Daily Kennebec journal., 1914-01-20
Rum Trust Letter to Ministers

The president of the National
Model License League" Mr.. 7. M. Gil
more, has written long, whining,
sycophantic appeal to the ministers OF
America, urging that they join and
serve the liquor interests instead OF
allying themselves with the movement
for national prohibition. In his letter
which would make about a column and
a half in the Kennebec. Journal, this
representative of a great combination
of brewers, distillers and wholesale
liquor dealers, says:
"As an observer of men and affairs you
are aware of efforts to submit an ameno-
ment to the Constitution OF the Unteu
States SO as to prohibit nationally the
manufacture, sale and transportation Oh
alcohol except for medicinal, sacramen-
tai and scientific purposes ana you know
that. because of the influence of men OF
your high calling upon current tnougnt,
an attempt is being made to create the
impression that the movement mas the
approval of the Christian ministry.
II doubt that Christian ministers gen
orally are in favor of movement TO-
ward national prohibition. MY reasons
are: . ;,
'EIRSI-Ine pfonlDlllOt lIiONelheht 10
a political movement and the Christian
ministers are preachers OF the Gospei,
not of political creeds.
'SECOND-Christian ministers are ad-
yoeates of temperance and ProhlDltlon ls
not temperance. Temperance Is neces-
sarily based on seif-control but phohibf-
tion is based on control by others. Tenn
perance is Biblical and Prohibition at
lacks the integrity of the Bible.
"THIRD-Christian ministers are IN
telligent and. therefore, cannot approve
of a leadership that denounces the use
of alcohol as immoral and debasing, ana
vet would except" the use of alcohol for
religious purposes; leadership that de-
nounces alcohol as destructive ana de-
generating to the hupan nocy anu q. .,,e a1
same time would except the use or al
cohol for medicinal purposes.
FIRST-Of course ministers preach
ing the gospel are not supposed to at
tempt to counteract the teachings OF
the devil, whether he be masked as
politician or a brutal slayer of chill
dren. For certainly there would be
no political creed against the liquor
traffic if it had not interfered with
politics on the other side. The most
powerful political factor in the world
is the liquor traffic.
SECOND-Tempera is opposition
to the awful drink habit, and prohibi-
ton is opposition to the evil COM
mercialism that is constantly and re-
lentlessly building UP the habit. The
devil is in both the habit and the max
ing. Temperance teaches the unfor-
tunate victims how to gain self-con-
troll, and to escape control of the liquor
business. Prohibition is founded on
the right of natural decency and in
telligence to protect the unfortunates
from the control by such as President
Gilmore of the selling, soul
destroying interests. If prohibition of
the liquor evil attacks the integrity of
the Bible, so does prohibition of muir
der, for rum selling is wholesale mur-
der. If prohibition attacks the in
tegrity of the Bible, so does prohibition
of theft and robbery, for the liquor
traffic is wholesale robbery. If pro-
hibition attacks the integrity of the
Bible, so does prohibition of adultery
and harlotry, for promotion of the
business of making and selling narcotic
poison is the chief promoter of the
wholesale business of these things,
and we call it white slavery.
Misunderstanding that Christian
ministers ARE intelligent we feel abso-
lutely safe as to their reception of the
asinine declaration that they Cannot
approve Of leadership that denounces
the use of alcohol as immoral and de-
basing" OF all the desperate, blind
and absolutely idiotic sophistries of
which this man Gilmore has been
guilty, we deem this the superlative
specimen. Granting, at the start, that
he is addressing intelligent men, and
presumably men of education, broad
observance and study, he rings in that
old stock rum trust fallacy about the
uses" of alcohol, Mr.. Gilmore proba-
gent" ministers have not heard that
science is discarding alcohol, even for
medicinal purposes. The ages old
claim that alcohol Is wonderful
''stimulant" is now thrown out bodily.
Read the following opening paragraph
of lengthy article in January Liter
!, ary Digest, under the caption Alcohol
! Not Stimulant:"
, Most persons would say, offhand,
that whatever else alcohol may be,
it is certainly a stimulant, and
j that the trouble with it is that it