The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-24
The Advertiser on Prohibition,


 The Advertiser on Prohibition.
 Oakbowery, Ala, Feb. 22, 1905. Editor The Advertiser:
 In all Alabama your paper has not a friend more enthusiastic for 1t than the writer I have known it and read 1t, and defended 1t in the years of try ing conflict.
 It is justly popular In the homes of Alabama. I have frequently said: The Advertiser is brave and consistent, It never dodges an issue. It may some times be wrong, but it Is brave.
 Along moral lines 1t is generally out spoken in favor of the right and against the wrong. have never read anything stronger than some of your editorials against the growing power of the barroom and the gambling dens. But your bitterness against prohibition amaZes me. That is the red rag that always excites the rage of The Adver- tiser and you will go out of your way at any time to hit it a blow.
 Only a short while back I saw in your short editorial column an an- nOuncement of some place going dry in a local option contest, and you added editorially something like this: We will watch with interest the develop ment of blind-tigers in that town
 Think of great paper, some of us believe the greatest in the State. watching with eager interest the columns of its exchanges to herald abroad the violations of law by the dirtiest element of the town!
 Your comment approvingly in Sun days issue of something taken from The Oregonian will be surprising to many of your thoughtful readers. The party referred to voted against a local option bill. because he does not be- lieVe that the right of thousands to eX else their own Volition should be in- fringed. in order that score may be protected from an influence which leads them to wrong-doing. Should the whole community he asks, be placed in a straight-iacket in order that the around the weakling.' It was a local option bill he opposed. where the ma jority were to be allowed to say wheth CT the sale of liquor should be per mitted. He was opposed to allowing the majority to express it's will pn one of the livest question which caA come before any community, and The Adver tiser approves tho view.
 The editorial of The Oregonian, ap- proved by The Advertiser is a cold. heartless abandonment of the weak by their strong brethren to the merciIess wiles of the devil and his minions. The editor grows pious and speaks of God as knowing mo other way to develop responsibility and character and ac- countability in man." except to set temptation before him."
 If the Bible has any weight with our editors, it's teaching is that God is merciful to the weak The infrmities of men touched the great heart of the Savior and his Apostles. The strong. instead of idly lying by and allowing the temptation to do it's worst and weed out the weddings and fools" are admonished to protect and shield them. The great battle of Christiani- ty is being fought to save the weak. The humane laws we have in our statute books are inspired by the Christian spirit, The spirit of the editorial Is anti-Christan. It would have us look at the poor drunkard as a ''weaklng," yielding to a base appetite, which will soon sweep him out leaving the Attest to survive. The Christian looks upon the poor fellow with pity and wants to shield and save him. and wants to save the strong also who boast of their strength and know not how weak they are.
 W. B. Crumpton