Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-07-01
PROHIBITION
A Moral Issue.
BY Bishop William T. Manning
of Ne1O York.

1t would be a sad day if the church
should stand silent in the face OF a
great moral issue like prohibition,
though l know how deep the feeling is
upon the subject and how widely
opinions differ in regard to it. In view
of the situation now confronting us.
1t seems necessary to speak.
To quote John G. Sargent. Attorney
Genera! of the United States: I'm this
country the will of the people, ex'
pressed at the ballot box. creates the
duty of the citizen upon the subject
voted upon" The Attorney General
no doubt recognizes, as l certainly do,
that a law might be passed by q
human tribunal so impious in it's ma
ture, so contrary to the law of God
and of right, that 1t would be our duty
to defy and resist it to the death, but
this is not such a law. If we are ever
to resist the law in the name of per
sonal liberty, 1 hope it will be in a
higher cause than the right to buy
and drink intoxicating liquors. Those
who disapprove the law have the right
to say so and to work in lawful ways
for it's modification, but no citizen of
our land has the right to disObey 1t or
to encourage others to do SO, and no
one can do this without reflection
upon himself and injury to the life of
our country.
All this l have already expressed in
a sermon preached in the Cathedral
To what l said then 1 want now to
add the following statements:
First doubt If opinion has been
changed to any appreciable extent by
the somewhat heated discussions. the
assertions and counter assertions
which we have recently been hearing
Probably the only effect of these has
been to intensity convictions previ
ously held.
Second-It ought. think, to be pos
sible for US to deal calmly with this
subject. without personal feeling and
without violence, or exaggeration OF
statement.
Third-In enacting the prohibition
laws our country has entered upon a
great social experiment, which should
be given full and fair trial. 1t is too
soon to say that an effort of this mag
nitude has failed. We may rather l
believe. be surprised at the extent to
which II has succeeded. Most of the
evils complained of as resulting from
prohibition result, in fact, from lack
of sufficient effort to enforce the law
Fourth--The true appeal in this
matter to all Christian men and
women is the moral and spiritual one
x i;
While the moderate use of intOXi
cants is not sin, we all know that
their abuse has been one of the great
est curses Of mankind. In view OF
what our race has suffered from the
drink evil, in view of the sorrow and
suffering which il has brought upon
fathers, mothers and children, in
view of the fact that its suppression
means the reduction of poverty
misery, disease and sin. ought we not
to be willing TO make such surrender
of our personal liberties as may be
necessary, and to see prohibition fully
tried? st. Paul does not hesitate as to
his position. IF meat maketh my
brother to stumble. l will eat no flesh
for evermore, that / make not my
brother to stumble; that is the teach
ing he gives us. Can any of US doubt
that we are following the Christian
principle by obeying these laws fol-
the help of our weaker brethren? Is
anything more certain than that it is
the Christian principle to deny our
selves for the sake of the common
good?
wish that the people of our own
church would join with Christian peo
pie of all names all over the land, in
a great united movement for the full
observance of these laws. Who can
doubt that this would be for the
moral and spiritual good of our coun
try?
Copyright. 1920