Temperance Neglected in the Presbyterian Church
Speaking of temperance, the Christian Work says: “Notwithstanding the great activity of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union and of the Prohibition Party, it is hardly unfair to suppose that the mass of American people utterly fail to see the seriousness of the need of temperance reform.” There is nothing new in this utterance, for very few people would think of disputing it. The statistics of liquor consumption fully sustain the statement. But the same paper (which is Presbyterian) tells something else that might surprise some. Through it we learn that the treasurer of the General Assembly’s Permanent Committee on Temperance “calls attention to the fact that this subject was grievously neglected at the recent meeting of the Assembly.” He laments that “financially also, the temperance cause is losing ground in the Presbyterian Church.” We can not say how it is in other churches as they have not issued an official confession.