The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1898-03-26

Law VS. THE BAPr1sr PULPIT.
1ho circumstances by.whioh the great
and wiss among Us are moved are always
OF interest and nothing that we have run
across lately In explanation Of mental
physical or moral transmutatiQn SO pro.
foundly impresses us as the true and au-
thoritstixs sluoidstion Of why It was that
our esteemed fellow citizen, the Hon.
James A. Williams became lawyer and
q prohibitionist rs we'll ~ scholar and .
gentleman, but instead of Q Baptist clsr-
gyman and Democrat
This information is conveyed to an in
quiring world through the medium of a
biographical sketch of the Prohibition
candidates which enrichss and ilIumi-
mates the supplement to special cam
paign issue Of our esteemed oontemporary.
the Independent Citizen. The too brief
space devoted to the biography of Mr..
Williams 10 as entertaining as anything
OF the sort we have read for some time.
IL tells OF his rise from humble circum-
stances to the greatness OF being several
times candidate for attorney general on
. Prohibition ticket in Rhode Island and
In the following language gives the infor-
nation that 90 many OF his fellow citi-
zens have for long while been anxious
to possess:
up to ths time of entering Brown
University Mr.. Williams had been a
Democrat OF the Democrats, but during
his college course he began to think, with
the usual result. he became Prohibi-
ZIONIST. He entered college with the in
tention OF becoming n Baptist clergyman,
but during the latter part of his college
course he learned, as he says. that In or
der TO be minister he would have 90
wear a collar, and be uwned by somebody
and therefore he decided to enter the pro-
fessfon OF law where ho could he entirely
FREQ to be Prohibitionist II he wanted
70. and say 30 above whisper"
While this Is trife vague. perhaps, 1t
appears that the mental process induced
In Mr.. Williams by college course re-
suited Ia creating out Of him lawyer
and Prohibitionist where nature, In her
primitive thoug htlessness, would have fur
nishsd Us instead with Baptist clergy
man and o Democrat. We are amazed,
however. at the suggestion that II Mr..
Williams had been Baptist clergyman
he would have suffered martyrdom in
proolaiming Prohibition truths from
which, as a lawyer, he would surely be
free We venture to say that never before
was q man moved to the profession OF the
law by any such reason o. that advanced
by Mr.. Williams-to wit, that he yearned
to Be Prohibitionist. And for the life
Of as wo cannot recall another instance OF
one who declined to be . Baptist clergy
man rs ssquela to rsnunciation Of hia
political faith az q Democrat. But for
this story Of Mr.. Williams, duly vouched
for ~ it ID. we should have continued to
deem 1t axiomatio that smong Baptist
clergyman We should look for Prohibi.
ZIONIST and In the legal profession for
Democrats rather than the revsrss, which
Mr.. Williams experiences ssems to indi-
cate ~ the real condition.
However, wnat the Baptist pulpit and
the Democratic party have lost IL the gain |
not alone Of Prohibition and the law, but.
~ has bssn before made evident. Is to be
recognized by the world at large a.
contribution to It's general gaiety.