The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1926-10-27

NOT A FAILURE
SAYS DR.. BEST
Depends For Success on So
cial Results Rather Than
Upon Any Statute

aSnlnEtOH, Oct. 2I--AD-NatlOnal
prohibition '.is not IL failure. nor is it
going to be-" says DR.. Nolan X. Best,
secretary of the Baltimore Federation
of Churches in II review of the situa
tion prepared for the Admin strativc
Committee of the Federal Council of,
Churches, and to be published by
Doran 4 Company.
a fOrcword. signed by DR. S. Parkes
Cadman. president and other officials
Of the Federal Council, describes DR..
Rest's conclusions as setting forth
"dcep convictions held by the Admin
istrative committee"
slnce the book has been written
as an individual utterancc," says this
foreword, "and not as an official pro-
nouncement. the author has had full
freedom in the expression Of personal
opinions. The book, however, SO eff
fectively sets forth deep convictions
held by the Administrative Committee
of the Federal Council of Churches,
that the Committee warmly recon-
mends it to the general public and
bcspeaks for it II careful reading"
DIR. best declares it is not enough
for prohibitionists to say Prohibition
is the law" He urges instead that
the friends Of the dry law should say
"Prohibition is good law" Too
many Americans. he observes have
reverted to the cookie STAGE" pining
for liquor as children used to pine for
the cookies mother had locked up in
the cupboard.
Cannot Make Men Moral BY Law
Insisting that prohibition must de.
pend for success on it's social results
rather than upon any statute, the
church leader agrees that it is impos.
sible to make men moral by law. He
pronounccs prohibition mot the
enemy, but the friend Of both socia
and personal liberty" and continues
"The oft-rcpeated pronouncement
that moral character cannot be cse'
ated in men by the passing of statutes
has never needed to be much insisted
on, because every sensible person
knows it perfectly we'll. Prohibition
lists never thought of disputing fac
SO sclf-evident. And no prohibition
| measure was ever based on the pur
pose thus condemned.
"PrOhibition laws have been shame
fully violated since the liquor busi
ness was Outlawcd in the United
States, but all that violation is /;
bagatcllc compared with the dcfianc,
throughout the country of every form
of law designed to regulate the sal,
of drink while the saloons were still
licensed"
Expressing regret for the need TO
laws governing the prescriptions o
alcohol by the medical profession, DR.
Best states that the strict limit pu
on physicians is caused by ''mcn wh'
dcbase their profession by selling
liquor prescriptions without any colo
of medical reason" He calls upon tn,
medical fraternity to clear its ranks
saying:
| organizations declare themselve
ready thus to purge their profession
and keep it pure by their own indict
ment of.unworthy individuals, ever.
restriction of law on a physician
purposes should be abolished"
Anent Personal Liberty
Dealing with personal liberty, h
says:
insists that in order to be fre
American citizen needs either t
possess or exercise a liberty to &c
drunk.
IF two glasses Of whisky will in
toxicatc tho drinker, then it
acknowledged that the law may pur
ish him for taking two drinks 0
whisky without robbing him Of any o
the heritage Of freedom for which hi
revolutionary forefathers fought an
died. But how then could it be tha
his manly liberty is infringcd if tn
law hinders him from taking on
drink which would half intOxicat
him?
! SIS it to be supposed that the Dec
laration Of Independence guarantee
q man the freedom to get half-drun
or even a third-drunk or a quarter
drunk and yet denies him the right Q
being completely drunk"
"Of the modificationists, DR.. Bes
says that what won't intoxicate won
satisfy them"
i Demand for kick besides mean
nothing at all except thirst TO
something that will make q man moe
erately, mellowly, drunk" he says.
Only Fools Get Drunk
"None but a few degraded fool
really wish to drink themselves int
insensibility. But for the first stage
n on the way to that end there still
survives an abundant appetite.
1T is pure absurdity to talk as j
the lawless selling Of liquor wa
something new in this country--some
thing developed by the latter-day ei
J fort to stop the drink trade alto
/ gether. Liquor has always been law
(Contipued on page six.)
f