The Point Pleasant register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) 1909-1939, 1910-09-07
PROHIBITION
LAMBASTED ANDExPOSED ASUNSOUND
BY St. LOUIS MINISTER.

az 81 LOUIS, Mo-, on sunday Aug. /
q, 1910, Rev. Jacob Z. Meeker,
pastor of the Compton Hill Com
gresational Church, delivered an
address in which he delt with the
prohibition question at considerable
lergth. Meeker is not foreigner.
He is an American, and unable to
speak a word of German. His adj
dress was in part as follows:
We have come to the time in
America" said Mr.. Meeker, when |
legomania'' is rampant. We have
too much law and too much law and
too little enforcement. But this
little enforcement is the result of
the passage Of laws which can not
be enforced. Men are asked by the
authorities to respect the laws they
must have respectable laws. 1t would
be wise thing to keep this pro-
hibition idea out of the political
world, for the saloon and liquor are
not politician matters, but strictly
sociological. Whenever you unite
politics with social Ii alters you get
into trouble, and that is what pro-
hibition will result in
The greatest evil that would
possible come on this state con-
tinued Mr.. Meeker, would be to
pass law that could not be enforc-
ed. Prohibition could never become
a law in the strict sense of the
word 1t is nothing more than an
arbitrary ruling. 1t would tend to
make men disregard it as law,
and when man disregard it as
law, and when a man disregards
one law it is but step till he dis
regards all law.
There are two systems of gov
eminent in this country. One of
them dates back to the puritans,
when the blue laws were in effect;
when the state and church were
together, and when the politician
got his inspiration from the priest.
That was a.spasm of law which will
never apply to the American com
mon wealth.
Don't let that idea of personal
liberty run away with you. You
must talk of personal liberty only as
modified by law. The leaders of an
tiprohibition must be careful lest
they be taken to mean that all act
ions 20 unchecked. Don't follow
the radical, as he inevitably destroys
that which he would save. The ex-
IRENE in the antiprohibition side
is as bad as that on the prohibition.
Prohibition, however, is only a
one-legged measure at best. 1t deals
only with the selling of liquor, and
leaves out entirely the buying and
usage ard Ownership of it. You may
keep a n4tn from selling ANYTHING,
but you can not keep another from
owning it or buying it. Here is
where prohibition is faulty. If pro-
hibition could be sound in principle,
/ should say enforce it, if it took
the whole standing army to do it. If
not sound, as il is not, it should be
opposed by every man who stands
for better and higher things in his
country.
If the sale of liquor must be
stopped because it hurts one in
dividual or society, then say go
farther. There is not one institution
in the category of society which
will withstand the test, and which
will not have saloons is a social
question and has nothing to do
with politics.
Moreover, it is decidedly wrong
to bring the matter. If my church
were to pass resolution to bring
the matter before a caucus or an
election, | would fight that church.
| respect the opinions of every in
dividual, and believe man should
vote for prohibition if he can see no
L " i