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B)’ 300455 M-‘RTIN Mill-EK- District President Fulton was nt- lllllllfll 510W“ (“Weill-tacked savagely from many of the l" N1!" Zefillllld llllllpulpits of certain of the Protestant

(Former General France.)

Copyrighted in United Stains and Canada.) I-‘RITDERICTDN, N.B.. Auglist 3. —’i‘lie ltevcrend Dr. Robert Li. I\‘ul- ton was for thirty-two years one oi the iuost prominent uiid influential ministers of the Gospel iu the l)o- ‘ iiilnlou of Canudn. He has preach- cd iu_ some ofthe leading churches oi‘ the United BLBUISuFQIYHDIIIG years he was a Methodist Bishop for thc New Brunswick and Prince Edward Isliuid urea. In Canada. however. the high ecclesiastical (lint-n of Bish- op is named President oi‘ the Con- Terence iii that denomiiiutltiu. ii. is the some with the three years old United Church of Canada. the silt:- cessor to the former‘ Metlititllstuiit» Congregational and a part of iill‘ Presbyterian Church. Dr. Fulton occupied the same prominent pori- tion ln‘the new United Church that lie liiid llllcd for iiciii-ly a tliird ofa rt-ntury in the old cliiirt-li of .lohn and (Jliiirlcs Wesley. He is ii high mason and a member of tlic Mystic Shrine. Dr. Fulton is a sou of the famous: oarsnian. Robert Fulton, stroke of the Paris Crew and who won ihi- championship of the world on the River Seine in 1867. -

iinsioivi-zn ciluncu POST.

Lost year he resigned as minister to l)l'I'UlIli‘ Chuinriaii of the Liquor (Youtml Board of New Brunswick. Aliiulugh lie resigned from the min- lfilllv. lu- still retains his parchment ns uu tirdained minister of the (los- pel, hut iinw warships. with his fain- ll.\'. us a lay member of one of the clinrcln-s of his (lcnoinlnutiou. hcrc in llrerlerictonhthe capital city (it Now Brunswick.

I spent the day wllli him nt tlic (lr-i-i-riiim-nt liquor slorcs and ware- house with branch stores. already established throughout the province. A leading preacher in Saint John who liud been closely associated with Dr. Fulton during‘ his minis- trriiil eorecr said to me:

“When I first heard that brother Fulton was going into tic liquor business 1.~.dld' not believe . Icouirl not. ‘Phemumprs were so persistent.

however. that»; mediati-ly got in- io touch_ " m. When lie coii- firinrd it.‘ soy that I was iluzcil.

is to express my feelings mildly.

IN WOLFS CLOTHING.

"I went away from him quietly bet-misc I was speechless. I said to llli‘ wife and church associates: ‘l-Icre ls tlir- eloquent and forceful Rover- eud Fulton, whom we so long thought was serving his Master's i-uli. und the church so well. who ll" konc astray and put on thi‘ vicious wolf's_clothlng. Wf‘ have illWBYB taken pride ln- calling our Prqvincc and Canada a Christian mlllltfl’. that has now gone into the ncciirsed liquor business. glvcn it legal sanction. and h bribed tho "Over oi’ oiuacbriuiin .minlai.ry, to fit-he arch devil of this wicked trai-

c .. .

."R!'ll8l0 circles throughout the Maritime rovincea. the New Eng- land of Canada. were dazed and “lllllned by Dr. Fulton's act. and Mme-of us haven't gotten over it Yet It is the wom calamity the Church and the Christian people of llllfl country have ever encounter-

. "l." said tiiicpreocher and ardent. Prohibit-Milka.

SAVAGBLY ATTACIIED.

Filmer Methodist, Minister nadcandl of men in t

ilEV. R. s. illllllfiliilllbliliIiliiilllNl INTERVIEW 0N llilillilNii or i vs Pllililllllllllll

_w_ (i._'l‘.'U.iAnd S0 Called Roformers Severely Critioised.

MINT Billilll

churches, but not. from the pulpiis of the Anglican, Catholic and a few other churches. The local newspap- crs made no attacks iipuii Mr. Ful- toii, but printed WiLilUlli. comment thl- Iiittci" words oi ('.0l'i,iiil\ preach- ers who deiioiinetrd him from their pulpits. While the excitement within cei't.iiiiieliurch circles has. died down considerably. ilic radical preachers and some of the. trhnrtrli members are still very critical of Dr. Fulton. recent pastor of the large and aris- tocratic Centenary Methodist Church tuow United Cliurohl of SulntJohn, 10.13., lli. u salary oi‘ $4,200 a year. Mr. Alfred M. PULOTS. lllillliliiifl‘ of tlir- Iiuuk of Montreal, is nu official lll(‘illl)(‘l‘ oi‘ Centenary Church and its Sunday School 1;]||i-'|'illl.l'lldt?lli.. Mr. Peters said:

A WPAIINCII SUI'I‘()II'I‘I~III.

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“I uni heartily with Dr. Fulton as are iiiuiiy church people. ill his stand lor reui tciiiperuiitwe. Some oi" the preutriiers, however, I regret to siiy,_opptisl- and coiuleuin him. Only the liiuiilies who seein to believe that. every uinu who opposes the priiiiiiiilt- of prohibition because. ‘as they :aay. lie wants a glass of beer. or is u (lruiikurd. regardless of the truth. made ii furious noise when Ur. Fulton tool: this slop uud some of them im- still talking, much to the (lisgust of il large proportion of the church uicuibcrsliip who silent- ly put up with ii and await a better day lor the church.

“I happen lo know the well tlitniglii. out reasons which induced Mi‘. Fulton to iuke ihc Chairman- shipof the (lovt-ruuieut. Iiifllllll‘ Con- trol Board. lie, us well as nil of us, have witnessed, tiuriui; our t-lcvcn yicars of the prohibition luw. the things it has failed lo do ivhlt-h its propoinriils pminisiid ii. would accom- plish, and the viriousiicw. and law- lessness it has brought. uboiil. ivitlia monopoly of ilic liquor business, taxes iii-e. in lill‘ liuiitls oi’ the smug- git rs iinii the bootlegizers" and the tiiiderworld of criminals co-luliornt- lug with them. '

INTO TIIE PIILPITS

“But more than this. perhaps, Mr. Fulton. as We ull know. ri-nllnctl that prohibition hud gotten lulu politics. whore it doesn't. belong. and ilie and tliiiit; about the situation was that the politics of prohibition liiid been projected into the pulpit and the church with u vengeancei.

“It seemed nt times that the rc- iigion of Christ hud become second- ary in some of our churches. to pro- hibition. Ml‘. Fulton ileslreil to kick polities out of tlic piiiplts and the tiliuroli first. and second lo get pro- hibition out, of politics so that the law-makers and Government offici- ils could have time and moans to attend to the vital questions before Parliament and. the Government. And already the new Liquor C ii- trol law has largely removed pol lcs from tlic pulpit. nud given the inw- niakers and law-enforcers time for their normal duties.

NEVER AGAIN.

"The "prohibition qiiestion- is how settled and the professional reform- ers have abandoned ‘their efforts to mgim peflplc good by law. It is safe

to say we will never again adopt prohibition nfierlour bgvtliietr and dic- i e wcr once .

angogiitchlil: vfllth a kuowfcdflc Ol ll"! facts when I any that the‘ Marl!!!

u; ta of Canada employ Ill "ll- m m he branch banks

in every town throughout the Dom- inion are positively opposed to pro- liibition in the light of our experi- ence with it, and have quietly ex- erted Canada to bring about some mcas- o iire of Government control and take weuldn-t use it‘ and endorse m, u"

their influence throughout.

the monopoly of the liquor business by others» Sure’ m. several minim, out of the hands of the lawless and “m5 “mum have turned to Sol-muting criminal elements into which pPO-ielsm Bu‘ set the “a; Aspirin (a; any d and the word genuine printed in rod:

hibltion placed it.

“Personally I do not use inloxicat-t lug liquors in any form and do not want to antagonize the preachers 0f our church who are fur from being practical in their radical and un- rcasanlng notions on this controver- sial question. Myself with other lay members make it a point. not to dis- cuss prohibition with them. hoping to pullihe church out of the mess.

IIAS MANY FRIENDS

“Dr. Fulton has for more friends. who are sympathetic with his views. on prohibition, and as the head of’ the Government's liquor selllng,and controlling agencies, than most of the radical prohibitionists imagine. Premier Baxter was wise in select- ing such an upstanding and extreme- ly able mun of the highest charac- ter to head the Liquor Control branch of the Government, as Dr. Fulton. Some of the extremistsl among the preachers expressed themselves as believing that the pro- per man for the position was some characterless bootlegger or smuggl- er," said Mr. Peters.

Some of the other lay members expressed themselves in a similar way, but took pains to say they were not discussing prohibition with their pastors and dill not want their views printed. It: might "hurt busi- ness."

DRAFTED FIRST BILL.

“Dr. Fulton is the father of liquor Control laws now adopted by nearly all of the Canadian provinces. It was while he was pastor in 1910 of the leading Methodist Church at Char- lottetown,- Prince Edward Island that Dr. Fulton drafted the first liquor Control Bill intended to be intro- duced in Parliament. Dr. Fulton suggested to the Hon. Chief Justice Mathicson. then Premier of that Province. that; the only method oi" handling the liquor problem was by an independent; commission for the enforcement; of the Temperance Act of that Province. The commission was created by Parliament when the Premier appointed Di‘. Fulton n member. on which he served for three YGIIPS when he ivas called by his Church to a pastorate at Hall- fax, Nova Scotia. So it will be seen that Dr. Fulton ninde a close study of prohibition in all its complexities, from a close-up inside. I-Ie came to realize. as lie expressed-himself to mo. ‘chat the only way to handle the iiqiior problem was through some kind of llqiior control and regula- tion. by the Government. ‘

POPULAR PLAN

In 192i the Province of Quebec practically adopted the system pro- posed by Dr. Fulton and closed up the open saloons aiid bars. The plan has since been adopted by six other Provinces. until all of Canada. with the exception of two of its smallest Provinces has repealed its prohibi- tion laws and adopted Government Control with Government liquor stores, of which system Dr. Fulton. Methodist preacher; and District President was the originator. ‘The liquor interests‘ had nothing to do with it except to bitterly oppose Liquor Control as did the prohibi- tlonists." Dr. Fulton said.

EXPLAINS CHANGE

“Why did you give up your career as a minister of the Gospel of 32 years standing and become the head of the Government liquor stores?" was a question put to Dr. Fulton.

“Of course. my severe critics in the ministry. many of whom I have been associated with as the warmest friends of myself and my family for n. quarter of a century and more. will scoff and rail at my explanation. I have only charity for my many critics in religious circles. most of them sincere and splendid people-

“But prohibition. among the other evils it has produced is the creation of a fanaticism on this one subject among otherwise normal people within the church. thllii hi“ 0°"? the Christian religion very great. vio- lence. Some of these ardent prohi- bitlonists are of the most intemper- ate people in their fanaticism.

OPPOBED _T0 REASON.

"I want to soy in all kindness thni. the prohibition radicals are not amenable to reason or common sense. They even 010F988 "mm- selves in the mum savage hatred. in honing that weak mortals. who are addicts of the concoctions of the bootleggers wiii amp dead when they touch it. and‘ all dieyolf. Bootlfil! liquor under prohibition was mak- ing new addicts of oiinil people. constantly. The reco I show this. Now this was not ‘Christ's wav. H» loved the moat licoiaibd sinner and teaches its to help hlnrlnnd have him. not by law but by If! love; real _, ‘noes cornea from‘ within. and cannot be proilliccd Iivthc brute force of law. Th! church ha: driven from it. with hatred in their hearts. the very people ltirthe church's mission to save.

DEPLOIIAILE STATE.

taken Aspirin’s place as an antidote

THE CHARLOTTETOWN GUARDIAN

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gotten into our churches-war tem- ples for the worship of God. And I tear many church heads. and some in the congregations, have been

God. Many of them permitted pro- fessional reformers and political ad- venturers to occupy their pulpits and capitalize the prohibition zeal of the splendid people in the pews for their political devices. A large percentage of these office seekers. after the church vote, were political drys and personal wets; they were drinking intoxicants, getting possession of liquor illegally and were more des- picable than the bootlegger who sold the liquor to them. I have witness- ed the religious services and worship set aside to accommodate some pol- itician or professional reformer. Be- sides prohibition had become the paramount one of all church and political issues. Prohibition has no place in politics but it was there. and left little time to the law makers

necessary and vital issues. and the normal functions of Government."

WANTED T0 IIELP. “I wanted to be an humble instru-

control and regulatory law. and thus stamp out the lawless bootleg- ger and smuggler. and take the fin- ancial and political power that: pro- hibition had given him and the criminal underworld he had created under prohibition. away from him; for it was demoralizing our young people and threatening the very foundations of the Government. and of society.

“Then I wanted to see the churches purified and get back to the funda- mental principles for. and on which, the church was established; to get sordid politics out of the pulpit. the church pew, and the trhurcli home. I have witnessed the bootleggers and their criminal classes advocating the continuance of the prohibition law for the money there was in it to them.

if cuiuous CONTRAST

“They always, since the law was adopted, voted and worked for the hrohlbition ticket. They worked hand in hand. though not openly, with the good ladies of the W.C.T.U. and the sincere church people. When reminded oi‘ this ardent prohibi- ticnists will sputter: ‘I don't: believe it.‘ or ‘I doubt it.’ These forces of the worst lntemperance and vicious- ucss we have ever known. voted and worked exactly as did the sincere temperance people for the defeat of the Liquor Control law. so the IIIOII- opoly of the liquor business would continue with the criminal bootleg- gers. and the monopoly not be tak- en over by the Government to drive them out of their lucrative business. “The booilcggers swindled the Government out. of millions of rev- enue and those who would have liquor whether or no, nod no protec- tion from the poisonous concoctions dispensed by the illicit dealers. The bootleggers were active in drumming up trade in every part of the Pro- vince. And the good prohlbltionlsts would shout at the Government: ‘You could enforce prohibition if you wanted to. but you don't want wsee ii. enforced,’ which, of course. wasn't true.

“At the same time they were. in the most extravagant and absurd language praising the ‘constructive results’ of prohibition and were quot- ing from ridiculous books. by a the- oretical professor on ‘Prohibition at its Worst.‘ But all that is blind and unreasonlng fanaticism. which is always very articulate and illogical.

ORDER. OUT OF CIIAOS.

“I iim appreciative of the confl- dence that Premier Baxter and the Government reposedin mo by giv- lllll me this aoncintment. I feel sure that I am in a position to bring order and a respect for the law out of the chaos and anarchy. that eleven years of prohibition has brought us and get. it out of the church and away from politics. While the liquor control law has been in effect only since last Sep- tember we have already largely broken up bootlegging. home stills. cmwgling and illegal possession. In our Government liquor stores. the sale of whiskey and other ardent spirits is gradually decreasing. while the sale of beer and wine seems to he taking the place of hard liquor. We encourage this. Only one bottle of hard liquor is cold at one time to

"The pdlitfcc c!“ prohibition bad: purchaser. i-Ie can buy a c“; 91TH. united '

.‘ tolerate any excessive drinking. Some of the extremists among the preach-

worshipping prohibition more than.

and the Government. to take care of

ment in enforcing the new liquor

beer or several cases at one pur-

chase. This is done openly and piib- LL£°°Q rwmmtlxmw" ‘mmmfl Th”? WM "9911 °1' “hm; to keep the farcical prohibition law fmnm“ “m” 55°“ "'- °l' “w” on the statute book! the one honest known to have been intoxicated are ' ‘ cut oflfrom making , k

v sentences are certain for those

. Jail hav- ing illegal possession of liquor. Par‘ chases must be made from the Gov- ernment Llquor Scores of which we now have 34. Others are opened up

ggzgualiy in districts that ask for are mistakenly trymg m d“! Wm]

RESPONSIBLE MEN

i "My two associates on the Coin- ' lesion are Mr. EJR. Toad. who is

n active member of my own church and Mr. F. J. Robidoux, a leadinil’

barrister and our icgni adviser. n. ‘ Roman Catholic. i ployed nt the liquor atoms are roc-

Ali the men cm- pcctable church members. _

thirds of them are Protbiitants and one-third Rbmaxi Catholics. Our liquor business is conducted hymen of character, however humble his or her position. Our employees are not permitted to drink in the stores, but are granted the right. as other citi- zens, to make purchases to take home with them. But we will not

ers attempted to discipline and have expelled from the church. their members who accepted positions in our liquor stores, but did not. get very far with their threats.

the Christian ministry into this p0- sltlon. Friends of a lifetime have be- come alienated and I have been threatened with social ostracism. I have given up preaching, of course, but um still a member 0f the church and worship with/my family in the church of my denomination here. Some of the radicals in the conference demanded that. I be ex- pelled as a church member.

THE W. C. T. U.

“As to the Women's Christian Temperance Union I will say this: flrhe ladies making up the member- ; ship of that u- anization are for the ‘most part. spiritual and ideal wo- men. I have long been associated ‘with them and closely observed ‘their work, have only the klndlleat feeling for them and high consid- eration for their sincerity as indi- viduals. However. the W.C.T.U. is today made up of elderly and middle aged women, mostly old ladies, and are not being recruited by the younger women. These good ladies of the W.C.T.U; have fought the cigarette and tobacco. as well as John Barleycorn for these many years. Some of them have not been able to save their own daughters from smoking cigarettes, and their own sons. brothers. and husbands from drinking bootleg whiskey. Cig- arette consumption on the part of girls and women has become gener- .111, Our Canadian railways, tokeep up with the ‘March of Progress‘ are now providing smoking apartments for women as well as men, in their passenger coaches. We all remember how vigorously and persistently the W.C.T.U. fought the cigarette and demanded cigarette prohibition laws. Indeed some states passed antl- cigaretbe laws at the behest of the W.C.T.U. These laws were exactly the same kind of a farce that the liquor prohibition laws have proved themselves to be. to all reasonable

people.

GENEIIOUS ADVERTISING.

“The newspapers have always thrown their columns wide open to the‘ splendid, yet impracticable lad- ies, of the W.C.T.U. Hardly any other organization has been given as much free publicity by the editors. They have advertised the cigarette and the dishonorable John Barley- corn for generations; particularly since prohibition. Now the W.C.T.U. has laid oil’ on fighting the cigarette and the cigarette makers are oblig- ed to pay for their advertising.

“It is not an attack upon the good and sentimentally nice ladies of the W.C.T.U. to ask: ‘What construc- tive thing for the good of society have they ever accomplished?‘ Isn't if. true that the evils they have ask- ed m have eliminated for prohibited became far more dangerouatoman- kind while they fought and adver- tised these evils? Since the W.C.T. U. and other refonners have been making war upon the cigarette the use of them has grown from 3.000.- 000000 a year in the United States

arettcs have increased 33 times while the W.C.T.U. and others foug them and had them prohibited by law in several instances.

DEAF TO WARNING.

“Young girls and boys. working girls and society girls and women are smoking them everywhere in these prohibition clays. The younger generation has been deal’ to the warning and entrcatlea and prayers of the Wotan. Or did the lectures of the W.C.T.U. arouse in the giriii. BOYS; women and men. that organ- izatlon was assaying to save. the human spirit of contradiction co they defied their warnings? flu the W.C.T.U. proven that. these dear ladies have any knowledge of pay- chology? \

“I am hoping for the day when the professional reformer: will make up their minds to give the peoples long needed rest from the don't; and prohibitions we have been harping on so long, thereby contributing to make bad matters far worse by con- stantly agitating and advertising them. Above ‘ all let our splendid churches set back to their original province of cleansing people's hearts and making them good from within.