The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-11-23

ard he cannot b< immoral We sup pose none of our prohfbttion friends would subscribe to such < narrow definition as that Morality Is as broad as human thought and action. The man who steadfxstiy adheres to one of the lsws of Ged and man nay be grossly immoral for all that.
 So 1t is with temperance. but many . of the rsformsrs do not seem to un- derstand it; or at least they fail to practice it. When public speaksr stands up before an audience and loudly denounces all who do not agree with his views hs is as intem- perate as is the man who gets drunk. and perhaps less excusabis. When a minister uses his pulpit as political rostrum from which to aiiude to those who oppose the amendment as whis- key soaks. pimps, harlots. and various other vile names. he is as intemperate as the drunkard. and does more real harm. because he not only slanders good men and women. but sets an ex- ample that minister, of all men. should studiousiy avoid. His exam pie and his language not only work harm to those who hear him and fol- low him. but injures the sacred cali- ing to which he Is supposed to be devoted.
 I We must confess that we have been much surprised, not :, to say shocked. at tho tntempersnce displayed by those who profess to advocate tenn perance. By 60 doing they violate one of the cardinal principles of temper ance and ignore one of the cardinal orders given to men when the com mand. .'Be ye temperate In ali things was given by enc enainentiy qualified to speak It has come to be the usual thing for advocates of the amend ment preachers and iaymen. to in- duige in violent and intemperate de- nunciation of all who, oppose them, plainly assuming that there can be no virtue, honesty or morality among those who do not see fit to follow their lead In matter about which every free citizen of Aiabama should think and act for himself.
 We do not believe that any cause can succeed which is sought to be ups held and carried by such means. We know 1t ought not to succeed for. be- sides being wrong in Its inception. it is being pushed by wrongful methods. When the question first came up much stress was laid by Its advocates on the ciaIm that it is strictly moral issue. They assumed at the outset that they, and they alone. represent ed the morals of the people of, Ala bama. and that all who opposed them occupied the place Of the depraved. the wicked and the sinful: in short. ali were necessarily immoral who did not want prohibition placed In our or ganic law.
 These highly moral apostles have learned that their definition would not, hold, and that their assumption was based on false promises. They I were not long in finding out--proba- bly to their surprise--that among the opponents of their pet movement were to be found men and women who stand In the very front rank of the good people of Alabama In every re- spect.. Ail over the State are to be found men in active opposition to the afnendment who are as upright in character, as blameless in their lives and as honest in their motives as any men the state of Alabama has ever been honored by. And they are also learning that the earnest opponents of constitutional prohibition have with them many of the purest. best and most earnestly religious women that ever blessed any civilization,
 These established facts may have been a revelation to some of the so- called reformers. but they can neither doubt nor defy what is plain to all who have eyes to see and ears to hear. The moral issue slogan was a false cry. and all of them who have ordin- ary intelligence know that the fight is political one. It was conceived in politics, born In politics, swaddied in political garments and has all along been nursed and upheld by politicians of the most pronounced type. wheth- CT they are merely hungry and ann bilious office seekers. or whether they are religious seaiota. politics and the furtherance of political ambitions is the main issue and well they know 1t. +H,, ,.-,. .s
 And so, finding that the moral claim could not be made sood. and seeing that the good men and women of Ala bama are not all or a majority of them. following their lead, they have become desperate and have become the propagandists of intemperance in one of its worst forms: intemperance | of thought Of lanRuaRe and of action