The Allied Church League
It's an organization that has a definite pur¬
pose in mind, and that purpose is to rid the
state of the legalized sale of alcoholic bev¬
erages as rapidly ns possible.
Til
К
Allied Church league for the
Abolition of Beverage Alcohol is
jn-i whet its name implies. The
organization has a definite objective
and that objective is to drive liquor
beyond the borders of this state and
to restore North Carolina to its right¬
ful plan’ in law and order and
sobriety. The plans and purposes of
the
Ь
an- state-wide in scope,
and it i* now the one and only or¬
ganization of its kind operating in
North Carolina. While the organiza¬
tion is nondcnominational, it is a
church sponsored and a church sup¬
ported body that came into being in
response to the aspirations and the
yearnings and the prayers of a large
group of people from the various
denominations of the state, and in
response to the wishes and the hopes
of people from all walks of life. These
groups have united for a common pur¬
pose and with a common objective,
and for the announced purpose of
seeking to unify the efforts of all
those who would destroy the evils of
alcohol.
Educational Campaigns
The organizers of The League pur¬
pose to launch an educational cam¬
paign against liquor and its attending
evils throughout the state, and it is
our purpose to sjmnsor and assist in
organizing units of The Allied Church
la-ague in every county in North
Carolina. This campaign will not
l«" a spasmodic effort. We are not
seeking more temporary relief for
today, hut lasting relief for tomorrow,
and to obtain this relief, and to make
if secure, we are not unmindful of
the fad that we must build upon a
firm foundation and pitch our en¬
deavors upon a high plane, seeking
always to convince men that we arc
engaged in a cause that is just and
l ight, ami one that would lift mankind
to a higher level.
We realize that our task is not an
easy "lie and it will not always be a
pleasant one, but it is a righteous one
ami it i« an undertaking that we can
look to with pride and satisfaction,
however hard the task and however
long the road we must travel before
reaching our goal. There are men of
tty L. A. MARTIN
strong conviction on both sides of this
question and because of this difference
in opinion we may expect many sharp
criticisms; we will have our motives
impugned and our sincerity brought
into question; we may he held up to
public scorn and ridicule, but we
must not |H-rmit these criticisms to
move us or to disturb us. In a country
like ours men hare a right to their
opinion — they have a right to criticise
— they have a right to express them¬
selves, either at the ballot box or in
public assemblies, just as we have,
and when their opinions are in con¬
flict with our own we must prove
ourselves tolerant and chnrituble and
without abuse. Then1 can never he
any excuse for abuse or villilication
in a campaign for a just cause. No
cause that is right needs any brace
to hold it up. All human endeavors
must ultimately stand or fall upon
merit. They must stand upon their
own strength or full under their own
weakness. We lielieve in our rause —
we believe it is right and, believing
Mr. Martin’s home is in Lexington.
He is executive director of the Allied
Church League.
as we do, we have the faith that it will
ultimately triumph. But in this day
of modern trends not even the right
can win without a fight. We know
from experience and observation that
once liquor is entrenched in the state
the road is long and rocky for those
who oppose it. and, make no mistake,
liquor is now strongly entrenched in
North Carolina, politically and other¬
wise, and it is going to take a long
hard fight to overcome its debauching
influence. To combat such an in¬
fluence we are going to have to fight
and fight hard. This is a fight that
can never be won by compromise. It
will never be won by the timid and
the indifferent. It will never be won
bv winking and nodding, nor by vac-
cilating and side-stepping; it can
never be won by the so-called “dry”
who votes dry ami drinks wot, nor
by the Sunday “dry" who piously and
hypocritically talks against liquor on
Sunday, and at public gatherings, and
then drinks at social clubs and con¬
ventions on Monday; and it will never
be won by the man who is n “dry”
when he is a candidate for the legisla¬
ture, or some higher officer, and then
“goes to sleep at the switch” after
he ri-aches Raleigh.
Cooperation is Essential
When liquor i« outlawed in North
Carolina it will be driven out by an
uncompromising attitude on the part
of the churches and the church people,
and by an uncompromising stand on
the part of the pulpit and the press.
Through all the years these forces
have been a mighty bulwark in right¬
ing wrongs. They have never failed US
yet and they will not fail us now. Our
newspapers, for the most part, have
been liberal and progressive and they
have stood for the things they believed
best for our people and our state.
If at times they have fallen into error
of judgment theirs have liven errors
of the head and not of the heart.
Their mistakes have been honest mis¬
takes. In dealing with the liquor
issue- in North Carolina many of our
papers have leaned backward and
have shown an editorial disposition
(Continued on page fourteen)
