The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1900-08-22
REPLY TO TILLMAN.
DIR. 4. 8. GARDNER HITS BACH


lowing to the press
l am very sorry that imperative en-
gagements. formed long before Senate
TillMan's announced purpose to repl
to my sermon in Grecnville, compcllc,
me to be absent on the occasion Of hi
speech there. Some Of his remarks cal
for reply, which | can make, though
not present, as | have q stcnographi
report Of what he said.
The Senator refers to me as MAJ
who went into the pulpit to make po
litical speech. That is something which
l never did. preached morality ant
righteousness, and propose to continue
in that business and have no idea O
themes for me or to mark out for mt
the limits Of my ministerial functions.
have notion that | understand my
business little better than he does
Whenever it comes to the point that
cannot lift up my voice as minister OF
the Gospel against the liquor traffic
whether engaged in by an individual OF
by the State, l shall leave the pulpit as
unworthy to be preacher of righteous
ness. When politicians lead the State
into an "unholy alliance" with the whis
key power, yes, into business that is
manifestly immoral and degrading there
will be found great host Of preachers
who have respect enough for their office
to condemn it. OF course there will be
host Of politicians who will cry them
down and malign them for it. But what
difference does that make When the
State legislates upon matters that are
specifically moral in their character,
matters that Immediately and powerful.
ly affect the religious welfare Of the
people, shall the appointed moral ana
religious teachers Of the people suffer
their mouths to be padockcd by the
politicians? Hardly. There is freedom
of conscience and religion in this coun-
try yet. III tell you what is the matter
with Senator Tillman. AS between pro
hibition and the dispensary, the preach
ers are against the dispcnsary. If they
had preached in favor of his pet liquor
traffic, he would never have sncercd at
them as going into the pulpit to make
cepting his dictum in the matter; that
is where the shoe pinchcs.
l agree with Senator Tillman that a
political preacher is very offensive
character. He is apt to make q fool Of
himself in fact, do not know of any
character that is more utterly silly and
foolish than the political preacher, eX
cept one. That is politician who un-
dertakes to interpret the Bible, as Scna.
tor T'llman is doing. He says the
preachers have set him to studying the
Bible-well, he needs to. | earnestly
recommend that he start to Sunday
school and join the infant class. / assure
him that he has much to learn, Judging
from the use he is making of the Bible
in his speeches. If there were twelve.
year old boy in my Sunday school who
could not beat him in the Interpretation
and application Of the Scriptures,
should feel discouraged about the child.
The Senator quotes Paups advice to
Timothy to take little wine as medi.
cine and attributes the language to Solo
mon, and draws the inference that be.
cause an inspired man recommended a
little wine to be taken incidentally there
fore we ought to pcrpctuatc the State
whiskey- selling establishment of South
Carolina. His lack of knowledge of the
Bible, displayed in this quotation, is dis
graceful, and his logic in the application
of it not less so.
Jesus summed up the whole moral law
in two great commandments "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart and with all thy soul and with all thy
strength and with all thy mind and thy
neighbor as thyself." Is the whiskcy
traffic obedience to these command
ments? Some time ago, | talked with
young man about the habit Of drink he
was forming, and pleaded with him to
give it up for his own sake, for the sake
of his father and mother, for the sake of
the honorable name he bears. Tears
filled his eyes as he told me how it was
gaining the mastery over him and how
he knew he was bringing pain and sor-
row upon his parents and would ulti-
mately bring ruin upon himself unless
he should quit it; and yet he said that,
80 long as he could get it, it was next to
impossible to let it alone. Now, sup
pose ! should sell that young man whis-
key and put the profits in my pocket
Would be keeping the commandment
to love God with all my soul and strength
and mind? God loves that young man !;
is trying to save him has sent His Son
into the world to save him from Just
such fate as the whiskey traffic will
bring upon him. Now, in selling him
whiskey, would be co operating with
God for his salvation or co operating
with the devil for his damnation Would
be obeying the commandment to love
God with all my power, if sell him whis-
key2 Would be loving my neighbor !?
Would | sell liquor to my own boy, if
he should contract a taste for it Would
Senator Tillman sell whskey to his own
boy to drink as beverage, if he had the
craving for 1t? Would he desire that
duyDOuy SnOulu uO IL Arc we, Jncn
loving our neighbor as ourselves, when
we are selling it to somebody clse's boy
or brother or husband who loves it !?
Why ask such questions Cannot any
body see that the whiskey traffic is
against the whole moral law as Jesus
taught 1t? 1t is directly antagonistc to
both the great commandments in which
our Master summed up the whole law.
The Senator criticises my use of my
text He claims that left out the part
which makes 1t harmoniZe with the dis.
pensary. Let us see "That thou mayest
look on their nakedness." The Senator
explains that to mean, "That you may
cheat him or bamboozle him when he is
drunk" That is not what 1t means.
But suppose it were. Is not tho State
Of South Carolina doing that very thing?
hold that every man who buys liquor
to drink as beverage Is Cheated and
bamboozled." He gives his good money
for that which not only has no value
but does him the greatest harm. If the
State Is going into business, it ought tc
give value received. But it doesn't dc
1t In the liquor business. But the rea
meaning Of the expression Is this; thai
drunkenness tends to bring man tc
poverty and rags and nakedness. The
writer supposes that that must be tht
purpose when you furnish liquor to
man to get drunk on Habakkuk dif