Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-02-06
THE RIGHT STAND.
\ Temperance Report That
Covers the Ground.

Report on Temperance adopted bv tho
Fair River Miss Baptist Associa,
ton at it's 22nd Annual Session. Get
1916, 1893.
Temperance, in its broader and
more comprehensive sense, means
the Use or exercise in moderation
of those things which are necessa-
~ or in themselves harmless. 4
better definition, which we accent
is, IA moderate use of things
which are lawful, and total Austen
ton from such as are injurious.
But SO stupcndouS and ovcrshad-
owing has grown the great evil of
intcmpcrancc in the use of alco-
hole drinks rs Il beverage, that
whenever the subject of Temper
ancc is mentioned the popular
mind instinctively associates it
with the suppression of the drink
evil. Hence, in our own Associ-
ational territory and State, and
We might say throughout the ma
ton, the words Temperance and
Prohibition have well-nigh become
synonymous terms,
According to the most reliable
statistics obtainable, the people of
this Christian Nation spend every
year, for bread, S5O5, 600, 900;
for meat, 1913, 600, 900; for sugar
and molasscs, $3.50, 900, 900: for
cotton goods, 1920, 600, 600: boots
and shoes, $3.50, 600, 600; for ed
ucation, $50, 600, 600; for missions
(Home and Foreignl So, 500, 900,
and for liquor, direct cost, ST.,
POO, 600, 900. The liquor traffic
costs every year more than our
whole civil service, our army, our
navy, our Congress, including In
ternal Improvement and pension
bills, our wasteful local govern
mcnts, and all National, State,
county and municipal debts. IN
fact, this country pays more for
liquor than for every function of
every kind of government. The
two leading political parties in the
last National campaign made the
tariff the chief issue. The total
value of dutiable merchandise I'M
ported into the United States for
the fiscal year 1891, was S41s,-
ga, S44; the total amount of Gus
toms duties collected under the
tariff system mckinley bilb for
same year was S2l9, 522, 300. 70.
In other words, our annual liquor
bill is greater by 81, sol, So2,9
than all the dutiable merchandise
and tariff taxation of one year put
together.
The liquor traffic is the natural
and implacable enemy of morality,
of Christianity, virtue and all that
tends to build men up into better
lives. 1t is the citadel of the
forces that inspire lawlessness,
corrupt politics, promote poverty
and crime, degrade the nation 5
home life, thwart the will of the
people, and deliver our country
into the hands of rapacious class
interests. All laws that, under
the guise of regulation, legallze
and protect this traffic, or make
the Government share i'll its i'll
gotten gains, are "yicious in prm.
ciple and powerless as "a remedy
We therefore declare anew for
the entire suppression of the man
ufacture, sale, importation, OK
portation, and transportation OF
alcoholic liquors as a beverage by
Federal and State legislation. The
full powers of Government and
individual Christian voters should
be exerted to secure this result.
We here reiterate and desire TO
emphasize the position heretofore
taken by this Association, that II
is utterly inconsistent for profess
ed Christians to patronize, and or
abet this soul-destroying traffic IN
any way, or give their votes TO
men, measures or parties that ad-
nit their willingness to perpetu,
ate the gigantic evil. We would
earnestly and kindly plead WIN
the Christian voters of our church
es and impress upon them the fact
that, as individuals, aud IA a Chris
tan Nation, we cannot morally or
logically escape guilty completely
before God for all the crimes ana
evils that flow from this bloody
traffic, unless we vote as we pray
and exhaust every other means I'D
our power for its complete amir