The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1910-06-07
T[NDERFO0T TALKS OF
PREACHER IN POLITICS

do well, bc decent, and have always n
Willingness to help boost the right way.
They sonnet imes are mistaken in the
right way 10 do il, hut that does not
take away from them the credit that
is due them.
3. OF course they have, as outlined
above. Very few preachers own any
property, and should in all propriety
sidestep that which relates to taxation.
Right here IL where all the adverse
comments on the preacher in politics
have their birth. Some preachers, with.
out dollars worth of real estate, not n
cent = worth Of personal stuff returned
above the exemption and perhaps not
even paying poll tax, arrogate to them.
selves rights as citizen which they
do not possess and carried away by
perfectly natural sentiments, butt into
business, since they are only citizens
| in broad sense of toleratiOn. They
have right 10 vote for whom they
please to represent them. and to influ.
enee all the votes they please, when il
is done as n man and not az preacher.
! That is setting n hard stunt for the
average parson, who finds IL more or
less impossible TO lay aside his cloth
and mix with political matters on the
same plane as common sinners. They
have a perfect right to take part in all
moral auctions that have to do with
candidates. IL il is u candidate who IL
morally unfit, it is certainly the privi
lege of the preacher to fight him any
way he pleases, ~ IL is Of every other
citizen.
I. OF course. Any man who would
ask such n fool question has a flat
place ON his head somewhere.
! 5. This harks back to the real mo.
tive Of my persistent questioner, the
, temperance question, TO which ] have
not been blind while reading his var.
ious letters. Rather than being a crime,
. it is anything else, for every preacher
on earth who is really consistent is n
prohibitionist This does not mean that
he should refrain from voting whore
there is no prohibition ticket, or that
he should consider prohibition the only
issue before the American people. To
repeat, If he is really consistent, he is a
prohibitionist, for through all ages of
the world, booze has been the arch
enemy of all he stands for, and of hu.
manity. II he has the nerve to do it,,
and il the check.signers are compla.
cent, there can he no earthly objection
to his laundering forth in the syna
gogues on prohibition all he likes. The
only place where he can be challenged
is when he goes forth into the thorough.
fares aud gets into the political mire,
as a preacher instend of as man. Then
does more harm than he does good. Ere.
quently his side is successful, but that
does not remove the greatest harm, for
il ends his usefulness with the very
flhSS ne wants most lO Tthcn' j He eject
may endorse all he has said and done,
but the spiritually unwashed are from
that time on the outside of his zone.
| know one town of 10000 people, in
which every preacher has thus ended
his capacity for usefulness, and while
applauded by the communicates, are ut
terly unable to reach "A single plain or.
dinary man who is a specimen Of the
class that the church wants most Ia
reach. There are probably other towns
in the same way. In Texas there are
; five candidates for governor. All OF
them are trying to straddle on the prohi
bition question. Personally ! have nc
faith in any Of them, and If lived IN
the state would vote for the least rank
The preachers may have more wisdom
and IL they can separate the sheep frO5
the goats should Immediately proceed
to do il.
8. Most anywhere, most any old
class. No working preacher ever lived
who was practical business mar
' If he was he would never be successful
as a minister, and n.successful min
listers don I stay on their job very long
Most preachers think they are cleve