Evening star., 1942-06-20
The Week in Religion
Church Movement for Wurtime
Prohibition GROWING
BY Religious News Service.

BY Religious News Service.
Most popular resolution at current
church gatherings is one that calls
for action against use of liquor, par
ticularly in the vicinity OF Army
camps and naval stations. Virtually
every national and local church
conference is adopting resolution
of this type, in many instances with
great enthusiasm.
This week the annual convention
of the Lutheran Free Church, Synod
of America, at Fargo, N. Oak, called
for speedy action to prohibit the
sale of alcoholic beverages in United
States military camp areas. Similar
action was taken by the annual
meeting of the General Synod of the
Reformed Church in America at
Albany, N. Y. During the past
month the major denominations
have gone on record to the same
effect.
The General Assembly of the Pres
byterian Church in the United States
of America called upon President
Roosevelt to close all distilleries and
breweries for the duration. The
Northern Baptist Convention asked
Congress to enact legislation forbid
ding the manufacture and sale of all
alcoholic liquors for the period OF
the war. SO did the United Pres
byterian Church, while the Southern
Presbyterian General Assembly
asked the Government to prevent
the sale of liquor around Army forts
and training camps. The same type
of action was requested by the an
nual meeting of the Southern Bap-
tist Convention and by a number of
other bodies, including Presbyterian
and Methodist national women's
groups.
So great has been the pressure of
church groups that the Federal
Council of Churches, which has a
constituency of "a denominations,
recently sent a special delegation
to Washington to confer with Sec
retary of War Stimson regarding
action to protect servicemen from
"commercialized" liquor and vice
traffic.
A similar church movement Is pro-
ceeding in Canada. The General
Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in Canada and several conferences
of the United Church of Canada
have requested stronger government
control of the liquor traffic. Last
week Cardinal Villeneuve, Arch
bishop of Quebec, issued pastoral
letter containing strong warning
against the abuse of alcoholic bev-
erages in wartime and calling upon
military and public authorities to
curb such abuses.
Differs From Last War.
The current intense church drive
differs from the prohibition drive
of World War I. Major difference
is the emphasis on prohibition for
the duration" only, and, in many
instances, it is specified that this
short term prohibition is to be ap-
piled mainly to Army and Navy
camps.
During the last war, the Nation
was believed by church leaders to
be almost ready" for countrywide
prohibition, but churchmen concede
that this is not the case today.
The immediate objective of. church
groups is to protect the men in the
armed services. Later, it is expected,
they will seek to convince the whole
Nation of the evils of liquor, but
through educational means rather
than BY campaign for permanent
prohibition.
At the present time, also. there
appears to be a stronger condemna-
ton of vice conditions, along with
liquor protests, than there was dur
ing the First World War.
For the moment, religious bodies
are concentrating on passage of the
Sheppard bill, which aims to sup
press the sale of liquor at military
encampments and adjacent to them.
Hearings on the bill begin next