most cordial
ly thank any brother, or gentle
man for a kind, courteous, frank
criticism, of any part of the Sc
ries of the seven articles we wrote
for the Tennessee Methodist, or
of the article that followed under
the heading ''Shall We License
Drinking Saloons for Il Price,"
in Tennessee Methodist of June /.
These productions are the result
of many years of hard study and
close investigation of the liquor
traffic, and have been worked out
of the crucible of thought, grain
by grain, until they have so crys-
talized in the mind that it will
take an argument to either modi-
fy or get them out. If any broth
er or friend has that argument
at hand, we are entitled to it, But
if a brother has not that arsu-
ment on hand, he has no right to
undertake to bore us for the hol-
low horn with liquor loaded
gimlet. Nor do we care to be
bored by one so silly as to say
that Church is political Church
when its individual members vote
for men as law makers who are
against liquor, and will, if elect
ed, legislate against liquor; and
that such Church is not polit-
ical Church when its individual
members vote for men as law
makers who are for liquor, and
will, if elected, legislate for IL
lquor. Neither do we care to be
bored by one who thinks the in
dividual members of the Church
ought to divide in their vote be-
tween liquor candidates and anti
liquor candidates, for fear some
friend of the saloon and ambassa-
dor for hell may say, "The
Church has gone into politics.
This hue and cry about the
Church going into politics is Ell
ther Il hypocritical lie or down
right ignorance. The Church is
in politics every time her individ-
ual members 60 to the polls and
vote for men, either to make or
to execute laws. And the only
thing involved in this whole con
troversy, is, as to whether the
individual members of the Church
when doing their political duty at
the ballotbox, should vote politi-