The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-04-19
Sin of Christians in Up
holding Tax-Laws.
MINISTER'S CHARGE
Rev. E. e. Dixon, Pastor Of q
Church at East Strauds-
burg, Pa, Discusses
Drink Evil.

political parties that uphold tax and
license laws For the liquor traffic, where
by said liquor traffic gets legal protec-
tion has been often shown as one Of |
great magnitude. One of the most re |
cent and pointed charges was made |
few days ago in the Philadelphia Metho-
dist Episcopal conference, by RevsE. Il. !
Dixon, pastor of the East Stroudsburg
M. r.. church. In which ne said in part
Men and brethren you profess to be-
long to the kingdom of Jesus, soul and
body, through and through, now and
forever. So belonging, the spirit of
Christ controls you, from head to foot,
all the time, in all you do.
Suppose great machine which turn
ed out grist Of $4,000 drunkards, dead
and dormant. Suppose that machine to
be made up of men, would such men
be governed by the spirit of Christ?
Could they be?
Cries of MOI" mol"
Suppose this machine commissioned
an army Of "poisoners-general" to deal
out stuff TO the multitude bringing
thousands of them into that awful hor-
ror called the delirium tremens. Look
here is the host so taken. right before
your eyes. Hear them shrek and
scream! See, their eyes start from
their sockets! They are in he'll al
ready! Down they fall to death. Is a
machine that commissions such bust
ness governed by the spirit of Christ?
Suppose that a machine that licensed
a business which meant the murder of
5000 people year, three thousand or
so mothers and wives and sisters of
men; which meant the turning into
ri
which meant stripping the shoes and
stockings off little children's feet and
beating women and filling our jails and
penitentiaries and spreading disease
and shame and death over the land
would such machine be governed by
the spirit of Christ? You know better
than that. You know such machine
as that is hell-governed, and devil-con-
trolled. Such machine is the rum
licensing Democratic and Republican
party. II you are OF the Democrat or
Republican party, preacher though you
are, you are a part and parcel of such
a machine, which you have admitted
is devil-controlled. This machine, thus
devil-contrclled, belongs to the king
dom of Santan, does int not? Tell me.
then, how you can belong to this king
dom and the kingdom of Christ at the
same time? How can you belong IL
this machine and be governed by the
spirit of Christ at the same time? Is
Christ's kingdom at last divided against
itself?
If YOU belong to the machine which
legalizes that sort or thing, what be-
comes of our loyalty to Christ? Is
this the way to build up the kingdom
of Christ, viz. belong to parties that
authorize 240 0gG men who will occupy
themselves night and day in the ex.
tension of a business full of all diabol.
ism? Is Quay or Croker or Plat youl
boss? or party that licenses ruin:
or is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God
Here is the hook of discipline of the
M. Il. church. Here is a voice from 1t;
pages: "No christian man should sup
port any party that does not put 1t
self on record in an attitude of deatl
to the saloon" Every man in thi.
house who belongs to the Democratic
or Republican party. belongs to part,
which makes legal the murderous worl
of the saloon. Every such man fling
this book to the ground and stamps up
on it. He Is governed by party and no
by God What loyalty that is. Any par
ty government that takes no better Car,
of our children than to turn them owe
to licensed gin mills to be robbed ant
stabbed or made drunkards of: no bet
ter care OF ouT young men than t,
commission an army of wretches t
transmute them into adulterers an,
fends; no better care of our womel
than to send their husbands hom
drunk to curse and beat and murde
them; any such party government /
not ft to live and it is your busines
and mine, instead Of herding with sucl
party, to abandon 1t, and do wha
we can to destroy 1t as soon as pos
,sble.
The rumseller's license lasts for
;Aycar. We will suppose these licenses al
!. expire at the same time. We will sup
pose, they, of this trade, al
come up tC be recommissloned at tn
same time. Ranks on ranks. Loo
at them. 100000 strong They wan
to be commissioned. or re-commission
J., ed----what to do? Great God! to brea
mothers hearts. and desolate homes
and plunder the country of 81 900, ,000
900, to inspire hundreds to comm
suicide and also to crush out the live
of little children and curse their wiye
and butcher their friends; to awak
untold agony; to send a hundred thous
and Of your countrymen and mine I
perdition forevermore They line u
before the two great parties of TIL
country, and say: Commission us
The bad men in these parties say
Certainly" The good men say "N
we cannot" Then say the rumsellei
to tho men In the party that refus
them. 1--WE will defeat you, and D,
tho other marty into mower" Tha poo
men as we'll as the bad in both partit
are seized with a great trembling
these words and say ooh well. the
we'll license you to go in and ruin II
land, only pay us fee to pave OF
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