The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-01-02

~tinction, and the children of Christians are
no dearer to their parents than are the
children of Jews to their parents, or than
the children of the millions who are neither
Jews nor Christians are to theirs; hence,
whatever movement is made TO suppress
the saloon should enlist the sympathies
and this s~egregating of church people from
the mass of citizens and assuming that to
the the e s1pnrass,on alone is the committed ga1ded
is the worst possible policy. 1t
is bad, if for no other reason, because that
portion of voters included in the phrase
THE church is in a helpless minority.
The eloquent speaker gave the number as
1900, 00O, which is the conclusion from the
carefully prepared statistics of the census
of 1890. But there are more than 100000
voters. How can 100000 control 1900, 900?
And in this 100000 are included the Ro-
man Catholic vote. Now, while the Cath
olics are engaged in temperance work with
In their church with a zeal and success
that should shame all other denominations,
they can never be counted on to vote
against the saloon unless the Democratic
party should turn against it, a conting ency
not likely TO happen soon. Besides, it is
well known that not nearly all who are
counted in this number believe that pro-
hibition is the best possible method of deal
ing with the saloon problem, and scolding
at long range cannot convince them that it
is nor force them to adopt it. Conceding,
therefore, to the very utmost that the
moral work of educating the young TO
abhor intoXicants, and of retaining those
VINO nave gone aStray is an important part
of the work of the church, and noticing
with regret that of late this work is sadly
neglected in the absorbing zeal for pro-
hibition, l wish to emphasize the thought
that a crusade against the saloon is not
the work of the church as such, any more
than the church Is an organization to ex-
tinguish fires or to enact and enforce laws
to prevent typhoid fever or diphtheria-
Fires and plaques know no distinction be-
tween saints and sinners. They assail all
alike, and saints and sinners should, as
fhOU W. We hn Tnnkn- ~ 44.,- L.
resisting them, and least Of all should
saints segregate themselves and propose
methods of resistance along whose lines
they would work or not work at all. The
mansions of the rich and the novels of the
poor, the homes of the lawyer, the doctor.
the preacher, the mechanic, the farmer and
the wage Garner are all equally exposed
to the ravages of the saloon. and one and
all can be enlisted in a crusade against the
enemy of all, if all are equally allowed to
choose the method of attack. as thew choose
the method of extinguishing fire or fighting
epidemics-let the majority determine the
present method. and let the majority. when
better educated, change the method as ex-
perience may suggest.
L have but little hope of any substantial
PROFESS against the saloon until the line
attacking force is thoroughly reorganized.
1 would not muster out a single preacher
constrain them to be more worldIy-minded
in their methodist least worldly-minded
enough TO recognize the fact that the sa-
tOOAA 10 VI AAS 1NI III 0IA II dllI luIl Il NIH
never be suppressed by piety alone. nor bv
h~igh-sounding aphorisms such as Mr.. Wool
ley quoted from the Methodist Discipline
amidst thunders OF applause from a part of
the audience: THE liquor traffic can never
be licensed without sin" That may read
well enough up in the empyrean where
some preachers live. and a few laymen,
too. but common people, whose home is vet
opinions Of courts and other earthly insti-
tutions, know better. Every court on
earth. in the old countries and in the new.
has decided that the traffic In intoxicants
the whole family of laws called license
laws are so many restrictions upon the
exercise of that right. 1t is because preach
ers and the few who train with them pro-
mulgate and insist upon this false notion
that so few of the people train with them.
They refuse TO believe that il is a sin 10
restrict the liquor traffic, even when their
ideal measure would be absolute prohibit
ton.
/ would therefore reorganize the anti
saloon forces by turning the guns of the
very good people against the saloon. not
against their anti-saloon comrades who be-
lieve if they cannot "On TO m at
once they may take Vicksburg and At
lanta, and get to Richmond by way OF AID
pomattox by and by. And that is the
idea of the Anti-liquor League, which is
silently but surely attacking the stronghold
of the saloon. 1t proposes TO use license
IN them as rapidly as possible. They are
not afraid of SHINING by putting restrictions
upon what they cannot at once suppress.
and they take men and women of ali
creeds, or of no creed, and OF all shades of
opinions on all other subjects, only so that
he or she antagoniZes the saloon In har-
mony with all other anti-saloon people.
1t is the church and the world against a
world. L. l. SEE
indianapolis, Dec. 90.