The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-05-23
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS. FOR PROHIBITION FOR. THE ENTIRE COUNTRY
Resolutions to This Effect Adopted at Asheville.
 Better Protection for =
 Public Speakers Urged

Asheville, N C., May 22,-The south ern Baptist convention at its closing ses- sion here today adopted resolutions ask
 ing for the enactment of national pro 1 hibition law, urging that the District or 1 Columbia be made prohibition territory and requesting better police protection be 1 given public speakers. The resolution re-
 ferrng to public speakers declared that 'it is alarming to note the frequency with which freedom of speech and of the press Is being interfered with by mobs in
 our cities and towns
 | It was expected that while the protest
 against mods had reference chiefly to
 mob violence in various parts of the country against persons featuring on re- 1 ligious objects, it expressed the conven- tion's opposition to "mob violence by
 whomsoever and against whosoever directed
 In the course of the debate on this sub ject speakers denounced the bill pending in Congress to make the Postmaster Gen eral the Supreme censor of the denomi- national and secular press,' by giving him authority to refuse use of the mails to publications attacking religions. An other bill pending in Congress, which 1t was declared would give judge in the District of Columbia the right to con sign without triar' a child to any home or other institution he saw fit also came in for censure. Neither of these sub- jects, however, were included in the res olutons.
 Freedom of speech and press was the keynote of a number of speeches and the Rev. pr. Len Broughton of Knoxville h i1a h0 would not curtail freedom of the press, he would be pleased to see some method adopted by which newspapers in the ViN cnity in which a sensational crime is committed might not try the case and bring in the verdict before the case came up in the court.
 The prohibition resolution came up un- der the head of the report of committee on prohibition and social reform, and it's adoption put southern Baptists on rec ord as 'unalterably opposed to the liquor traffic, gambling dens, dens of vice, child labor and the sweat shop
 Among other resolutions adopted was one thanking the local newspapers and other organizations which contributed to the success of the convention, while an- other expressed appreciation to the Asso- ciated Press for ''correct reports of con- vention sessions which it send to it's newspaper members The convention, which meets next year in New Orleans May IS to 21, made several changes in methods of handling the work of it's boards this year.
 The magazines published monthly by the foreign mission board and the home mis- sion board were ordered consolidated, the foreign board was asked to employ only two secretaries in it's office instead of three, and to dispense with it's field sec retaries. A resolution which would have combined the home and foreign boards was left for consideration next year. The I $iS0,0O0 debt of the foreign board will soon be wiped out, according to plans of the convention, which subscribed approx imately $100000 for this purpose and ap- portioned the remainder, except for some ST, GOO given by the Woman's Missionary union, to the various southern states
 The womans organization held it's last formal sessions Saturday and devoted to. day to field council of it's secretaries and other workers. As an auxiliary to the convention the union meets each year at the same time and place as the conven- ton.