The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-01-13
If Liquor Is Bad for Men, It's
Bad for Religion, Too.
He Doubts Bibles Water and
Wine Story Anyway.
SOMEBODY WAS DRUNK, MAYBE
Too Much Wine Makes Even
the Religious See "Red."
Churches Ask To Be Exempt
From New Liquor Law.

Senator Montee of Crawford, author
of the bill prohibiting the shipment OF
liquor into Kansas by common carrier,
is being deluged with letters from re-
ligious organizations over the state
asking him to make one exception
to amend the measure in such manner
as to allow the shipment of wine for
sacramental purposes.
Nothing doing" says Montee.
Senator Montee talked the matter
over with the chairman of the judi
ciary committee, Senator Price or
Clark, today and told him he was OPP
posed to any amendment of that char
acter; that as author of the bill he de-
sired to have it go thru the senate alb
solutely prohibiting the shipment of
intoxicating liquor into Kansas for
any purpose whatsoever.
Look at this letter. said Montee.
sliding a freshly opened letter across
the desk. That's a sample"
The letter was from the Rev. A.
J. Luckey of the Church of the Seven
Dolores at Manhattan. The Rev. Mr..
Luckey asked that before the Montee
measure went on final reading it be
I.amended so as to provide for the ship
ment of wine into the state for relig-
ious purposes.
Bad for Men, Bad for Churches.
IF wine and other liquors are a
bad thing for average humanity they
are not a necessity for religious wor-
Ship said Montee. IF they are q
necessity for the perfection of the
church, let's all have little perfec.
ton. There's no reason in the world
why a religious organization should
use Intoxicating liquor, even in the
smallest amount, for religious wor-
Ship
One of the letter writers referred
1 10,
portion of the Bible relating the Incl
dent of Christ turning the water into
wire. The incident was included in
the letter to justify the use of wine fol
sacramento purposes and as an argu'
ment for an amendment to the pro-
posed law.
81 may get mobbed for saying it,
said Montee, but you know 1 never
did believe that water and wine story
! literally any more than that it rainej
forty days and forty nights and filled
up those hollows back in Pennsyl
vania."
Another senator overheard that re.
mark and expressed some surprise.
I'm not speaking for anyone else,
said Montee, I'm talking for myself
That water and wine incident for in
stance; let bunch of fellows lie
around drinking wine for three days
and nights and nothing in the world
tastes as good as water, and the mer
who drank the Biblical wine said il
was the best they had had. And after
three days and nights at wine drink
ing men see red; no doubt the fresh
water tasted fine and looked red.
Insists on No Exceptions.
There is just this much about it sc
far as 1 am concerned: if we are GO
| ing to have absolute prohibition, lets
have the real thing Why fuss around
with an exception here and an excep-
ton there? If It's going to be dry
let's have it bone dry, as is suggested
| by Wesleyan college In a letter to ms
en- my bill. A few amendments to my
| bill making exceptions to certain
classes of people and we would have
just about the situation we have
now.
The Wesleyan letter referred to wa.
written by F. c. Peters, of that insti
tuition, and stated that the faculty ant
student body of that institution hat
voted unanimously in endorsing the
Montee measure.
! Let's make the state bone dry
wrote Professor Peters