The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1930-07-01

regard to CONSTITUTIONAL integrity ana pro-
nouncement of one of the great religious
The General Assembly of the Presby-
terrain Church records its convictions that
the maintenance of constitutional in
tegrity is indispensable to the nation as
well as to the church. It views with in
dignation and alarm the efforts of those
who are seeking by sinister and subtle
means to overthrow the constitution
whether by intrigue, evasion or nullifi-
cation While the General Assembly free
1y admits the rights of the people in due
form to amend their Constitution in the
future, as they have done in the past, it
makes the concluding words Of the winner
of its young peoples national oratorlcal
contest on Loyalty and Law, its own and
declares that whether prohibition stays
or goes, the Constitution should be
maintained and supported as it is writ
ten, by all law-abiding people until it is
changed in the manner pointed out by
the Constitution.
obedience to the law is the rock foun-
dalton upon which our whole structure
rests. To disregard it is to strike at the
life of the nation. And while disreSpect
for law applies to all laws, statutes and
enacted laws, there is a more sacred i'm
port to that rule of conduct when the
charter of our government, defining and
guaranteeing the rights of the CITIZEN
prescribing the limitations of government.
To disregard it is to spell the end of Or
der and representative government. 1t is
also the organic and fundamental law of
our nation, and no article, section or
clause should be altered, modified or
changed except by and through the same
agencies that created it,"
THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT
In giving particular support to the
Eighteenth Amendment the General AS
sembly believes that the National Loyalty
Commission has kept within the bounds
of it's authority and purpose. From its
beginning until today the Presbyterian
Church has been an enemy of the legal
lied liquor traffic. It is interesting to note
that the General Assembly of 1880, just
one century ago, in its narrative concern
ing the state of religion uttered the fol-
lowing trenchant words concerning the
evils of the traffic in Intoxicating liquors:
The cause of temperance has adj
vanced with astonishing rapidity.
From every quarter the glad intel
ligence is received that the greatest
evil that ever cursed our land, which
like the plague of Egypt had come
up into all our dwellings,, has been
powerfully checked. If the tide has
not been turned, its volume has been
greatly diminished; many lives have
been preserved and millions of money
have been saved.
So many appalling facts have been
presented, so powerful an impression
has been made upon the public mind
that no member of the church can
use or Vend spirituous liquors with
out prejudice to the cause. If no
harshness or vituperation be employ
ed to advance this enterprise it will
ultimately triumph; but patience and
unceasing exertion are indispensable.
This cause is intimately connected
with the prosperity of ChriSts king
DOM In some cases the temperance
reformation has prepared the way for
and resulted in, gracious work OF
the Spirit.
PRESBYTERIANS AND PROHIBITION
In the growth of the temperance SEN
timent and notably during the last half
a century, in the matter Of the prohibi-
ton of the legalized. liquor traffic, the
Presbyterian Church has had an inf1uen-
tial part, both in community, county,
state and nation. The General Assembly
has every reason to believe that the
overwhelming sentiment of the people of
the Presbyterian Church is in accord
with tho no1inv of constitutional nrohibi-