Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-04-10
RECKLESS EDITORIAL.
the Mistakes of the y. q. Christ
ian Advocate.

The eternal years OF God are hers
But Error, wounded, wTiiheS in pain.
And dies among his worshiperS.'
Before the reader proceeds to read
what is here written Gf he has not pre-
viously done sol, we would like for him
to turn to the article captioned,
zone Phase of the Temperance
Question:" copied from the New Or
leans Christian Advocate of March
18th, and carefully read that first. Ia
ken altogether it is the most remarka-
BILE editorial we remember ever to have
seen in a religious journal. DIR. Black,
the editor of the Advocate, says that
the article was written n.the interest
of Temperance, which we will not ques-
ton: but it is so misleading and mani
testify unjust to party Prohibitionists,
we cannot let it pass without having
its principal errors and groundless as
sertions exposed.
The first thing we will notice is what
DIR. Black says about the position, on
Prohibition, of the Methodist Episco-
pal Church, South, and the deliverance
of the General Conference on this sub
ject. Referring to the attitude of the
church on the liquor traffic, he says:
There are three methods of suppress
| ing the traffic. viz: Local Option, State
Prohibition (either by Statutory enact
ment or Constitutional Amendment
and National Prohibition" and then
he adds: '!Now the General Conference
| in its deliverance on the subject has
not prescribed any one of these meth
DDS as the only allowable method; it
has not even expressed a preference
between them"
Certain circles" are then rallied at
for constituting the utterances of the
General Conference as if they were au-
thoritative utterances in favor of Ma
tional Prohibition and after referring
to his especial facilities for ascertain
! ing the temperance sentiment OF the
/ last two General Conferences, he clinch-
es his argument with the triumphant
assertion that National Prohibition
would hardly have had a handful of
supporters in either"
Notwithstanding what DR.. Black says
it may throw some light on the subject
to quote here, rerbdtim, the first two
paragraphs of the Temperance Re
port adopted at the last General Con
ference of the Methodist Episcopal
Church, South. The language is as
follows:
/. We are conrinccd If any more od-
runced position is possible for any
Church gang position 'ce mean hdtcomes
withm the prorince Of a ch"rch) hdn
the one rhich the Methodist Episcopal
! Church South occupies today upon the
questions Of temperance and prohibition,
our membership is ready at once to take
1t.
Ue are emphaticaly a Prohibition
Church. lie stand ont squdreiy and
before the whole arorld, certainty IN the
orr, and for the most part IN practice,
for the complete suppression Of the L.
| quor traffic. We offer no compromise
to, and seek no terms from, a sin Of tbs
hcinous quality. We are opposed to al
forms ofljcenSe Of this iniquity 'chetheT
the same be "hiqhn or "low." 1t can
not be put so "hiqh" that the prayers Of
Gods people for its suppression 'ciH not
rise aJore it, nor so "lor," though 1t
makes its bed IN hell, that the shrieks Of
the souls lost through its accursed agen-
cy mW not descend beneath it.
We do not claim, like DR.. Black, to
have had any special facilities" for as
pertaining what the temperance senti-
ment of the last General Conference
was, but we do claim to have some lit
tie knowledge of our mother tongue,
and if the above language means any
thing. it means that the Methodist
Episcopal Church, South, is "Prohl-
bition Church." and that it is ready to
take any legitimate step necessary
however extreme-in order to annihi-
late the traffic in alcoholic liquors as a
beverage. 1t is true, as DR.. Black
claims. that no special method was sim
gled out and approved, nor was there
indeed any necessity for this, because
the Conference had right to assume
that the members of the church pos
sessed at least modicum of lntelll-
gence and loyalty to God and the
church, and that when it came to choos-
ing between Prohibition and license
Prohibition candidates and whisky
candidates-license parties and anti
license parties-that they would give
their votes and influence on the side
becoming the representatives of "A
PROHIBITION CHURCH"
Though we do not mean to insinuate
that he has wilfully attempted to mis-
construe or give other than the plain
Interpretation and manifest meaning
to the language of the General Confer
ence, DR.. Blacks Interpretation forci-
bly, reminds one of the Interpretation
"practical" land treacherous) Demo-
cratic politicians have been giving since
the last election, to the Chicago plat
form. Tariff Reform" may mean any
thing from free trade to an average
tariff duty of So per cent, and "bimet-
alism" ANYTHING from the free coinage
of S;Iyar 70 the suspenSion of the coin