The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1933-09-20

newspaper and also the local news q
spontaneous origin published hereil
All rights Of republication Of oil othe
matter herein sre also reserved.
Bishop Magee's Refusal
Refusal BY Bishop J. Ralph Mage
Of st. Paul to serve on the propose
Minnesota Liquor Control Comnais
sion emphasizes anew the Obligation
OF the everyday citizen to interes
himself In the Job OF seeing tina
liquor, once 1t Is returned, is place.
under restraints which will keep
from becoming q stencil In the nos
trils of right-thinking citizens.
Bishop Magee Is the head Of tn
Methodist Episcopal church in thi
area and. as such, speaks for q larg
body Of conscientious drys. He ais
Is president Of Hamline universit,
and, from this vantage point, view
prohibition repeal In the light Of a,
ecclesiastical educator. Whether O
not one agrees with his Views, as ex
pressed in q letter rejecting Governo
olson's offer Of the appointment
there is no discounting the fact tina
It Will affect the thinking Of man.
fine citizens whose continued interes
in the liquor problem Is much to b,
desired.
This Is emphasized all the NOR.
strongly by the manner In which TIN
bishops statement came to The Trib'
une's attention, 1t having been pres
ented by the Rev. w. +. Water, pastol
Of McCabe Methodist Episco pa
church, as the best evidence Of thai
bodys position on repeal Of prohibi.
ton and the legal sale OF beer II
North Dakota.
Here is what Bishop Magee tolt
Governor Olson:
1ldVC UCCu oil dIuOAlt uAy
from my earliest memories.
II have seen every scheme
that Is now advocated. They
have all failed more ingloriously
than prohibition ever did.
travel much, and our so-called
Misunderstanding beer makes me
see each week more DRINKS, and
AtenV,efj&,n nao~ AysvAke fh0r
saw during the entire period Of
prohibition.
THE men who have led the
people back into this period Of
debauchery now have the prob
lem Of control in their hands, as
far as am concerned, until they
have shown the utter falsity of
Ill their pious utterances about
temperance by producing what IS
destined to be the most debauch-
ed age America ever knew.
Il know this looks like poor
sportsmanship. but the people
have voted to turn this matter
over to the vets. I believe In
giving the people what they want.
when within five years they
have produced an impossible
moral situation, then the much
misrepresented and maligned
Drys will lead our nation step
by step out Of its shame and ruin
to more prohibition than we have
ever had"
Every decent citizen will nope that
the forecast Of "the most debauched
age America ever knew" will prove
to be incorrect. No one, including
the vast body Of those citizens who
now are supporting legal beer and
repeal, wants that. Doubt
less the good bishop, himself. hopes
that he will prove to be poor
prophet. It Is not q thing to which
anyone can look forward with any
xest.
At the back Of Bishop Magee's
mind, Of course, is the thought that.
following the anticipated failure Of
the prospective new dispensation. the
people will swing back to . new
espoussl Of prohibition and the whole
business viii be settled on the ground
long advocated by prohibitionists.
Be that as 1t may, many win hope
that Bishop Magee and others like
him will not definitely wash their
hands Of the liquor issue, that they
will not deliberately hasten the day
Of debauchery which they fear.
On the contrary. many who now
are supporting repeal only because Of
prohibttions failure. viii hope that
they viii continue their efforts to.
ward Temperance and toward the de-
velopment and enforcement Of sane
laws.
The people tried TO wash their
hands Of the liquor problem when
they adopted the 18th amendment.
How unsuccessful they were i Z mat
Ter q pathetic record. They are now
forced 70 turn back and start all over
again.
IN chArting thu new course they
need the best and most disinterested
guidance possible. Prohibition = not
being rspsaled because the people
want dsbeucheFy but because Of the
1ehaucl1sfy, moral and political,
seseh have bean caused BY II.
4 Fine Opportunity