The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-12-16

The church has long since declared
uncOmprOmising war on the liquor
traffic, holding that this traffic is a
nest deadly foe to the church, damning
more souls than any other one evil, or
than many other evils combined.
The New York Tribune in its indict-
ment Of the liquor traffic, declares that
ut silences the voice Of religion"
Canon Farrer says: important as
great questions in English politics may
be, such as the franchise and the land
laws, they are matters absolutely infin-
itesimal compared with the urgency of
the necessity Of controlling and limiting
with strong hand this drink question. Z"
Who will question that it is the busi-
ness Of the church to attack with all its
might an evil Of this nature and Of
these proportions, but where attack it?
Certainly where it is. The saloon is in
trenched today as never before in poll
tics. Is it not then the business Of the
church to make it stupendous power felt
against the liquor traffic where it is now
entrenched?
There are about eighty thousand
preachers Of Gods word in the United
States. There are from four to six mill
ions (estimated) voters who belong to the
churches in which these ministers
preach. The power Of the christian pull
pit in America is tremendous one, and
when it is firmly set in fixed array
against a concrete evil, that power be-
comes well-nighirresistable. If fthe min
listers OF America have tremendous DOW
ers, they have also tremendous respon-
sibilities, which they could not evade
even If they wished to. Despite the in
structiOns which have for many years
prevailed in thousands Of public schools
concerning the true nature of alcoholic
liquors; despite the ringing utterances
which great church councils have made
on this subject, nevertheless the flood
OF narcOticizing, soui-destrOying, crime
producing, murder-inspiring liquors is
growing deeper and deeper year by year.
Something is wrong. What is it? 1t is
not in the utterances of the churches,
they were never so forcible and uncom-
promising as of late years, it is not in
the habits of the clergy, for the whole
tendency is toward total abstinence
among them. It is not in the power
available, that is still as limitless as ON
impotence itself. Does not the trouble
lie in the application Of this powerp
The saloon has become vast organized
power, controlling quarter OF a million
Of saloons, receiving over one billion Of
yearly revenue, swaying where desirable,
a million votes at the lowest estimate.
this power Is brought to bear with crush
ing effect upon political leaders and can
didates.
A prominent politician bOasted: %
would rather have one saloon behind me
than dozen churches" Why Is thisi
Is 1t not because the churches have fail.
ed to pursue the saloon into the realm Of
pOliticsp Has not the time come when
the power Of the preacher, the power OIL
the church, should make themselves fell
in this battleP We know the objections
that are made to the preachers engaging
actively in politics, but the warfare
against great moral evil such as thu
drink curse is pre-eminent one for thl
preachers to wage, 1t is their fight, Il
there ever was one that was theirs, II 4
takes them into politics, they should no
draw back on that account.