The Nevada County picayune., 1921-12-22
CHRIST AND DISARMAMENT
(By Dr. !. c. Williams)

Text: Matt. 26 :52. Then said Jesus unto him, put up thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.
 We never go in advance of Christ in moral and humane views and when we take forward step, as we suppose, we find thrt He has preceded us and that in all our boasted improvement we are but following Him in these i'm provements. Just now as the world is thinking in large degree about dis armament and endeavoring to get agreement that few nations might get rid of some of their arms of war fare. we find that Christ has already preoccupied the ground and has given us the most practical and sure way 10 stop the rayages of inhuman war As far back as history takes us we find that man has been resorting to arms to help him in his conflicts with one another and first there was the club then the stone implements and then the bow and arrow. then the spear javelin, sword and finally on the inyen- ton of gunpowder, the gun and pistol As one more deadly weapon was in vented then those formerly used Were discarded and the effort has been to surpass all others in the most destrue- tive weapons But why use these weapons and why should q man arm himself and go prepared to take Il fel- low beings life? That seems to he the brute in us urged on by sin and Satan and we are today, in the light of this 2Oth Century. still killing and hutehering one another.
 There is that common instrument of death. the pistol, invented to kill men. for that is all that it is good for. It cannot be used in hunting birds or deer but the main use is to kill man. We have a law against carrying it and this state decided to practice disarmament in regard to this useless weapon, but unfortunately left q gap or loophole in the law and the murders continue. if anything in increasing proportions and down South especially we have entire ly too much murder and too many pools of blood on the ground and the large majority of these murders are hX., q gap in the law is where one is per mitted to carry one on q journey or to keep one in his home. or to carry one on his person when he thinks he is acting in self defense. Here is where so many cold-blooded murders arc committed-a man has hut to say that he is acting in self defense and then shoots down his opponent and in a great many cases the man he says was seeking his life was not armed. All the gaps should be stopped and not even allow people to keep pietol n the home The pistol is mainly the weapon of the murderer and the rest of Us can well afford to get rid of II and do without the little protection that is claimed for it. that this red stream of blood should cease to flow. Applying theories of Christ to this modern weapon He would say, Put m thy pistol, for they that carry the pistol will perish with the pistol Tom Slaughter took the pistol and wonder his dead body is found with q pistol ball through his brains. History is full of such incidents. The majority of pistol toters" die of pistol wounds.
 Then as to any deadly weapon we should lay it aside and all agree to disarm and live q peaeeable and quiet fife and there will he il great cessation of murder. Christ calls on all to dis arm and to disarm completely, not just partially.
 As to the nations. they should prae- tice the directions of the great Teacher and all should agree to disarm and to have total disarmament and put in practice the principles and teachings of Christ and then there will he no need of war and none will arise. The old world is sick and bleeding at every pore and the reason is that the com mands and teachings of Christ have not been followed The Washington