Blue-grass blade., 1894-04-01

New York City, from his
ed the establishment Of
drinking saloons to bel
with the churches; each ChurC..
its own drinking saloon. PreCi
same argument that Dr. Rainsford |.
for the conducting of the saloon i'll COZ:
nection with each church congregation,
would sustain the conducting of a brothel
in each congregation for the benefit of its
own members, male and female The
argument was that human beings had
strong animal passions that could not be
subdued by law, and that the best way to
make law-abiding citizens of the people
would be to legalize the institutions that
are intended to crafty these passions.
Rev. Van de Water, OF New York CITY,
has gone even farther than Rev. Rains
ford; the former claiming. as will be seen
from the subjoined extract from his let
ter that the saloon is to be the great
means of saving souls to Christ. | am
glad to see such utterances. They show
that the Prohibition work is driving
these lying hypocritical, reverend scoun-
drels to desperation, and that as s"Doctors
of divinity" they see a necessity for
heroic treatment Tor the malady of their
patient. Exactly the same kind of talk,
North and South, came from the pulpit
just before the war, i'll which preachers
not merely apologized for the infamy OF
slavery, but showed, and with resistless
force. from the New Testament. that
slavery was right. do not propose to
answer the argument, real or sO-called
of DIR. Van de Water. 1t would take nv
whole paper to do so. l simply print
1,ic article to s1,nxx- 7 oil 1,a
church is the friend of the liquor traffic
To such a man as Van de Water, one
may truly say as did Robert Burns to
the louise OH the woman's bonnet. Your
impudence protects you sairly." Men
| like Rainsford and Van de Water take
such positions as they do, not that they
think they are logically defensible be-
fore any competent tribunal, but simply
to appear victorious by dazing and
astounding their oppents with the alb.
surdity of their claims. If such a man
stands with and looks at the full moon
and declares that the moon looks square
and not round. YOU may ridicule his alb
surdity; but you can not defeat him with
a formal argument. If man looks al
new fallen and unstained snow and says
it is as black as tar. or say of the multi
plication table that it is a tissue of lies
/ from beginning to end, all YOU can do il
answer to such man is to call him
fool. That is all that can be said for
Rev. Van de Water. To argue with such
man is merely throwing pearls before
swine, and simply serves to crafty theil
hunger for notoriety; they being unable
to achieve distinction i'll any honorable
way.
The good of society would be best sub
served should some big fellow walk into
she pulpit of such preacher, and catch
ing HIM by the back of the neck anC
breeches throw him overheard and breal
his neck OH the floor below.
print the folloning extract in con
firmation of what have said.
81 preach and, by the help of God,
practice temperance. BY this l do no
mean total abstinence. If thought
could better save my brothers by be
coming totally abstinent with liquor,
would become so in an instant. But
do not think so. The truth, and not
lie, will make men free, and the truth il
God made wine to be used tide St
John, ii).
"Its perverted use is wicked. 1t
proper use is holy. Like becoming
eunuch, if any man choose for the king
dom of heavens sake to be totally absti
nent in his use of liquor it is matte
between him and his God. 1t is neithe
a virtue for him to parade to his owl
credit or to his brothers disparagement
Drinking is not sin, but drunken
ness is. What shall be done to stop tn
sin? Stop drinking say some The
cannot think deeply who say thus. Yol
might as we'll tell people to stop an,
other indulgence, which in sinless mod
Grafton is right. and in sinful indulgenc
of any kind is wrong. Smoking is not
sin because General Grant killed himsel
by excessive use of cigars.
Anybody who knows human natur
and knows how laborers live in this cit
will not be willing, take it, to assum
the responsibility of closing every saloo
and depriving thousands of sober, hard
working men of their right to procur
their beer for daily meals.
THE sin of abuse must be stopped
The abuse must be abolished. Stron
drink cost more money than bread an
clothing every year. Strong drink is tn
most fruitful cause of sin in the worl
to-day. These two statements are suffi
cient to make reasonable men both sobe
and serious The situation, then, seem
to be this: A gift OF God has come by
large number of, if not by the majorit,
Of people in this day to be grossl
abused. Moderate drinking is the eA
ception among those who drink a
saloons. Social drinking. whether a
saloons or clubs, is attended with grea
danger.
"Whatever one may individually de
termine for himself, good men ough
everywhere to unite to lessen the drin
evil. Licenses ought to be made 5
high that saloon would be lessened i
number and improved in character
) Gentlemen ought to frown upon tn
senseless custom of treating and cor
slant imbibing.
standing at bar and guzzling ough
to be considered beneath the dignity G
a man of honor. Bars i'll public halls c
legislation ought to be abolished. Pull
lie conscience ought to be aroused unit
men will stop talking about Prohibition
which is mOonshine. and in their tira,!
against the saloon as it is, be ready t
offer men something better.
~ confess that there is much i'll the idle
DIR. RainsfOrd'sl of the righteous an
respectable saloon, as | should call i
worthy the deepest study of our mos
earnest and godly men.
ITO get at the less fortunate brother
we must go to them and give then
something better than they have. Tota
abstinence men will not influence thes
fellows, most of whom are foreigner
and have been taught from their youtl
that beer is an article of food as we'll a
drink. Kid gloved reformers, who kno,
how to use liquor moderately and VIII
have nothing but censure for those VIII
use it to excess, will never save thes
men who despise those whose pampere
bodies hold no hearts.
But we can save them. and by God
help we will save them, first by bein
temperate ourselves i'll all things; tina
is the example of Christ; then by goin
among them and giving them respects
BILE saloons, cheap and proper places O
amusement. decent houses to live il
thus elevating. refining, improving ther