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VTHWESTERN PRESBYTERIAth
entral Presbyter/an c
The'Southern Presbyter/an
VOL. LXXXV.
RICHMOND, NEW ORLEANS, ATLANTA, JANUARY 10, 1917.
No. 52.
CWtorial J?oteS anil Comment
PROHIBITION is looming up larger and
larger in this country. There is scarcely
any subject that is occupying the attention
and thought of so many people. Inhere never
were as many bills before Congress on this sub
ject as there are now, nor have there ever
been such bills of as wide import presented
to any legislative body as those now demand
ing the consideration of Congress. The most
important of these is the one to provide for a
prohibition amendment to the Constitution of
the United States. This has been favorably
reported to both houses. Another is a bill
to provde for prohibition in the District of Co
lumbia. Another is one to exclude all liquor
advertisements from the mails. This also has
been favorably reported to both houses. There
are two to provide prohibition for Ilawaii and
Porto Rico. The Hawaiian bill has been favor
ably reported to the Senate. Another bill, that
should have been made a law many years ago,
is to prohibit shipments of liquor to Africa.
This is now in the hands of the Committee on
Alcoholic Liquor Traffic. As so many of these
bills have been favorably reported, it looks
very much as if they will be passed by Con
gress. Senators and Representatives are hear
ing from great numbers of their constituents
on both sides of the questions. Of course, the
liquor people are opposing all of these bills,
but the voice of the people is being heard
on this subject all over the land with no tin
certain sound.
+ + +
Governor Sidney j. catts, recently
elected Governor of Florida, in his in
augural address recommended the passage of
' a law providing for police inspection of paro
chial schools, convents and nunneries." We
a>e very glad to see such -action proposed, and
we hope the law will soon be passed, not only
in Florida, but in every state in the Union, and
for the territories and colonial dependencies
of this country. "We do not believe human be
gs, either young or old, should be kept under
control or restraint of any individual or
anization, other than parents in charge of
tor children, without being responsible to
i State. The State guarantees to every one
protection of life, liberty and the pur
of happiness. It must then see that this
rantee is fulfilled. If a man, woman or
d is shut up in any institution and not al
ed to communicate freely with friends or
^esentatives of the State, there is no way
iow whether or not the rights guaranteed
eing enjoyed or not. The fact that chil
are placed in such institutions by parents
not alter the case, unless parents have the
to visit them and talk with them free
all restraint. Nor does the fact that
tan or woman has gone into an institution
^8 or her own aceord alter the case, if he
or she cannot come out at any time without
fear or restraint. We believe that every
school, asylum or benevolent institution, or
any other in which human beings are confined,
should be subject to full, frequent and un
announced inspection by the representatives of
the State. If the affairs of the institution are
being properly conducted, those in authority
will not object to the inspection. If objec
tion is made, that is pretty conclusive evidence
that something is being done which those in
control do not want tHe public to know. There
are a number of so-called schools and chari
table institutions in this country that are vir
tually prisons, and whose inmates are not
given as much liberty as the convicts in a peni
tentiary. Ev?ry liberty-loving citizen of this
country ought to see that this condition of
affairs is changed.
+ + +
Why It Was Easy
"A man once met a small lad staggering
along the road under the heavy burden of
carrying a smaller boy, who was unable to
walk. The man said to him: 'Is he not too
heavy for you to carry?' 'Oh, no,' said the
lad. 'He's not heavy ? you see, he's my
brother.' "
+ + +
EST VIRGINIA, in a recent issue of this
paper, was inadvertently deprived of an
honor which she is entitled to. In speaking
of the recent victory for prohibition in Michi
gan, which that State gave 70,000 majority
against the saloon, we said that was the larg
est majority ever given for this cause by any
State. "We thought our authority for this
statement was well informed on the subject.
We have just received from one of our read
ers the statement that when West Virginia
voted on this question the majority in favor
of prohibition was 92,240. This is all the more
remarkable when we remember that a large
part of the population of that State is foreign.
PEACE among the warring nations is being
discussed more than anything else just
now. The terms upon which peace can be se
cured is occupying the thoughts of the gov
ernments. It would seem that, to secure peace,
it would be necessary to have a clear under
standing of the causes of the war. If anyone
can' give a clear statement of the true cause
of the war, now is the time for him to speak.
The thing that has puzzled us all along is
what it was all about, anyhow.
+ + +
BOSTON recently voted on the question of
prohibition, but the liquor forces won the
fight. The Congregationalist, published in that
gives what it conceives to be the chief
reason for the- defeat of prohibition. Billy
Sunday conducted one of his most remarkable
campaigns just on the eve of that election, and
vet all efforts failed to drive liquor out of the
Hub City. The Congregationalist "says : "In
the recent campaign, influenced by the highest
Roman Catholic influence in Boston, the clergy
and others prominent in that Church refused
to assist, for the most part, in the cause of no
license, and much thorough work was done
among the Roman Catholics to secure from
1hem a big license vote on the ground that if
Boston went dry it would be a victory for
Billy Sunday and the Protestant Churches co
operating with him, and inasmuch as the Sun
day campaign is a Protestant movement, which
has been officially condemned by Cardinal
O'Connell, this was not the year for Catholics
to vote no-license."
PREVENTION is better than cure. The loss
of property every year in this country by
fire is enormous. We happen to have the fig:
ures for Virginia before us, but insurance peo
ple tell us that practically the same conditions
exist all over the country. In this State the
loss for the year 1915 was nearly $3,000,000.
The insurance people also tell us that a very
large part of this loss might have been pre
vented, if reasonable care had been exercised
by the occupants and users of the property
destroyed. There should be a campaign of edu
cation for the prevention of fires started in
every home in the land and in every business
and manufacturing establishment. No one has
a right to be careless in this matter, no mat
ter whether the property is his own or
another's. We ought to prevent waste in every
way possible. It is often and truly said that
it is not so much what a man makes as what.
he saves that counts.
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SPOTS on the sun, though very large, can
not be seen because of the glorious light
of the remainder of the surface of this splendid
orb. If the Christian's life and character were
to show forth the religion of Christ in its true
features, the dark spots of sin would be con
cealed from view by its glorious light.
+ + +
HIGH COST of living is troubling a very
large part of the people of this country.
Yet this is unquestionably a time of tremen
dous prosperity -for the country at large. There
is more money to spend, and those who have it
are spending it. But there are many whose
income has not increased in proportion to their
expenses. If all classes would learn to econo
mize in their expenditures the great mass of
the people would be much better off.