Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-04-03

work of murder and death. How
can we 90 to the heather with this
cancer of worse than heather in
fanny fostering in our bosom!'
What an arraignment is this.
Can the "Christian law givers'
enter any plea except that of gull
ty, and can Christian voters fail
to see that they are PARTICLES
CRLMINIs.
They unite, it is true, in de-
manding a prohibitory law, but
they do not agree in support of
men to enforce it, or even to en-
act it.
They readily declare in favor
of total abstinence for the indi-
vidual, and for legal Prohibition
for the State, but after SO dec1ar-
ing large portion of them 60 to
the polls and vote the ticket of a
party that insists that the saloon
shall be licensed.
They petition earnestly for pro
hibitory legislation, and in most
cases perhaps vote for local option
and constitutional prohibitory
amendments, but when urged to
support a man or a ticket that de-
clarcs f0r Prohibition and its strict
enforcement, large numbers of
them find some reason for dcclin-
ing.
They adhere to the cold par
ty' and "straight ticket and
the Irregular candidate; and then
they 90 forth saying: "Prohibi-
tion is, without doubt, the best
thing; but if we cannot prohibit,
we must try to restrict. :
In the month of June, 1888,
the board of managers of the
Missionary Society of the Mctho-
dist Episcopal Church, in view of
certain communications received
from India missionaries, adopted
and caused to be forwarded to
the imperial government of Great
Britain an earnest protest against
the licensing of the social evil in
India.
Their action was unanimous
and emphatic.
How strange it would have
seemed if some member of the
board had arisen and said: 'fThe
social evil is greatly to be deplor-
ed, but since Great Britain can
not prohibit it in India, she does
well to regulate, to license it
The divine word, which says
''Thou shalt not commit adulte-
ry,' also says, "Woe unto him
that giveth his neighbor drink,
that putteth thy bottle to him and
maketh him drunken.'
If we may "regulate' the lat
ter, may we not regulate the
former.
If we may vote for men who
favor the licensing of one, may
we not also vote for men who fa-
vor the licensing of the other!
Neither of them can be legal
lied without sin.
One of the clearest notes from
the Ecumenical conference at
Washington was that sounded by
Dir. Nicholas: "The church can
no more ignore or compromise
with intemperance and the liquor
traffic than the social evil or 9TH
ers forms of immoralityn'
When the missionary board
voted unanimously for the adop-
tion of the protest above referred
to, no one was surprised.
But surprise immeasurable
would have been given to multi
tudes if, upon candidates being
presented to members of the above
board for their sufrages, they
had voted for such candidates as
favored the licensing of the social
evil rather than for those who op-
posed it.
And so, while it is not surpris-
ing that Christian men should
pronounce "license' to be "vic-
ious in principle and powerless as
a remedy it is more than sur
prising-it is amazing-that they
should cast their ballots for any
man who is committed to that
same "vicious principle of Ii
cense.
The sad experience of the past
ought to teach all churchmen the
lesson which saloonists have learn
ed so perfectly ly-namely, that men
o..o ,a =.