Blue-grass blade., 1894-04-01

Galilee, to justify liquor
as saloon keepers do.
Some time ago Rev.
New York City, from his
ed the establishment Of
drinking saloons to be
with the churches; each churC..
its own drinking saloon. Preci.
same argument that DIR. Rainsford l.
for the conducting of the saloon in cor:
nection with each church congregation,
would sustain the conducting of brotlel
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 lawabiding 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 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 my
whole paper to do so. | simply print
his article to show, as | claim. that the
church is the friend of the liquor traffic
To such man as Van de Water. one
may truly say as did Robert Burns to
the louise OH the womans 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 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
II a iooNS at
new fallen and unstained snow and saws
it is as black as tar, or say of the multi
plication table that it is tissue of lies
from beginning to end. all YOU can do i'll
answer to such man is to call him a
fool. That is all that can be said for
Rev. Van de Water. Toargue with such
man is merely throwing pearls before
swine, and simply serves to crafty their
II, fpr t1,a,. ho;,,rr 10
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
breeches throw him overheard and break
his neck on the floor below.
print the folloning extract in con-
| firmation OF what have said
Il preach and, by the help of God, /
practice temperance. BY this do not
mean total abstinence. If | thought l
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 a
lie, will make men free, and the truth is
God made wine to be used (7Tde St
John, ii).
ats perverted use is wicked. Its
proper use is holy. Like becoming a
eunuch, if any man choose for the king
dom of heavens sake to be totally absti-
nent in his use of liquor it is matter
between him and his God. 1t is neither
a virtue for him to parade to his own
credit or to his brothers disparagement
drinking is not sin, but drunken.
ness is. What shall be done to stop the
sin? Stop drinking say some. They
cannot think deeply who say thus. You
might as we'll tell people to stop any
other indulgence, which in sinless mod
Grafton is right. and in sinful indulgence
of any kind is wrong. Smoking is not a
sin because General Grant killed himself
by excessive use of cigars.
Anybody who knows human nature
and knows how laborers live in this city
will not be willing, take it, to assume
the responsibility of closing every saloon
and depriving thousands of sober, hard
working men of their right to procure
their beer for daily meals.
The sin of abuse must be stopped
The abuse must be abolished. Strong
drink cost more money than bread anf
clothing every year. Strong drink is the
most fruitful cause of sin III the wOrlC
to-day. These two statements are suffi-
cient to make reasonable men both sober
and serious The situation, then, seem.
to be this: A gift OF God has come by {
large number of, if not by the majority
of people i'll this day to be grossl,
abused. Moderate drinking is the ex
ception among those who drink al
saloons. Social drinking, whether al
saloons or clubs, is attended with grea1
danger.
"Whatever one may individually de
termine for himself, good men Ough,
everywhere to unite to lessen the drink
evil. Licenses ought to be made SC
high that saloon would be lessened il
number and improved in character
Gentlemen ought to frown upon the
senseless custom of treating and con
stant imbibing.
standing at a bar and guzzling ough,
to be considered beneath the dignity o.
a man of honor. Bars in public halls o.
legislation ought to be abolished. Pub
lie conscience ought to be aroused until
men will stop talking about Prohibition
which is mOonshine. and i'll their tiradt
against the saloon as it is, be ready to
offer men something better.
81 confess that there is much in the idea
IDr. Rainsford'sl of the righteous and
respectable saloon, as should call il,