The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-08-04

Hind Tiger In the City II Working
For Prohibition. and That Its Sue
cess In Charleston at This Time
Would Bring Contempt Upon the
Cause Of Temperance and the Law
From The News and Courier. July &c.
First putting himself squarely on
record as being I'm heartiest sympathy
with the ideals of those who are
! working for the prohibition of the iia-
uor trafiic. the Rev. Howard Lee
Jones. ID. D.. pastor Of the Citaae;
Square Baptist Church. declared. .nev
sr.heless. In sermon preached in
that church last night that he knew
that a prohibitory law In Charleston
! st this time would prove screaming
FARGO. and declared his intention Of
voting for the dispensary on the 18th
OF next August. urging the memt|rs
OF his congregation to do likewise. for
reasons which he gave.
He also said that he did not be-
lieve. despite the Mayors oft-repeat-
ed public utterances to that effect,
that the law had been enforced In
Charleston as well as the people
wanted. II enforced. and he urged that
the Christian citizens organize them
selves to see that It Is enforced. He
declard himself strongly against spec
tscular methods In the endeavor to
Sork up enthusiasm for prohibition,
afirmed that he blind tigers of the
city were united In the effort to have
prohibition passed In the hope of
profting still more largely thereby,
0And expressed the belief that for
! genuine prohibitionists to unite with
these hsuor traffickers In voting for
prohibition In Charleston at this time
was to invite contempt upon their
cause and the law.
Dr. Jones' had as his subject PRO
hibition. a Force or a Farce" and he
based his sermon upon the scriptural
Injunction. Remember. therefore.
from whence thou art fallen. repent
and review the first works"
The speaker said that no one could
say anything about the evil of the
LIQUOR traffic and the troubles. the
.~1.- "a ~. .o~~oxvs no~okkac "
drink which ne would not endorse.
and he declared that no man was 40
hsartier sympathy with the IDEAS
sought to be accomplished by prohi-
4 bitionL Rut the net gain of prohibi-
tion has been. not In the dry territory
0Gained. but In the fact that II has
kept men from forgetting the awfu!-
mess Of the drink evil and has farm
iliarised them with what he believes
20 be Gods ultimate programme for
the earth--with the ideal Of a ssber
community.
= But ideal prohibition should not be
confused with prohibition as a prac-
tical means to this splendid end. said
DIR. Jones. The enactment of a law
for the destruction of the manufac-
ture and sale of liquor Is very diff
ferent thing from the abstract
desire for the elimination of strong
drink from our social life. and much
harm has been done by tine confu-
sion or these things. 1t Is thorough
Is unfair TO demand that prohibition
shall accomplish all of Its ldealism
u.at II shall be absolutely enforced
), better than other laws. or even as wei
as other laws. but prohibition as @
method may be or may not be tn,
lest method OF work towards prohi-
bition as an ideal. There Is nothing
sacred about prohibition as a method
OF reaching a splendid. God-inspireJ
end. Prohibition as a method may
Dbe absolutely wrong. for as a metho,1
IL Is dependent upon an intelligent
majority strong enough to enforce the
law when II Is enacted.
'T am not using the patent argu-
ment that prohibition will not prohi-
bit" said the speaker. 1T can and
Tdoes prohibit in certain cases. You
might as well ask me whether be-
lieve gun will kill. as to ask me
whether think that prohibition will
prohibit. II depends upon the CUR
and the man who handles 1t. and the
, thing II Is aimed at. SO with prohibi-
tion. IL depends on what Is behind
prohibition as to whether II will pro
hibit. Prohibition Is no stronger thar
the moral purpose it represents. Il
Is a force or farce. according to the
motive or lack of motive the mora