The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-09
AGAINST COLBY WAY
IN PULPIT CONDEMNS NEW
IDEA EXCISE PLAN.
Have Given Us a stOne,p Says Rev.
Inglis-His Ideas on ouestion-speaks
of "Lawless" Atlantic City.


Senator Everett Colby's attitude on the
excise law and local option was attacked
last night by the Rev. Robert Scott Inglis
in the pulpit Of the Third Presbyterian
Church. His text was taken from 1. limo
thy l., 8: THE law is good. 1t is not made
for the righteous, but for the unrighteous."
Every restraint intended for the control
of the sale of liquor, Pastor Inglis said.
was overthrow by selfish liquor interests.
which sought to capture the Legislature by
outvoting the righteous at the primaries.
The Colby local option plan. he added, was
an option to do wrong. not an option to do
right. 1t would permit a city to do what
the voters of the State deereed to be
wrong. he said. That the law is observed
here and abrogated elsewhere, he argued,
was no reason for declaring it useless.
Pastor Inglis said in part:
A righteous man has no need of law to
hold him, in restraint. If every man did
right there would be no need Of Law. The
law is made for the lawless. II has no
terrors for honest men. We bar our
houses. not against honest ~neighbors, but
against thieves. My bolt does not bother
my honest neighbor; he has no desire to
trespass.
So it is with the excise laws OF the
State. The law is good. It is not made
for the lawful man. but for the lawless.
IL every man was temperate in the use of
tiQQOT lnef6 WOuAu DP no 1ecQ lot q INV
for its regulation. If every seller OF il
vas careful there would be no licensing of
It's sale under restrictions. Because expert
ence has shown liquor to be lawless, it has
been licensed. This does not mean ifs
right. but Its restraint.
The present iaw does not interfere with
the right Of any individual to drink. 1t utter
feres with the privilege OF men to sell in
discriminatory. 1t docs not interfere with
the individual. but with an institution
known as the saloon. an institution that
is recognized as a prolific source of law
lessness. hence the restraint of law upon il.
We do not license a grocery. but we do H.
cense a grog shop. The one is apt to be
beneficial. the other is apt to be haneful.
Now. the complaint against this law is
made by two comparatively small classes.
but two classes that possess by the prosti-
tuition of politics a considerable power.
These two classes are the sellers and the
incorporate drinkers. The sellers are the
Their objection is entirely selfish without
any redeeming utilitarianism. The bar
least, have told us that they enjoy the law
that gives them, with other men, a day
of rest.
The other class. the incorporate drinkers.
are a minority of the men who drink, and
any man who for the public good cannot
abstain from public drinking for one day
In the week is an Incorporate drinker.
Humanity requires a day OF rest and
morality a day Of seif-delial.
Any man who has any regard for public
saloon is detrimental to II.
The selfish liquor interests Of the State
seem determined to overthrow. every re-
straint, They hope by capturing all the
primaries to insure the election OF a sub
servient legislature. What the people will
for any ticket thai favors the restraint Of
the liquor traffic, I do not know. In this
locality, a least, they may be forced to
our eyes to the hills from whence cometh
our help. and trust that the country dis
tricts will prevent either the repeal of the
I IRc lnuY n tho nnatfar - r...r L.
that will grant the city the option OF
disregarding the universal law of a Chris
tian land in the recognition of the morality
day.
The local option proposed by some of the
men that we had looked upon as reform
ers is not the option we want. 1t is an
, option to do wrong, instead OF an option
, . to co right. It is finally for the benefit Of
j the LIQUOR interests to allow them &c
f recompense themselves in one locality foI
, what they lose in another. This would BIZ
= fair If the liuuor interest was a righteous
4 interest. But II must always be borne In
mind that public opinion and the courts
|, have decreed the saloon a nuisance. only
to be tolerated under the strictest license.
: L do not believe the people of the Chris
ton communities of the State will ever
be satisfied with a local option that would
permit city to override what a majority
law. / believe in home rule that is en-
tirely local. but intemperance Is not local,
and a lawless community like Atlantic
City. not only directly affects outside
communities by selling liquor to visiting
neighbors, but indirectly affects adversely
the moral consciousness of the State by its
, example of lawlessness. What Is wanted.
is not a Governor who would confirm At
lantic City and Hoboken in their lawless-
ness. but who will be man enough to force
a regard for law from the Palisades to
Cape MAY. that would make Jersey moral
ity as famous as Jersey justice was wont
to be.
The subterfuge. that the law is not OBJ
served. and therefore should be abrogated,
is not logical. For example: Sheriff Som
mer has done n splendid work by enforcing
the laws against dlsorderly houses. But
1 have no doubt the law is being violated
tonight. Would it be logical to say. Let
us permit it. as we do not entirely prevent
it?'
The Sheriff has won the approval of all
law regarding men for his stringent en-
foreement of the laws against gambling.
Would IL be any advance to take the posi-
ton that because there is some gambling
that even the Sheriff cannot stop, it would
be better to allow them certain hours to
do business in. in a legal way?
We have been fighting for local option
on the licensing of the liquor traffic, that is
the right of a community to decide
whether or not any liquor may be sold
any time: and when instead of this we are
offered an option that allows liquor to be
sold all the time, 1t seems to me that we
have asked for bread and they have given
us n stone. One thing, no party and no
man can carry both the Christian com
munity and the saloon; We are in. the
fight against the latter institution and we
will not be satisfied with anything that
will increase its privileges. Give us at
least a real local option, that will allow
the maiortties of each community TO fix
the restraints on that which must neces-
sarilv be viewed in a different light from
legitimate business not under restraint.