Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-05-04
Outside Point of VIEW.

Only a few weeks ago the First Con
gregational church of Sioux City in
stalled Rev. Wallace NJ. Short. Mr..
Short was called" that his views on
many subjects We're unusual, not to
say an orthodox. 1t was just as we'll
known that Mr.. Short had no hesitancy
in expressing both publicly and private
ly his opinions. The following from a
recent issue OF the Sioux City Journal
bears out both of the above state
ments:
Declaring hat he does not believe
the attempts al temperance reform
like the meetings which are to be held
in Sioux City next Sunday under the
auspices of c. w. Trickett, the man
who cleaned up Kansas City. Kan"
are productive of the right good, Rev.
Wallace NJ. Short. pastor of the First
Congregational church speaks his mind
in g quiet talk" which is printed on
the last page of the leaflets contain
ing the program for yesterdays ser
vices in mis- church.
AN invitation has been sent 10 me
TO dismiss the services of this church
on Sunday evening, May l, to join in
a public meeting of the ~anti-saloon
league for the purpose of hearing a
man from Kansas City, Kan. who has
been prominent in the prohibition cru
SADIE in that city says Rev. Mr.. Short.
4 therefore have replied that per-
sonally 1 cannot advise the dismissal
of any church service for the purpose
above mentioned.
"In the first place. I have lived in
close proximity to Kansas City. Kan,
for sever years, and have known a
good deal about the work of the man
who is coming here to speak. My own
earnest conviction is that his methods
and spirit are not those Of Christ, or
of the Christian religion. I believe such
work as his is subversive of the useful
ness and of the very life of the church.
l believe he is helping to bring laws
and law enforcement into contempt,
and is Fastening the breakdown of pub
lie respect for law.
IN the second place, I believe that if
the church is to study the temperance
question at all-and surely it should
it must study the question far more
broadly and t~ruthfully than is being
done by most people today. Prohibition
is only one method, proposed by some
people, of dealing with the temperance
question. 1t has been worked strenu-
ously for more han sixty a IN this
country. Nearly three-fourths of the
territory of our country has been COW
cred by prohibitory laws. During these
sixty years the per capita consumption
of alcohol as a beverage in the United
States has doubled. Thousands of good
men believe that the prohibition cru
SADIE never can succeed because found
ed on wrong principles. II the church is
- .@,,J,- +Lo o,,actinn II fret must de-
fine %truthfully what temperance is,
and must then consider intelligently
and earnestly what kind Of work may
best promote true temperance.
In the town where / grew up, all the
people were temperate, in fact, total
abstainers in the matter of alcoholic
beverages, though many of them were
very Incorporate in some other prac-
tees. The town was, however, about
evenly divided between the two meth
DDS of promoting temperance Each
side wanted the church to adopt ana
baptize it's particular method Over
the question of method, the fought bit
| terly, but did little, in my judgment, to
promote temperance. it would nave
, been & mistake Ger The church re- give
its special sanction to either Method.
! But the church ought to nave done a
| great deal more than it was then doing
or is now doing, to promote temper
ance.
"The man who comes from kansas
to speak to US will give facts and hg
ures to show what prohibition has
done. Other men, in my judgment,
equally sincere and truthful, give fig
ures equally convincing on the other
side. In my opinion, neither side proves
anything. 1 am quite familiar with the
American Prohibition Year Book. ana
| the United States Brewers Wear Rook.
and the Anti-saloon League YEA BOOK
and the National Model License LeaS-
ue. I have attended many prohibition
meetings and many sessions OF the
Bartenders' union. I do not believe the