Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1895-05-15
WooLLEY ON POWER,

ON POWER.
To a magnificent audience, which
filled Chickering Hall, Sunday after
noon, December 10, under the auspices
Of the American Temperance Union,
Hon. John G. Woolley spoke in part as
follows:
"The liquor traffic ought to die
Christian public sentiment is unani-
nous on that point. The saloon, hand
on pocket, pleads guilty, and asks how
much it is, pays the mulct, fine, tax,
whatever you call the sale of public
virtue, and continues at the old stand
with brisker trade than ever. It doesn't
have to die. The church has passed
sundry sonorou resolutions; yet back
of the church, very far back, stand
five million voters.
1 am to talk about power this after
noon. That's what we want. We pray,
% God, give us power But there is a
pathetic unanimity of confession that
the church has not power. Whatever,
however, whenever it is. 'Ye shall re-
ceive power after that the Holy Ghost
shall come upon you,' it means, after
that We shall have surrendered to the
truth. Not a truth, but the truth;
above creed and definition-not after
you have got all the truth, but after
the truth has got possession of all there
is of you.
We have been trying for power,
through homeopathic doses. We have
been taking a microscopic view of the
cross sections of truth. The church
man, who will at home dispense with
wine for c~onscience's sake, and away
from home dispense with conscience
for wines sake-topographical Chris.
tians, according to the lay of the land;
political saints, according to the lay of
politics; township Prohibitionists,
Christian ministers, who stand with a
slant to the plane of the saloon ecliptic.
The matter with the temperance caus
is the voting church. The church, at
tempting to ride Prohibition, religion,
and license politics at the same time,
is fatally twisted. There is no such
thing as township truth, Methodist
truth, Republican truth; only by com
plete unconditional surrender to the
truth shall we get power-potentiality.
He who has power knows it. His
testimony shows it. Weakness sput-
tiers, insists. Power is discerned in
quiet, forceful testimony. The silence
OF a testifying gun is always powerful.
The Monroe doctrine in danger at Bra
iii, an American vessel appeared one
morning in the harbor of Rio Janeiro,
and they didn't shoot. So, the noun
tains stand around about Jerusalem,
heavy end down. The heavens always
testify, making no fuss about it.
Policemen rarely hurt themselves
working, but they make good wit
nesses. I stood the other day on Broad
way at Fulton street, where the cur
rents of human tide and traffic meet
perhaps as at no other single spot in
the land. A single policeman, whom
the crush could!have ground to powder
in an instant, lifted his finger, and the
cars stopped from the Battery to the
Boulevard, the tangle was s~traighten-
ed out, and the crossing on Fulton &C.
complished. 1t has been so from Christ
down to the policeman on his beat, at
every crossroads of duty and service,
at the crisis of life; not what can l do,
not what can I afford to do, or what
a l get out of it, but what do l stand
for? You won't say he is throwing his
vote away. His to stand and fail if
need be, to stand for truth, ever if he
never carried his precinct.
In the business world cash is action,
credit is testimony. Good banking is
good testimony, that's all. On a small
percentage Of gold the Governments can
float lots of currency; a little Chris
tianity floats a lot of general confer
ence resolutions, but when my gold
certificate is presented the gold must
be there to exchange for it. When a
draft is presented, a business man must
pay it or be insolvent. Duty is matur-
ing. 1t is spot cash Christianity that
is wanted. The Christian must pay or
be an insolvent Chistian.
Railroads have taught us p~unctual-
ity. If a train is scheduled to leave at
8 O'Clock. you must get there at five.
If you get to the station at $40, you
can't go on that train. The voting
church don't follow the schedule.
Methodist and Presbyterian trains of
voters are wildcat-shifted on the side
track, delayed, switched in and out, by
Democratic and Republican engines.
The saloon is on the main line, with
every switch set, having the right of
way for twelve months to come, run
ming on thu statues of a Christian land.
"The saloon keeper will make his
word good in politics, and the politi-
clans respect, fear and obey the saloon
man.
The voting church is armed, but will
NOT shoot. IL soueaks like n mouea Mt