The Church Influence With Statesmen
By K. C. Russell
The following significant editorial from the Binghampton (N. Y.) Press of April 12, regarding a local option bill which was before the New York Legislature, is a forcible illustration of the tremendous influence which can be brought to bear upon statesmen, although in this instance the question was one with which the State could rightly deal:— “A notable example of the power of organized public opinion was exhibited at the State capital Tuesday, when, in response to the votes taken in the churches of this State, the Tully-Wainwright local option bill was taken from the Assembly Excise Committee and placed on the Assembly calendar. The Excise Committee had twice voted against reporting the bill, and the action of the lower house, in voting to discharge the committee from further consideration of the measure, was a deserved rebuke to those who sought to pigeonhole the bill. “Whether or not the Tully-Wainwright bill becomes a law this year is of minor importance in comparison to the importance of the concerted action of so many thousand church-members. The real meat of the situation is this: On a given day, in a regular, disciplined manner, men and women of many denominations asserted themselves and sent definite instructions to their legislative representatives to do a certain thing. What they ask was done—almost immediately.” “An assemblyman who gets a position signed by a large majority of the church-members in his district is under strong pressure to either do what they ask or give a convincing reason for refusing to comply with the request of the people who petition him. “The churches of a community, State, or nation, can exert great political power if their members so desire. But care should be taken by church-members to make sure that this power is not misdirected, or made of use by men or interests who may be actuated by motives not altogether disinterested.” It will not be difficult to determine the influence that can be brought to bear upon statesmen by the concerted power of the church when it desires to obtain a Sunday law, either State or national.