Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-01-30
NO. "a.

the morality and Christianity of the
Nation. And 1T would contain the
most of the available wealth of the
Nation comeatable for practical pur-
poses. With this virtue, intelligence,
morality, christianity, and available
wealth 1T could organize, equip and
man a secular newspaper press that
would flood this country from center
, to circumference, not with the false
idea of license with restrictions for
the government of an evil outlawed
by our highest court; but with sound,
logical, commOn-sense arguments
against the toleratiOn of the abomina-
ble business in any way. Then with
our modernly organized religious
press, and now and then one of our
older religious papers already in the
field; it wOdld be but little time till
such movement would crack the old
political shell around the balance of
our religious press; and then with our
entire ministry correctly informed on
the principles involved in the licensed
liquor traffic, and hurting Their anath-
emas against it from every pulpit in
the land; and our ablest and best men
OH the stump as candidates for Office
in every campaign that occurs, teach
ing the people the correct principles
that underlie our government as set
forth in the decisions or our highest
courts; and with the rigid enforce
ment of every prohibitOry law pro-
cured through Prohibition methods;
who but pessimist of the monkey
tribe could doubt our ability to sweep
the traffic from the Nation in five
years!
But just here our "Smart Alecs"
cry, "You can't get the people to do
it; you can't get the people to do it,"
Now if Bishop Galloway's brag meas
ure of disfranchisement ever was ap-
propriate for Prohibition purposes,
and could by any fair means be made
of universal application; it certainly
would fit the case of these "Smart
Alecs." They are of those who twill
neither go into the kingdom them
selves, nor suffer them that are enter
ing to go in," but, on the other hand,
will Compass sea and land to make
one prosclyte, and when he is made
he is two fold more the child of hell
than themselves They can neither
make nor receive an argument; and as
food for pot-house politicians they are
as appropriate as carrion is for the
crow.
But not so with Bishop Galloway.
The misfortune with him is, if mis-
fortune is the proper name for it, he
has spent his life in the study and
work of the ministry; and his prohi-
bition ideas have been absorbed from
his heterogeneous environments. He
has never made a critical examination
of the basic principles underlying the
question, his political associations and
surroundings have been calculated
to enormously impress his mind when
in the passive state with regard to the
question, and what he is doing for
Prohibition is prompted more from
his strong sense of duty to fight every
evil that comes before him than from
a thorough study and a profound
knowledge of the nature of the fOun
dation upon which the evil rests. And
yet our Southland, and our country
generally could perhaps suffer from
no greater misfortune than this. With
his uprightn-ss of character, life of
purity, honesty of purpose, faithful
ness to duty, earnestness in effort,
persistency in work, profundity in
theology, ability on the platform, and
strong social prestige wherever known,
what might he not do for the cause of
Prohibition if he would just stop long
enough to probe the question to the
bottom. Thus rightiDg himself up,
he could swing Mississippi under the
banner of Constitutional Prohibition
in spite of every opposition that
might come up. He could cause his
eloquence and logic to even penetrate
the political shell of our Senior Bish-
Op and startle the Nation by an open
declaration on his part in favor of po-
litical Prohibition for the political
features of the politically legalized Ii
quor traffic. He could start the ball
in motion that would soon bring the
Methodist people, South and North,
together under political Prohibition
banner, without their dabbling in or
having any more politics than they
dabble in and have already; and hav-
ing brought these two organizations
together along these lines; PrOhibi
ton groundswell would follow among
all other Christian denominations that
all of the liquor manufacturers and
dealers out of hades would be impO-
tent to check.
There is not a straight liquor journal
published IN the United States that does
not admit that such a increment as this
could sweep the business from the couR-
try: and the only papers that do not
admit it are our Democratic and Re-
publican papers, and some of our re-
ligious journals. Believing this, and
being unable to find any one who will
try by argument to cOntrovert it, let
others do as they may, shall cOntin-
ue to work for it, pray for it and vote
for it while the good Lord let's me
live, and try to influence my children
to follow my example when am gone
as their safest attitude toward the
traffic.
Paducah, Ky, Jan. Is, 1894.