The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1897-02-03
W. c. T. Z.
A CHRISTIAN GOVERNMENT
WHAT POSSIBLE RESULT.

Everybody must admit that the gov
ernment of republic can never rise
higher than the average of the character
of the citizens who compose that govern
mont, and that we can never expect q
Christian government, with Christian
laws and regulations, until the Christ
ian people of the government have pow
er ny which they may be enforced.
Christian citizenship implies that the
Christians of country are the actual cit
izens If that country. We do not under
stand by this any union of church or
state. We do not understand by this
the bringingin of the life of church
into life of the state as a component
part Of its being, but we do understand
that that power, that spirit, that in
flnence, that courage, that moral life
which makes up the character :Of a
Christian church shall be wrought into
the life OF state. WithOutYthis the
state cannot be Christian state nor the
government a Christian government.
But when election day comes. when
lltta white ballot, as potent, so all
powerful, is to be dropped into the bal
lot hox to decide the character of our
government, thTee-fourths of the men,
bers of the Christian church Of these
United States are excluded frem citizen
ship. On the day of election the ballot
is paf into the hands OF the dstiller, the
brewer, the saloon keeper, the bar tend
er and the male drunkard and kept ont
OF the hands of the christian church.
How en-, we expect a spiritual energy
aud life of the church to be embodied in
tltr life of the state with three-fOurths Of
its spiii ual energy disfranchiSed while
the whole saloon power is given the
power Of the ballot.
Two years ago an amendment to the
constitution of Kansas was before the
ppaple, purranchsing the women of the
state. On the night OF June 9TH there
gathered in Topeka, Kan, great Wr-
gani2ation of men represented by their
delegates. The pr siding officer of that
delegation presented a resolution before
the body. which read as follows: Resol-
ved "Fhat We will not cast our bal
lots frr any political party which indOr-
ses the enfraDchisment of women"
Now il these men, all of whom were
foreigners, had stopped there, we would
have said it was because the education
of these people had not reached up to the
broad dnI generous idea Of human free
don embodied in the Declaration Of Ia
dependence, but they. went on to say
thi-: Because If the ballot is put into
the hands Of the women OF Kansas, there
is n power on earth that will ever wipe
out prohibition in this state"
This year have just come from the
Paciic slope, where we have carried on
the magnificent campaign for the en-
franchi-ement of women in which it has
bean my privilege and pleasure 10 take
part. faA Republican party o the
state, the Populi t party, the Social Lab.
or party, the Prohibition party, the
National party and one hundred and
ntne'y-ive Of the delegates of the Old
Democratic party voted to embOdy
woman suffrage plank in their plat
form. Every religious denomination
save four in its annual convention pass
ed resolution in favor Of the enfran-
chiSement of women. Theteachers and
other national sOcities Of the state in
annual convention passed similar res
OlutiOn. Two hundred and sixty of the
new, papers Of the state editOrially in
dOrsed the enfranchisement Of women,
and every politician, every man who
travelled up and down the state, every
speaker declared, "YOu women have
carried the state and you have an
enormous majority" Ten days prior to
the election letter was sent out from
the city of San Francisco from a secret
Organization there to all retail dealers of
liquor in the state making this state
ment: ION the third day of November
an amendment to the constitution OF the
state of California is TO be voted upon,
entranchising its women. Vote against
that amendment, get everybody in your
employ TO vote against that amendant,
be at the polls early, stand there and
work all day.
"0urbnsiness demands that this amend
ment shall be defeated; its success would !