The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1909-07-25

II is quite another thing to say that
once free men In . once free country
shall not. without violation OF the
law. to which severe penalties are at
tached. provide themselves with wine.
| beer and other beverages II they SO
elect. to be used In their own homes.
| And to pass laws interfering with this
| right is an intolerable tyranny and an
officious intermeddiing with the rights
Of individuals not to be thought Of
with anything but the most indignant
| reprobation.
Fortunately. the Supreme Court of
the United States has protected sane
citizens from this insane fanaticism.
The importation Of liquors In unbrok-
en- packages cannot be prohibited. The
| Supreme Court of Alabama has decided
and others will follow that private
lockers in clubs are legal This means
that rich men who can afford the lux
uary OF a club can have their liquors.
| They can have a man to keep the club
and also mix the drinks with sugar.
lemons, Ice and other condiments, but
| the poor man is denied this privilege.
II is a monopoly OF the rich. The sa-
| loon is looked upon by the poor man as
| his club, and he L. certain TO look on
| 1t as unfair IL he is deprived Of II till
some suitable and comparatively inno-
cent substitute has been provided to
| take its place.
should Only Set Example.
IT am a strict prohibitionist as re-
| CARDS myself, and have been so for
nearly forty years, and that Is the on
| ly way, along with sound argument
that any man has q right to try TO
make another man a 'teetotaler.' am
so for the sake Of example and for the
benefit Of my influence over my weak
| er brother. For this cause refrain
| from ali sorts of fntoxicants, even that
patent medicine with its rs per cent Of
alcohol. car loads of which are shipped
| to this city and none Of which IL con-
sumed In the saloons, down to beer
| with its only s per cent OF alcohol.
II do this not because think there
| Is any moral wrong in the use of any
of them, but only for the good OF those
| who may be Influenced by my example.
| This, ! repeat, Is as far as any man
| has a right to go TO make a prohfbi-
| Zionist Of his brother. It should be
noted that St. Paul did not say, I will
not permit my brother to eat meat or
drink wine Cor coffee, which the Battle
Creek people would prohibit) because
1t offends me, but I will do none of
these things lest I cause him to stun
BILE and fall--quite a different PROPOSE
ton from that Of the prohibltionist.
BETTER the Open saloon.
at am the bitter opponent of the sa-
loon as II has been conducted in this
State and in this community, and as
some say IL is still being conducted,
although believe they are now obey
| Ing the law. am the sworn enemy
| Of the saloon in politics. But II will
| stay there as long as the churches stay.
Better In my judgment Is the open sa-
loon with It's evils than the lying, law.
breaking subterfuges by which liquor
OF any sort. In any quantity and OF the
vilest quality. can be had In Maine and
Kansas from which come these
straight-laced laws by which, what
think mistaken men, would forge bonds
for free men In Texas.
IT confess to much sympathy with
| that celebrated English Bishop. Nc
| Gee who said he had rather see Eng
land drunk but free than sober and
| nation of slaves Freedom from vice
| is purchased at too great price IL that
| price be the sacrifice of a mans prtvi-
! lege of his own free choice to select
one course OF action or another, wheth-
| er right or wrong. For the divinity or
| his nature can only be manifested in
his ability to choose for himself, The
right ought to ask only fair field and
no favors to win the victory. Certain
Ii is that this has been Gods way of
dealing with the human race In all the
past by which 1t has been brought TO
| where 1t is at the present, and I have
| no doubt ne will continue this same
policy in the future regardless of what
| we do down in Texas. 1t is the only
| way to make free men instead OF autom-
atoms II men cannot be persuaded
to do right because it is right. but can
only be kept from doing wrong by be-
ing put In strait-jackets, then the
gospel Is a failure.
l. Sxa.maI Nax N E1fIurN.
mr.. Gladstone one Of the ablest
thinkers OF his age. who was devout
Christian and also churchman OF
our type. has left this great truth on
men can be regenerated and the terri
BILE woes of this darkened world effec-
tually dealt with. All this belongs to
the realm of religion"
has never been fairly tested. II all
the sanest Christians in the country
will get together on a common plat
form composed of the few fundamental
principles laid down by Jesus, and
| preach a reasonable Gospel In rea-
| sonable way so that 1t would appeal
TO reasonable men, and back II up py
good lives, then many of those strong
men about us who make prevalling
nublic sentiment would come to help
us who are now repealed from divid-
ed church. which In parts is dominated
nv a narrowness and fanaticism with
which they have no sympathy Le.
Christians do this, as the LORD praye1S
for them to do, and the Gospel VIII
win out again. as 1t did In Athens
and Rome
"J.et Christians set the salvation OF
this world as the one great aim OF
the church and not the salvation OF
souls in some other world. In Athens
and Rome Paul preached with sanity
md reasonableness which shines OUT
conspicuous in all his words, and we
have them recorded in the acts OF the
apostles and his epistles. There is
nothing we need more In these siren
nous times in which we are fallen
than a return to the methods and prin-
ciples of this real prince Of the apos-
ties, whose personality Is more power
fully impressed on the Christian reli-
gion than that of all the other apostles
put together. St. Peter not excepted.
Object OF Present Movement.
1--WE cannot do our brothers any
real good till we treat them with
fairness and justice. One Of Abbeys
mural decorations in the Pennsylvania
state Capitol is the blind figure OF
Justice with her even balances and
-. la NaN4A