Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1908-12-29
Inc Methodist Church ana Lleenss.

Il
| (This letter was written In response to an In
quiry prompted by the peculiar statement
| made TO Mr.. Field by an evidently uniform
ed person that the Methodist church favori
| high llcenseD
ROCHESTER,. N. r., Dec. 8, 1908.
Nr. E. E. Field, West Parts, Me-:
In answer to your queries OF some
time ago as to the liquor problem and
the attitude the Methodist Episcopal
church takes In relation to license de.
cided in the first place that ! could not
do truer or clearer thing than to quote
you from the discipline published this
year.
San enlightened citizenship and q
vital piety demand the utter destruction
of traffic 90 accursed. The liquor
traffic cannot be reformed. 1t Is in
herently unreformable. An institution
which outrages the divine law Of love
will never obey the police regulations OF
men. Therefore 1t must be destroyed,
and with our bishops we pledge eternal
enmity to this foe OF God and man
"Our purpose is Its extinction; our
battle cry, "A saloonless country, stain
less flag We condemn the license
policy. 1t Is vicious In principle, and
utterly inconsistent with the purposes OF
enlightened government, and in practice
q protection to q traffic which Is in
herently criminal In it's nature. The
liquor traffic cannot be legalized with
out SIM We stand for the speediest
suppression of the beverage liquor
traffic. Under that divine law of alb
solute right which is the source of all
human law the only proper attitude OF
civil government toward anything 30
harmful as the liquor traffic is that OF
absolute prohibition. We are in favor
Of retaining, never to be surrendered,
every foot of territory which can be
wrested from the liquor traffic as an
additional base of operations for further
aggressions, which shall not cease until
the world shall know no more this crime
breeding traffic.
ITO this end, in the light of recent
experience, and the practical results,
according to the Episcopal address,
states which have been VIGOROUSLY un-
friendly to any temperance legislation,
except general license, have passed local
option laws, which have been accepted
by county after county until almost the
whole state has banished the saloon we
recommend that our people participate
in every wise movement for local pro-
hibition, commonly known as local
option, as a step toward statewide pro-
hibitiun, and then for state prohibition
as preparation for that national victory
which, in the fulness Of time, ia newt
able in the final triumph of right"
think that no proper Interpretation
of this language can be made to mean
that the Methodists are in favor of
license. New Hampshire has local
option law. This law was adopted, as l
understand it, after long years of pro-
hibition. In many places as in Maine
the law was badly enforced, and many
good men thought that good license
law would be better and also add some
revenue to the state. To show you how
tho people of New Hampshire like
license, there are in the whole state but
twenty-five towns and five cities that are
not under no license.
The claim that license will reduce the
taxes is very fully answered by the fact
that the rate of taxation In license towns
has increased more than three times as
much as in no license towns. If have
not answered your questions I shall be
glad to do SO.
Sincerely,
B. K. Dow,
Pastor of First Methodist Episcopal
Church,