Omaha daily bee., 1908-10-12

SILVER CREEK. Neb.. oct. Ito the
Editor Of The Bee: In the Lincoln Journal
OF the 9Th inst. Rev. G. s Harrison of
York is permitted TO rail in the most APP
proved prohibition vernacular against
personal liberty" May one of the asses
to which he refers be permitted to respond
in The Bee?
For a citizn of so VIGOROUSLY a dry
town. Rev. Harrison seems muddled and
obscure in his statements. But 1 will
try to be fair with him. BY personal
liberty" he evidently means the liberty to
drink intoxicating liquors and says, ''of
all things that ever came out of the pit
this is the worst" But did that awful
thing come out Of the pit? And II so. who
made the pit? and who permitted the
abomination to come out of It? Manifestly
God did. Blame Him then and not the
pit for that worst thing" II Rev. Har-
rison is correct, surely God is not a pro-
hibitionist. Had He been, He would have
put the lid on tight and sat down upon It.
II is equally clear that If He were a
citizen Of Nebraska He would be opposed
to county option.
l do rot think personal liberty came out
OF the pit. IL Is the natural heritage OF
every human being of which no man can
Justly be deprived. II l were a Christian,
which l am not, l would say that personal
liberty is a gift of God. A part of this
personal liberty is a right to eat and
drink what one pleases. The Apostle Paul,
says let no man judge you in meat or in
drink, but what the Apostle says, God
says. This Is equivalent to saying that in
the matter of eating and drinking one
should be his own judge. In the face of
this deliverance of the Almighty how dare
paNy Earrfeon aaulrna RI 4udua hiQ fnllaVu
citizens of Nebraska In the matter of their
drinking?
A favorite argument OF Christians in
support of the doctrine of the existent
God, is the alleged almost universal belief
of man in a supreme being. But 1t is true,
and always has been true, that there is
among men an almost universal craving
for intoxicants. 1t must be true then that
God intended that man should use intoxi-
Giants. For 1t is absurd to suppose that He
would create a desire in the human breast,
provide unlimited means for its gratifica-
ton and at the same time deny that
qualification. Surely He did nothing OF the
sort as is shown from the fact that His
only Son, on His own admission, drank
wine In such quantities that His enemies
called Him a wine bibber. From these
considerations 1t logically follows that the
use Oh Intoxicating beverages Is BOOut anu
1t does not lie in the mouth of Rev. Har-
rison, or any other reverend, TO deny It.
1t is Of course true that this good may
be abused, and the greater the good the
more noticeable and lamentable is the
abuse of 1t.
1t is In this abuse of the legitimate and
proper use of intoxicating beverages that
the prohibitionist and county optionist
finds his whole stock in trade. To avoid
the abuse, they would prevent the use.
They would say hat ninety-nine men
should never have the pleasure Of a glass,
because one man gets drunk, which is as
unreasonable as to say that no one should
eat because SOM make ~gluttons of them
selves; that no one should sing because
some sing vile songs; that religion itself
should be uprooted and destroyed because
parents so often, at the, imaginary COM
mand OF God, murder their children, and
because from religious frenzy, so many
become insane and are sent to our asylums.
Rev. Mr.. Harrison says most of our
rewer and saloon keepers are of foreign
birth and too lazy for any good and
honest toll. Why speak so c-ontemptuously
of the foreigner? Is not a foreigner as
good as anybody else? A little way back
and we were all foreigners. Foreigners,
English, Dutch, French, German and
others planted liberty on American soil.
Foreigners have done their part In the
development of our country; they have
helped to fight its battles and make it
great and glorious and the names Of
foreigners stand among the highest on
our country's scroll of fame. No matter
as to the accident OF birth, all are Ameri-
cans, all alike are entitled to life, liberty
and the pursuit Of happiness, and the
German has precisely the same right to
pursue happiness in the beer garden as
the Rev. Mr.. Harrisons have to pursue
happiness in the church.
When speaking of the liquor business
Rev. Mr.. Harrison says 1T is squarely
aIrayed against all our great min. steTidI
enterprises" he uncovers the real secret
of their opposition. The preachers cannot
brook the idea that the saloon should be
preferred to the church. They look upon
1t as a rival; their hearts are fired with
jealously and their mouths pour forth
vituperation and abuse. To their mind
the church should dominate socially and
politically; they and their satellites should
sit in the high places, feed off the fat
Of the land and WELD the baton of power.
When, if ever. they shall have attained
their ambition, II will be a sorry day
for our country and our boosted liberties,
and In the exaltation Of their church and
their religion they will have destroyed
both. Let them first look to the beams
in their own eyes; let them cease their
vituperation, abuse and violence and try
to walk in the footsteps OF their meek
and lowly Master, who preached the doc.
trines Of peace and good will and non-
resistance to evil; let them rely on the
strong arm of their Lord and not mock
and betray Him by appealing to the strong
arm Of political power.
While all should jealousy guard their
natural personal rights, for the good OF
society each must yield something in the
way Of reasonable regulation and restraint
As regards the right to drink, experienc,
has shown that such regulation and re,
, straint as is imposed by our Nebraska higf
license law is the best. Let us then cleo
a legislature which viii preserve that law
. possibly improve 1t, and which will hav,
: nothing of prohibition and county option
: CHARLES WOOSTER.
= A Word of announcement.