The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1909-11-05
S|NNOT LETTER
ON AME NOMENT
Prominent Presbyterian Again
Expresses His Protest
IS A VIGOROUS WRITER
Our Reason of Opposition is That it
Is lnimicaI To the Christian
Religion and To the
Home.

The Rev. DR.. w I. Sinnott, stated clerk
of the Presbyterian synod of Alabama, is
attracting wide attention by letters he is
! writing against the amendment. One of
J those letters, written in October, is being
circulated in pamphlet form by the anti
allure, and it is believed that this letter
| which below will also be printed in PAM
| phlet for campaign distribution through
| out the state. Dr. Sinnott lives at Cen
treville. For 20 years or more he has
been stated clerk of synod, a position OF
great responsibility and of high honor.
An officebearer in the Presbyterian
church said last night, in referring to
DR.. snnott and his anti-amendment dis
cussions:
He is man of keen intellect and is
one of the most scholarly men in Ala
bama. He is an authority on parliament
airy procedure, on Presbyterian juris-
prudence and on the photography OF the
Presbyterian church. He is refreshingly
free from anything like cant. On the other
hand he Is a consecrated man. and is
man of charming personality. And 1t goes
without saying that he has genuine cour-
age. Anyone who knows him cannot but
admire his pluck, even if one disagrees
with him.
I'm view, then. of DIR. Sinnott's intel
ectual force, combined with his fine moral
fibre and his absolute fearlessness, an ex-
preston from him on any public ques-
ton is equal in weight to the views of
25 or 80 men, all good and honest. but
without his acumen or his grit"
DR. Sinnott's letter Is addressed to the
Montgomery Advertiser, and is as fol-
lows:
In the Advertiser of October "a, Rev.
D. A Planck, D. D., pastor of Central
Presbyterian church of Mobile, makes
an attack upon me and the views which
| published in the Advertiser on Octo-
Der and October II. This attack does
not correctly set forth the views which
l expressed and while I do not pro-
pose to return railing for railing, nor
to burden the public with matters that
should be personal between DR.. Planck
and myself, 1 wish to say few things
touching the constitutional amendment
that will help to place matters in the
true light.
In relation to the acts of the synod
of Alabama of the southern Presbyte-
rian church those ministers whose con-
sciences require them to attend its an
nual meetings will probably remember
that when its first resolutions on tenn
perance on November a. 1906, were
about to be lost, l came to the rescue
and by parliamentary tactics secured
their adoption. For this I received the
thanks of Mr.. Lander, the author of
the resolutions, who told me that he
could not have secured their adoption
but for my timely help, and the conf
pliment of being made a member of
synods permanent committee on tenn
perance was given me, probably because
of this help. l stand today by all the
acts of synod, including its indorse-
ment of the Anti-Saloon league up to
November 49, 1s0S-the date of synod's
last utterance on temperance. DR..
Plancks statement. then, that my arti-
Gle of October is in the teeth of the
solemn and unanimous action of the
synod of Alabama at it's last session is
not true.
Against Dr. P1anck's statements Mr..
Sinnott sees no hope save in a return
to the old liquor regime and, 1.-THE
present laws must be repealed to save
the church," I place my own statements
published in the Advertiser of October
II, advocating Prohibition of liquor
traffic by the state" and, "a thorough
and impartial trial should now be given
the statutes CThe Carmichael and
the Fuller bils) | discussed no stat
utes, but only the amendment, and did
this in the broadcast and most thorough
| method that 1 am capable of consist
emily with brevity.
DR.. Planck's attack shows such ig-
norance of constitutional and of stat
utory law of state and of federal SOW
ereignty, that l find nothing In common
| between him and me in these matters,
| and to attempt to answer all his points
would require more space in your paper
than l care to ask for. At the risk of