The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-10-28
VIEW
OF PERSONAL
LIBERTY
Rev. Lumbar Sees National
Breakdown if All Days
Are Alike.

E In a sermon on The Confusion of
Tongues or the Dlseord OF the Saloon
delivered to his congregation last night in
the Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, Belle
Vile avenue. the pastor, the Rev. W. /.
S. Lumbar, had much to say about the
excise question and the cry raised by tho
advocates of the open Sunday for per
sohal liberty Pastor Lumbar took oeca-
sion to say that the liquor question SHOULD
be settled locally; that each municipality
should have full control Of the saloon.
He said in part:
Tile cry of personal liberty that one
NAV be privileged TO do wrong ana ne
permitted to erect walls of defense ABOUT
its evil doing, is old as humanity. In y
country like ours it is the sure sign Oh
weakness and evil in its advocates.
1.-THE cry of the saloon maj is personal
liberty. What is personal liberty? III IS
to he free to scatter evil, to ruin charac-
fer, to DESTROY lives. The mar who de-
liberately spreads a contagious. disease IS
placed in Jail. The Vender OF obscene ana
vicious literature is punished. Men VINO
entice BOYS into their shops and sell or
give them cocaine are met witt. the exc
Grafton of all good men, even II they re-
ceiVe no other punishment. why 90 we
permit such curtailment of personal ND
erty IL n man should be personally free
10 do what he p~leases? But has the man
who hates rum and drunkenness ana pow
f1tY ana WTeltlltuueSS anu TIN hol IA
Ills personal liberty curtailed by the free
dom of the other? Because of the saloon
man and his ~disreputable business the
man OF sobriety must pay 30 to 30 per
cent. more taxes in order to pay police
men. police Judges. prison Wardensi IN
order that the State may build and MAIN
tain large and expensive buildings to care
for the refuse of the saloon, the moral and
physical wrecks of humanity, directly at
tributable to the saloon. He must give OF
his money To support charitable institu-
fiOne and 10 keen women and children
from starving and freezing, the vast ma
jorlty of which cases are directly attribu-
table TO the saloon. He must have his
peace disturbed by drunken brawls, women
must have their modesty outraged by the
drunken path or the foul word or lest.
When he passes along the street his right
of enjoyment has been denied him., for
he must look upon debased humanity that
lounges OF the sidewalks, see slattern
women, clothed in rags and uGliness,
broken windows stuffed with old paper;
decay and desolation stare him in the
face where he has a RICH 10 expect that
which cheers and hlesses. All these null
tiplied curses and horrors he must meet
and witness that the saloon man may
enjoy his personal liberty of turning hui
manity into devils and earth into q hell.
yet men iostle and push and crowd
themselves to the front and blatantly de-
mand your vote, and with brazen effront-
cry declare they will not only perpetuate
such a system, but will make it ten fold
worse than II is, il only you will elect them
to office. There is only-one thing to adj
tntfp ABOUT Sucn mlSSnAppn EeInDlanceS OF
manhood, and that is their amazing frank
ness and honesty of statement.
Again, they are reaching up their soiled
andf dirty hands to take out OF your homes
and the homes Of your children after you
the one day of rest and qutetness that has
been yours from the beginning. When |
say they shall not do 1t, and that you VIII
not let them. | make no appeal to the
Bible, for / would force the keeping of no
divine commandment on any one by legal
enactment, but | appeal TO the moral ana
-I..-.-. -AAI4-Af ARFp- naHNaafPN NAFf 1vnnYF
MS well. or better, than do that IL every
day in the week is to be alike the physical
and moral breakdown of the nation Is not
Mar distant.
with the ~legalized opening of the saloon
Npp Sunday Viii como the throwing off on
an reairaiut, the breaking of all BARRIERS
and the debauching Of the nation what
do these men care so long as their greasy
hands can grasp the gold f1lched from
trembling fingers? Let the question OF the
saloon. open or closed on Sunday, be put 70
nm honest vote and the working men. In
shop, factory. store, counting room and Of
flee will vote it closed so tight it win never
be opened again. | am no more afraid to
trust this question to the ballots of the
American people than Elijah was TO put to
a vote the question of whether the Lord
should be God or not in that tragic day on
Carmel Only let the brewer and the dis
tiller and She keeper of the palatia1 saloon.
MS well as Of the low dive and groggery.
be honest and fair; when we have voted on
the saloon, open or closed on Sunday will
he agree to vote on the saloon, opened or
closed. on any day Of the week. and in any
part Of the State, as the people may decide.
Re honest. men Of personal liberty ideas,
sou who waste much bad English in tear
ful plchdings for your s~o-called rights. in
dplgc in M subterfuge. but tell us. II you
win do II.
Just a last word to you who are opposed
Ia The sale on 7seoau~e Of It's iniqrit'rs and
Infamous business: How do you quiet your
conscience and satisfy your hearts demand
for consistency when Won teavo m order
with your saloon-grocer for eatables?"