The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1908-04-25
THE POSITION OF CARDINAL GIBBONS
AND OTHER CLERGYMEN WITH
REGARD TO PROHIBITION.
Baltimore SUM-

is clear and explicit and not capable
of being misunderstood, and the effort
to show that he has occupied differ
ent position must fail in having any
effect upon the public or the legisla-
ture. After declaring that "local op-
ton should under no circumstances
apply to this city" the cardinal said:
when law is 1agrantly and habit
ually violated it brings legislation into
contempt. 1t creates spirit of decep-
ton and hyprosy and compels men to
do insidously and by stealth what
they would otherwise do openly and
above board.
All COOL men-good citizens-are in
favor of the virtue of temperance, and
I regret to see that the moral side of
the question has rot been sufficiently
considered. You cannot legisiate men
by civil action into the performance
Of good and righteous deeds.
''If We are to improve the morality of
our city and make our citizens more
temperate, let the virtue of temper
anco be proclaimed in the churches.
Above al, let It be enforced in the
family that parents, both by word and
eXann2e, may ineula253 in their chill
drCn Il " te!w"0-al as! spiritual bless
ing3 which sEri:lr >fr0.A q life Of tenn
peIaEC@ AID sonIsatT; and let them
i'm. 'e5 'lNc2 Their children the terri
b. Consequences Of drunkenness"
,NAese are tAe words and sentiments
Oh I, l.&n Gf great Diety, of long ex-
per:once end Of careiu! observation,
WHO is at the serlc time one Of the
strongest aeencics FOR the Temperance
cause il our city. Similar views have
been expressed BY clergymen of the
EnlSc1t2l church, Of the Lutheran
church tEd OF the Jewish faith. It is
n2.i;?e&%'y pre7oste-ous, therefore,
for tie advocates Of prohibition to ex-
hiHlt prohibition IS moral issue The
prohibit :0nists, we cheerfully ccncede,
are GGC9TCat, sincere and cOnscien-
tlouS people, but there are Christians
and I~Wg IS GoHI. as they, and as;
earnestly II l@vnr OF temperance as
they ere, Nho before that temperance
cann05 be enfcrccd Or even promoted
by rroh?Gi|t:TT laws IL a great city.
Card!a9l Cihh0r&, in the exercise OF
his occ!G@S&&hir3I 6;-ttes, confirms each
year 2 lnuE't'Gd3 3f Children EIe ey-
acts from o2ch enc Of them a Dladee
to a5"t"iG from strong drink until, st
least, tn: 20 CT tNCrtT-,He years is
reached 'T1is IS q practical temper
fNC2 { ::i:" u rJC.c Ta1',c than can
be e. ,lr"j4 = %..2a"@ Children have
I"@ 2-".,f4c@ ,'-2 $50 t>G drink anG
trey F,i-r =, dire; ~. /, 1,aeri,@ the
r'2''"@, ~: II ,'tT .Iarn tu2 age OF
tv'4Gj 'r.":.M y '%'3ut Tr;7,kipo the
G:n@c4. -, tr-t thereafter tl:ov viii!
ret e -. r / q .]";,itt 81 IS to lose SSH.
cc;';:y' ~ ;'H H1;srocal church an!
in {" ~ E':,>t It p"oU:9 who hold 10
t"'t Il ii; ~ ch:i3v@:s are to'~llt frc,n
1n";" aer'i@:G Infancy 10 keep their
ho'iH5 in temperance, soh2rnass AID
ch"@JirY." ard i'll all the churches the
s2me !Hor"l principle ia irculcotel
THIS is Tie true way to ioht the evil
OF cgunNanne9s. 0n1 nCt'the l7w'Hal1.
ing and den1nciation and attempting
to array church AGAINST church end
tho i0oc"oant rrora CATION Of strife
mat drunkenness is a great vice
cannot be 9ny proof that tie mere oct
OF using 3tr'Hg drink is crime. The
use Of opi2t2 a to promote s!eep is q
still more DANGEROUS Tfactica, but no
one has argued frc,,.i tilat fact thot it
IS crime to take 9 dose Of oaregoric.
In Eu}"oe end in this country there
are n'ji,ion8 Ct Sincere Christians wio
use wine End other alcoholic linuors
without abusing them. No one de-
nOuncHl drunkenness more storGly
than the Sovi0r o. mann:na ard yet
he u9c7 wine to such an extent that
the PhariSeGS ct Ihat day Terrcaclled
Him as @ G'UttnnrUs man and wine
biNbeC And the reca OF Pilaleees is
nCt vet c%tjnot, lJnle than this, the
S9vic;'r selected wire zte ''the, outward
ard vi"ih'c sign in The most sacred Of
the sHCrHmentS. a~d commended men
fer al tine to drink it i'll his memory.
E,@ fret N'"9"le was the turning Of
w''teI into wine.
WIZ t:1"~3 thinos in the knowledge
OF ali Christian nian, the prohibition OF
The @2!e O. LIQUOR as a moral issue
mUat re dismissed and the subject
considered III a spirit Of soberness,
Temperance and charity as an ecOnom-
ic and noiitjcal question and as one of
practical wisdom and eXpediency Let
the church deal with the moral side of
it, Earnest ministers OF the gospel
surely will be slow to admit that the
church Is too feeble Or too Indifferent
to do its work, but must appeal to the
secular power for help.
The Issue Of exDediancy involves
the question whether prohibition will
prohibit. It has never, we believe,
been tried il any city as large as Bal
timore. But in cities where it has
been tried the evidence entirely justi-
fies the opinion Of Cardinal Gibbons
that "liuuor would be sold here quite
as abundant'v under prohibition laws
as under we'll regulated license" If
this is true-and we have no doubt of
it-What would be the effect of pro-
hibition? 1t would relieve the liquor
business Of the tax Of more than half
a million dollars it now pays; it would
transfer the business to lawbreakers
and to dark alleys and lure young men
to place infinitely worse than the IL
censed and regulated saloon; it would
afford the opportunity Of corrupt poll
ticians to trade with the illicit bust
ness by granting protection in return
for graft" promoting political cor
ruption in municipal affairs. and, final
ly, after increasing the costs of police
and prosecution, it would impose upon
the property owners a burden of in
creased taxation which would be stag
gering and (which would drive house.
t.c1Iers, crd icd!1.stries frc,,, the cit.