The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-12-12
'bAltERs 70 LIQUOR
LAWS ARE SERIOUS
bishop Cannon Tells OF the Venomous
Opposition to Opera ton.
HAITI FOR COMMISSIONER.
Enforcement OF Laws More EnCouraR.
Ing In Richmond and Norfouk-BiE
Temperance Mass Meeting in Char
iottcsvf1lc.

Charlottesville, Va. Dec ia
big temperance mass meeting was
held at the First Methodist church
! Saturday night, when addresses were
made by the Rev. David Hepburn,
the new head OF the State AntiSaloon
| League OF Virginia: Bishop James
/ Cannon. Jr, and the Rev. j. Sidney
Peters, state prohibition commits
| sioner.
1 Interest conferred in the address by
(, Bishop Cannon. who had some very
pointed things to say regarding the
4 difficulty experienced in enforcing
I prohibition laws In the old common
wealth.
J Il am satisfied" said Bishop Can
| non, that as people we have not
remembered the three cardinal points
/ of the campaign against the liquor
! traffic--agitation, legislation and en-
forcemen1 of the law. We have had
best body of prohibition legislation
that has ever been passed in any
state. l have seen no body of law
that covered the ground to be covered
as the Mapp law. but we are now
faced with the most critical stage Of
| the fight. l hardly believed that
there would be the venomous hos
tiDtF 10 iilt law aS mas DSeH uISPtA$ CUT
| not by negroes and bootleggers, but
by men who are in high positions
heads of corporations, men who are
using their influence to abet vtoia tons
of the law: some OF whom, fear, re-
| joiced when that man who was doing
, his d1ty near Alexandria some weeks
ago was shot down. That act has
/ been almost publicly defended. and
il has been said that it was n natural
I of the n1athnHc y7lny-
ed by the state prohibition commits
! sioner. If you could but know the
facts that pour into the commits
sioner's office--the desperation and
utter recklessness of violators of the
law! 1t must be observed TO be APP
preciated.
! You arc face to face with the crit
ical period in the prohibition move
nent, said the Bishop. The glow of
the contest has passed. and the
trouble is we have settled down.
without the Prohibition Department
our laws~would be nullified in such
shameless fashion that we would De
forced to hang our heads in shame
! / am n citizen of Virginia. I reside
in Texas but | vote in Blackstone.
We can't afford to relax our vigilance
| in this fight. We can't afford to al
+ low the reckless and lawless element
in this Commonwealth to weaken the
| hands. of the man put there to en-
force our laws, We must let it be
known that We are behind him.
/ Bishop Cannon then paid his re-
spects to the hostile press of the
state.
Commissioner Peters is beset with
The criticism of hostile papers. Chris
tian people should stand behind him
He Is the hated man of the Common
wealth. They hated me. but never as
! they did Petegs-in the same personal
way The members of the Methodist
! Conference should let the State know
that the laws OF Virginia are TO be en-
forced <@'f
Bishop Cannon said that he had
personal knowledge that the liquor
laws of the State are being violated.
On recent trip down from Washing
ton he said he saw three negro men.
each with two suit cases. These pipe
| lines must he broken up. You can't
keep Virginia absolutely dry as long
as there are pipe lines penetrating
the State.
! Previous to his remarks on prohbi.
ton. Bishop Cannon spoke briefly Of
the purpose of the General Confer
fence in organizing the Board on So
ftriai service. Each conference, IN the
T Southern Methodist CHurcn Is to Nave
"a 4year commission. Socialism is
upon LIS. said the Bishop, and it is for
the church to determine which form
it Is to take-whether 1t is to be like
the Russian. or thoroughly demo-
cratic. It is not only the duty OF the
church to look after these things. but
the church will be obliged to face
these conditions It must arrange for
the education Of our people. 1t must
determine whether socialism shall be
Christian or atheistic. President Will
son has been enunciating the social
teachings of his Master. Put his mes
sage besides the bloody massage of
the extreme Socialists of Russia ana
you will find the difference
Mr.. Hepburn. president Of the Anti
Saloon League, reviewed some of the
benefits resulting from the Danish
ment Of liuuor--the decrease in crime.
the empty jails. the frightened homes.
etc, while Commissioner Peters told
his audience something OF the various
pipe lines over which whiskey is now
struggled into the State and the din
culties encountered by his Department
in detecting violators of the law. The
ordinary bootlegger is not menace,
said Mr.. Peters:
The bootlegger who is menace is
the one who has the ear Of friendly
courts. That condition of affairs is to
be deplored. But am not despairfng.
The sky is Frightening. The consci-
: ences of the people are becoming
awakened. Even Richmond jury serv-
ice is improving, and more than
three-fourths Of those tried in Nor
folk for violations of the liquor laws
. are being convicted.