Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1914-08-07
WHAT Is "FAHLUKE?"

Judge Christian, Of Richmond, in Il
recent issue Of the Evening journal
takes az text, from which to preach
In favor Of the continuation Of the
saloon in Virginia, THU statement
Statewide Prohibition has proven Il
failure wherever tried" We quote
from memory. II, in the beginning
he had defined the word failure" his
article would have had more weigh,
pcrhaps, Or perhaps would not have
been written at all. What did he
had been "a faiurc?" If ne meant
that prohibition had failed 10 sup-
press the traffic in and consumption
IF 20 Or entirely, and in toto, then he
ig correct. If he meant 10 Say, tina,
bccauac prohibition hag not stopped
all traffic and comsumption compile
tcly and entirely, in thoae State. and
communities il is therefore "a fail
urc," his statement IL absurd. Where
will such rcaaoning land hin? The
law against murder has not prevented
murder, therefore the law is a. fail
urcl" The statute against carrying
concealed weapons il "a failure" Are
not men still carrying concealed wei
pona, and using them, too?
There ia no theft in Virginia. IIas
not Il law been enacted againat steal
ing and entirely prohibited stealing?
There ere hundreds aud hundreds Of
conYicta in our pcnitcntiaricA and
JallA. The laws which they dchcd and
broke are, forsoOth, "a failure"
Should thcgc laws never have been
snnctcd, or now, after long liini be-
wiped from the statute books? arc
these violated and broken laws "a
failurc?" Consider the great cduca-
tional ayatcmA Of tho world. After
years and years Of constant labor, and
the expenditure Of millions Of money
in public schools, colleges and univcr-
sitica, on the part Of churches and
government, there are still hundrcda
of thouaanda Of illtcratcB in the
country. Therefore, according to this
profound Presbyterian Elder, the
whole thing is "a failure wherever
tried"
After two thouaand years of prca-
ching, at home and abroad, the circu-
lation Of millions Of copies of the
Bible and still more million pages Of
religious literature, only about one
third Of the human race are profess
sors of Christianity, ergo, Christian.
ity IL "a failure wherever tried
In every community, town and CITY
OF this great country there arc Chris
tian churches. whose pulpits are I'LL
cd by educated, consccratcd ministers
and devoted Sunday school teachers
and workers are engaged every Sab
bath. And still. scores and hundreds
OF children are outside, and men and
women do not attend church, and
many who do are not reached. There
fore the churches, Sunday schools,
and all, are "a failure wherever
tried" and Jesus was talking loosely
when lie said, "And ], if he lifted
up, will draw all men unto me-"
If Judge Christian meant to say
that prohibition is "a failure" in that
the curse Of liquor has not been en-
tircly wiped out, then by the same
course of reasoning the Scheme of
Redemption has been "a failure" be
cause Sin has not been wiped out. and
our system Of education is failure,
because there are still iliitcratcg
among US, and prohibitory laws aga
inst crime are failure, because we
still have crimes among us. And all
these schemes for the uplift of the
race and the good If society should be
abolished az failures. This is a logical
absurdity on its very face, and no
one knows this better than Judge
Christian himself.
Shall no effort be made to lessen
crime, to reduce illitcracy, to convert
the world, for the reason that these
things cannot be done cffcctually and
entirely? Shall we decline or refuse
TO try to promote universal peace be
cause wars still prevail? Shall the
surgeon refuse TO use the knife or
the DhVgicinn IN nre2criho fn,. H. 49,.