The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1912-02-09

AID poifticai NE Of the whole .
nfuAtty. 1nsy Wilt hOao q pasanc4 u
power: they will sst the pa~o Tor ueh.
srD to toitvw: tney wal es.aotssn Low
moral ~standaros: wal begin 70 caA
evii good, ana sood EVIL; viii ApOsO-
gsze tor social arinkIny customs, foR
reacnes OF virtue, Tor corrup.ivn IN
poiitics, for violations Of law, ami,
nnaiiy. wal demanQ iess STRINGENT leg
isis on the liquor question: to SUIT
me haDits n appetI,es Of tine
0r1nker.
The Religious View.
VIA Is the spAi.aai tacuity? 1t 10
the n al nature OF the man exereis-
ins itseif G,ouward. recognizing lie
accountability. At II the open win
acw through which q man rs able To
see Ga, To app enenu him. love, lear.
and worship nam. ana tie open door
through wn.ch OOd can enter t,is sVai
anc mike inn a cinid Of heaven. Al
cchol hrst OF All pulls the blinds OF
that winuow, IN hnuts h uoxe Or
hope. 1he Drinking man sees Lvd N
n.ore cistorLeu views understands
him less ana less, feels less ms az
. uiiity ITO has maker. cares less
for his eternal future, thinks more
about time aud things Of sense. and
as he e on drinking and increas-
ing the drink, he turns away from
God. his Lack TOWARDS heaven, and
goes out ana down, slipping. stun
biing. falling. iiuinx. pitcnlng at last
Into the pit ilsell. There ~ a sci~fl-
titic reason why the drunkard Ii shut
out OF heaven. There may be other
reasons. Hut by as much as the spir-
itua faculty becomes n closed DOOR,
by 50 much o 1t become difficult
inr Cod to gain entrance into his soul
and life; n he who shuts God out
OF his soul closes the door of heaven
against himself. and he VINO SHUTS
himself. out of. HEAVIER locks himself
up in that other place.
Ministers Must Not Be Silent.
Alcohol. ther efore, In It's very ma
ture. defeats The message of the min
lister, n the fntssion OF the Church
IN .aving lost slen. This being true.
tbs first man OF all men to d%enounce
tire drink habit and traff.c ts the
minister OF the gospel. This place of
the minister Is on h hring lire N
this refc. m. God nave mercy On the
preacher who Is not a total a%bstsiner.
! and who fsyors license and evenue
No man called of God to preach the
gusp-I has any logical right to toler-
ate the liquor traffic, apologize for
Il, OF tie indifferent towards ii, neither
towards the social drinking customs
of the day. He Is constructively
obliged to damn the drink that damns
the man; more than that, ne must
damn the SAIGON that sells the drink
that damns the man.: more than that
he must damn the law that fegalizes
the saloon to sell the drink that damns
the man; vel more than that, he
must damn the vote that makes the
: law tina legaiizes the saloon to sell
the drink that damns the man. He
has no option, he must defend the
purposes 81 God in saving lost men,
and that is preaching the gospel.
The Church to the Front.
The amt logic makes 1t the duty
OF the church to esd the forces OF
citizenship in the effort to overthrow
the saloon The permanent commit
tee on temperance OF the Presbyterian
church puts itself IN record in the
/ following statement, endorsed by the
General Assembly In 1906: The
church that In not at war with the
saloon is untrue to Christ Then II
gave as a reason, In 81 substance. h a
1t Is the mission of h church to
a lost men,: II h the nature Of the
saloon through the sale Of liquor to
damn the man. The two do not work
together. They are unchangeabiy at
war with each other. One or the
other must die. Which shall 1t be?
The time has ON for every man
who has professed The name of Christ
to quit fooling with this thing. give
up his drink, n vote the ticket
dry"
Leads 10 Social immortality.
1t Is well known that 1t belongs
to the nature OF alcohol, as opposed
: 10 tho cvarHnan actin xpnnn the mi
NAL centeTs. to unduly awaken the
lower impulses by h depression OF
the higher, or controlling faculties
This accounts for the well known fact
that drinking men are more likely
to get over the line of virtue into
the social vice thar total abstainers.
The Bible confirms the same View In
that when the sacred penman speaks
Of the drink and drunk he associates.
as a rule. in the same context. an
account OF the strange woman"
whose ways lead down to the gates
Of he'll and death. For the ann
reason the saloon creates a demand
for the brothel. The principal agency
by which three hundred thousand
girls are led astray every year in this
These things being true, do you
vote for the saloon? He who does
| In selling out cheap. l DO not nesi-
tate to say that. after a man comes
to know the nature OF alcohol In
these particulars. and then votes for
its Regulation. he ought to be LASH
ed by every decent wcnnan's tongue
until he shall be made to hide his
head for very shame. The woman
hood, motherhood. m~afdenhocd. girl
hood OF this country stands for some
thing yet.
The purity and integrity Of the
| home are the guaranty OF the per
petuity Of a government which y 'of.
by and for the people And who II
he that will call himself q patriot.
a statesman. while ch~ampioning tina
| traffic in a drug whose nature ID to
| eamn the .mather who .hore him, the
/ VIE he retrotlred End the golden
haired girl who brought sunshine to
his'home2
re men who represent God IN gov
! eminent at the ballot box. and In
legislative halls, called to enact Hts
| will into forms Of law for "the
praise Of them that do welrs and tor
..tarror to evildoers." what account
will We render to Him Of the part
We prorose to play In the prohibition
rferendum7
49, L.AT .AM W. EA -.aEA &c IA VOL N...n