Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1910-06-25
OBy Bishop Henry G. Potter


The law of the church binds upon
me duty which | feel to be a defin.
tic obligation; and in its performance
j viii ask your attention this morning
10 charge upon the subject of TEN.
pcrance. | do this because | regard
the church's attitude TO this subject
as OF primary and preeninent import
ance. and because / hold that she is
In the world as a guardian both of
iaith and of morals. | do It also be.
cause there is. ! believe. at present
existing widespread misrepresentation
ON this subject, and, what is worse.
widespread apathy
The Christian Church has undoubt.
cdly wasted much energy. and we'll
intentpned Christian people are still
wasting much activity. in THO pursuit
of methods and maxlms concerning
the drink habit, which have earned for
them the ridicule II not the resent.
mcnt. of reasoning and rejecting peo-
pie; but those OF MS who Judge such
persons harshly are often willingly ig.
norant of situations and Incidents
which are peculiar to our modern civil
lization, and which have, and had. no
parallel in Oriental times and Gus
toms.
Let me make my meaning quite
plain. IF the dangers from drunken.
ness had been AS great or as immin-
ent In the tropical countries In which
the first missionaries of Christianity
lived and to which they wrote as they
are in ours. | believe that their Ian.
guage would have been much palmer
and stronger. though | believe that
they would not have departed from
the wise law by which they were
governed. which did not lay down
rules, but which enunciated principles.
For modern life is not ancient life.
The modern strain of bread winning
Is not at any rate with us. the easy
task of earlier or later tropical exis
once. With our conditions In othe
words, have arisen whole family Of
perils. OF which the men ana VIC.
men of st. Paul's time could have
little or no knowledge.
We resent, alas, most of us to whom
| speak this morning as an intoler.
able impertinence reference to these
conditions, as though they were all
OF nature for which we were in no
wise responsible, and to which we
could bring no amelioration: but. In
fact no one who is reaplng tile bene..
fits OF any single one OF the enrich
ments of our Notwithstanding civilii,
zation has a right to do so without
asking himself the question: What are
modern cheapness and invention and
machinery, and all the multitude OF
inexpensive conveniences which make
my life so different from the life of
my forefathers-what are these things
costing--nOt the employer who pro,
duces them, nor the tradesman who
sells them-but the mechanic who
makes them? And how can | blame
him, whose task Is so narrow. so con-
fining and so monotonous. II now and
then he 'eyens up as he says. and
introduces little variety into life by
getting drunk. -
We have had. and stlll have, as !
pointed out not long ago, n school OF
reformers, whose shibboleth Is at this
point definite philosophy of RESPONSE
bility, which, since then. has found it's
echo in denunciations and In leglsla-
ton equally impotent and Infinite fu-
tile. Mr.. John b. Cough was the faith
er of this school of reformers. whose
Ia. - Al. 4
victim and not transgressor; and