The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-24
Preachers Largely Responsible
 For State Wide Prohibition

sstate Wide Prohibition" was the subject chosen by Rev. I. L. Gwslt- ney. pastor of the Baptist Church at Prattyilie on recent occasion. The Advertiser willingly acedes to . re- quest from those who heard it. for It's publication. Mir. Gwaitney said:
 Tn dealing with this subject assign cd me by the other pastors. 1t is my earnest desire to be thoroughly prac- ticaL and if possible add to your knowledge of the subject other prac- ticel Thoughts and ideas. shall there fore attempt no floral display in what I am going to say. Flowers are pret- that they should grow on stems and stalks sufficient in strength to hold them.
 As scripturai basis for what am going to say, I should like to present you wfth>the Word of God as whole. A Book permeated through ana through with the temperance idea. and not only as related to intoxicants, but to every other phase of human life. Recurring. then, once again to my sub- feet. should like to ask three ques- lions which we hope to answer to- night:
 4-
 second--what may we do in the present to help the cause?
 Third--what Is going to be done In the future7 ,at1
 First, then, we are to ask: What has prohibition done in the past? And here we note that prohibition. like ev- cry other movement which has eyer amounted to anything, had small be- ginning, but the man who knows any history at all will never despise the day of small things. Christianity itself began in a manager, but the Christian ity of the manager soon become the Christianity of throne, and on this Christianity must rest as basis every other movement destined to ultimate success The greatest upheavl of tEu- rope had a small beginning-5ne man Justly called the Star of the Reforma- tion--but from this star light shone; from this star lightning flashed over Contfuental Europe, and the thunder shook the earth. Sd with the cause Of prohibition. Nobody knew that the child was born they thought it an untinneiy birth, but today 1t is heard crying without "She uttereth her voice in the streets" There are today eiey- sn distinct organizations whose sole purpose 1t Is to urge forward the cause of prohibition. The oldest Of these, acordfng to the best data sf my command, is the Inaepepdent Order or Rechabites, which came into being in l8l3 and all the others have been or- guaized since that date. Neither time nor inclination would admit of my go- ing Into detail as to the history and work of these several institutions. Euffce it here to say that the National Prohibition Party which came into ex- istence in 1889 in Chicago, and the Anti-Saioon League which was organ lsed in 1898 in oberiin, O., are the most important factors in the cause. To an- swer my first question, then, as to what has been done in the past, it must be said that through the com bined Influence of those prohibitory in- ntitutions. public sentiment has been raised against the liquor interest to a degree hitherto unknown In all the world, This, if we only knew 1t, is the crucial point in the whole situation, and since public sentiment Is today on the side of prohibition it becomes at once our strongest asset The day has come when if man is engaged in the liquor traffic, whether his place of business be orderly or dlsorderly. rep- utabie or disfeputable, legal CT illegal, the very fact that he is In the business brings with 1t certain stigma. The day has come when if 8 man Is Seen drunk he is justly considered disgraced by his fellow men. and he himself must bear sfne feproAcu. lC mas Hot hlWays been thus. I am not very ancient yet, but am old enough to remember well when the Virginia gentleman gave a dining 1t was considered breach of etiquette If he did not invite his guests up for juiep before dinner. And not Che men only, but the ladies, too would take their Juleps and drink their cor diai,, and would all together smack their mouths and call it nice. say am old enough to remember this. and l am old enough to remember when 1t passed of by reason of public sentiy ment rising against 1t until today such a method of procedure would bring with it>the severest censure.
 I must tell you once again that pub lie sentiment is king in America. and sooner or later it will sit on the throne. And in all matters of reform the thing to be studied is not the whins and the caprices of a few individuals even though they be at the time the office holders. The thing to do Is create sentiment, and educate the moral con science of the people. and then ask: What do they want? and whatever they want they shall have. So far they have wanted State wide prohibition in Alabama. If they want to keep it they may, and if they don't want to keep