The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1927-02-01
KEEPING FAITH


is a man of honor or because you one? II he
has served and helped you will you avoid render
ing him similar service in return if, shortly at
terward he proves to be disappointment to you
in some other direction? If he is bad man, should
you in justice treat him badly when he asks your
help for proper purpose even though he treated
you we'll when you asked his? Are you too good to
be good to bad man? Are you good that you
can only be good to good men? Is yur keeping OF
faith a reflection of your character or re-
Election of the character of the you might
serve? All of which brings us to the matter OF en-
dorsements of candidates by the Anti-Saloon
League.
The legislature is in session and dry bill IS up.
and on the eve OF passage The drys are not SIRE
they have votes enough. A member, who has been
considered wet approaches the dry leader and says
81 believe in your bill and | would like to II
passed Though my district the whole is wet,
am thinking Of voting for your measure Now if do
and the vets try TO punish for voting dry will
you folks support me?" What reply would you
make to that man? In all experience we have
never known where the drys would turn
down such proposal as that When out
to pass measures, always try to line up ev-
cry voter we can and particularly if the contest is
close.
We take pride in getting men who in
and feel great deal as the pastor does when
sinner comes to the mourners bench, i.e, that
have Saved brand from the burning"
year later the contestants are squaring away
for an election. The aforesaid brand plucked from
the burning is again a candidate. 1t SO happens
that he is opposed by two other candidates, one
who is outspokenly dry and one who is outspokenly
vets If the dry and the sem-dry both received dry
endorsement the vote is divided and it is certain
the wet will be elected. If the drys concentrate
on one, they will probably win.
Now, which shall they endorse? Shall they en-
dorse the man who is outstanding dry, shall
they keep faith with the man who helped them
in their emergency and who, it understood,
could count on their support in his emergency? He
now asks them to support him and they must con-
centrate support candidate suffer defeat.
What would you do in that case, dear reader?
The Ant-Saloon League is confronted by this
exact problem many a time in almost every cleo
ton Our answer invariably is, 1--WE will keep
faith" Again and again the AntSaloon League
is severely criticized by of supporters at
this point These friends say that the Anti-Sa-
loon League hasn't any sense of honor, that it
cares for nothing except the Cause it represents,
when, as a matter of fact, it has much more pro-
found and intelligent sense OF honor than the peo-
pie who SO crtcise it.
Excepting faith is one of the cardinal virtues
morally and it is of the commanding sources
of influence politically The AntSaloon League
has gained unusual power in the political field.
1t has gained far greater power there than any oh
er citizens group that operated in the polit-
ical field in our nations history, and the primary
reason is that we have insisted keeping faith"
If, when you have read this article you say men
tally. well, the Anti-Saoon League is wrong
our advice is, please go back and read this all
again and think hard while you doing it. Give
your conscience momentary relief from its bond
age to your preconceptions and answer for your