Arizona republican., 1922-05-15
REV. ]. ". ATWOOD
CONDEMNS xxx IN
PASTORAL LETTER

A pastoral letter, written by the
Rev. J. W. Atwood, bishop of Arizo-
ma, in which he condemns the activi-
ties of the Ku Klux Klan, was read
before congregations in hundreds of
Episcopal churches of the United
States yesterday. The letter follows:
I'VE cannot overlook the fact that
here in Arizona as elsewhere a spirit
of lawlessness and outbreak of crime
has been witnessed. a lowering of all
moral standards. 1t is not sufficient
to say that this due to the natural
reaction following upon the great war.
There are new forces and false ideals
which threaten the destruction of our
whole social fabric. The sacredness
Of life is little regarded as murder
after murder occurs and those who
commit the crimes go unpunished.
pant. Sexual immortality has in
creased with appalling rapidity. es-
specially among the youth of the
land. One need not be an alarmist
to take cognizance Of these facts for
they exist. There is no real excuse,
however. for the men who try to take
the law into their own hands and
resort to mob rule. Lynch law may
have been justifiable in frontier days.
but any secret society like that of
the Ku Klux Klan is un-American
and its members when they are
guilty of outrageS should be severely
punished and their methods con-
demned by all right minded citizens.
1.-THE lack of reverence for law lies
at the root of most of our evils today.
"The home is no longer the center
of family life. and alas, too many
parents seem indifferent to the well
fare OF their children. and in their
own pursuit of enjoyment and in the
growth of a certain type of feminisrn
which makes so many of our wives
and mothers gadding about all the
time seeking ever for something new,
they neglect the most important and
sacred responsibility Of their woman
hood.
This spirit of lawlessness is again
exhibited even among what is con-
sidered our respectable citizenship.
when what is called bootlegging is
regarded as a. joke and so, becomes a
menace in the administration of the
law
II do not enter into the discussion
now of whether a national prohibi-
ton law is the best way to overcome
intemperance and destroy the great
national evil of the saloon. Good
men may differ here, but there
should be no difference of opinion as
to the duty of right minded men and
women to observe a law that is writ
ten in the statute book. If we do
not obey the law of the land. then
chaos will overtake our boasted free
dom and civilization. Freedom is not
license. the individual is not free to
do what he wishes, he is a part of
the whole social order. He has nc
right to steal or murder, get drunk or
commit adultery.
rs there a decline in the influence
of the church, even over it's own
members? If there is, as seems prob
able, then we who are ministers OF
Christ had better concern ourselves
less with antiquated dognas and
discussions in which no one is in
terested or benefited. and some mod
ern cults and theories which have
no bearing upon life and conduct
and go back for our guidance to the
teaching and example of the founder
of christianity and speak in no un-
certain tones the great thou shalt
not" while we enunciate anew the
positive and supplemental principles
and truths that were declared by
Him from the serene heights of the
Mount of Beatitudes and which alone
can solve the awful problems of the
present world and bring a sinful an6
faithless generation back to tbs
knowledge OF the God of righteous
ness and the Son of man who alone
can save a lost and ruined world"