The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1907-02-22
Deals Out Cold Facts
Rev. Murrman Places the Rn,
spOnslblDIly OF Stn-E u sos
Don't 60. Who II RespOnsiblO
for the Saloon Evil

spVs1WssBsy u SuD-E u y
Don't 60. Who IL Responsible
for the Saloon Evil
Rev. Murrman of the Congre.
gational church dealt out cold
facts in his sermon last Sunday
that set many to thinking. His
theme was 1.-The Saloon Evil
Placing the Responsibility" us.
ing as text the account of the
fall in Gen. 3, wherein God pass
es from Adam to the woman and
then to the serpent, placing the
responsibility of each at their
own door according to their own
sin, first condemning the great.
est tempter, the serpent, then
the woman and finally the man
The preacher made the follow.
ing application 20 his subiect
''The average man revels in
unreason when fixing responsi.
billty for some sin in which var.
ious parties have had part; he
delights in making wholesale
charges, shielding some, while
throwing the entire blame upon
others. 1t is not an uncom m0n
thing today to find intelligent
people who insist that God il
responsible for sin being in tho
world. still more are anxious to
load the responsibility entirely
upon the devil, while the average
man is quick to shield himself
from just charges by saying the
woman tempted me-" ''my com.
panions did it" ''it was the lo9i.
cal result of q bad environment. I"
In the text we have the same
way, because it is Gods way.
Who is responsible for the
saloon evil?
The points made under this
division were, first, greater
responsibility always attaches -
a sin of commission than to one
of omission. hence those who
are actively engaged in the busi-
ness, who feed and clothe and
shelter their families with the
profits of iniquity are most di.
rectly to blame. In this class 30.
longs also the citizen who woula
encourage the traffic for tho.
license fee, in order To pay for
public improvements, who, ia
the language Of scriptares would
"buiid 9 town With blood and
establish q city BY iniqnity."
Secondly, those who vote for
it under the impression, that the
evils of q regulated traffic sro
less than those of q prohibited
traffic.
These recognize the evil but
assume to choose the lesser evil
Of the two, and this, in matters
where principle is involved w
have no right to do. Let Horace
Greeley answer the question q
to whether this position IS vel!
taken IN the matter of reducing
it's evi,,. He says "Now, it 9
mad, it is drievelling TO talk q
regulating the traffic in intoxi.
eating beverages; raise the
charge for license 10 SO, 600, and
enact that nobody but 4 doctor
of divinity shall be allowed to
sell and you will haveno material
Improvement on the state OF
things now pre- ented, because
so long as one man is licensed To
sell, thousands will sell without.
the law is robbed of all moral
sanction and force by the fact
that it grants dispensatiOns to
some to do with i'm mpunity and for
their own profit. that which II
for hidden to Others.
The facts show that illicit dia.
tilleries, blind pigs and low gro&
shops are more in evidence n
license states than where pro.
hibition is the law. (Govern.
meat statistics were given to
show this to be the fact)
Thirdly, those who oppose pro
hibition or who encourage tho
saloon for fear that mo saloon :
would injure business.
These are either densly iguor-
ant or are not sincere, seekinR
only to hide their moral delin.
quency behind q desire to kuc~
ceed in business. Such me-
usually keep the stun ID their
own cellars, even when thev.
have too much self-respect tol
visit the saloon. I'll simnlv
the Judas character ia another
form OF expression, the love 81
gold, is ct the bottom of e ana :
false cover is at the top. Muck
OF the responsibility Tor the
trahc rests with our short siehf,
ed, mercenAry ond CO...
scienceless business mon